Flower girl Aria Fyfe showing off her painted face

Inside this issue:

• Children’s party

• Innovative cuisine

• Meet John

• Delectable truffl es

Novella

Essie Summers Retirement Village Autumn Newsletter 2017

Our annual children’s party was spectacular. We invited the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of our residents and staff to spend a wonderful day with us. Activities included face painting, games such as pinning the tail on a donkey, a bouncy castle, a piñata and we even had a clown. Just when it seemed that some might run short on energy the food arrived. We had delicious sausages, chips, cakes and cookies. We had a great time and we will do it all again next year.

Roman Tait, Saffron Lyttle, Edie Tait

and Florence Lyttle

Fun in the sun

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Greetings from Rosemary...

Hello everyone!

We have had a very busy year so far and we have even more events planned for the near future! One event to keep an eye out for is the Mad Hatter Tea Party if you are in the mood for some fun and madness!

During March, our theme was March Madness, and it was all about emotional and mental wellbeing. We celebrated our indomitable spirit, courage and our humour, especially those of us who were here during the Canterbury earthquakes.

I want to thank our wonderful kitchen staff who pulled together a degustation

lunch for 196 residents and guests, serving 13 courses during the Long Lunch. Residents were delighted with the sample meals from our new menu, ranging from our ploughman’s platter beef cheeks to a delicious desert. It was spectacular!

As always my door is open and you are more than welcome to pop in for a chat if you have any concerns or queries.

Kind regards

Rosemary DeaneVillage Manager

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222 Colombo Street, Christchurch • www.essiesummers.co.nz

The Ryman Season of Romeo & JulietRyman Healthcare is pleased to announce another ballet season in partnership with the Royal New Zealand Ballet. This year the RNZB is showcasing their new production of the tragic romance Romeo and Juliet. This production, created by Francesco Ventriglia, promises to bring the splendour of the Renaissance Verona to New Zealand audiences. The Ryman Healthcare Season of Romeo and Juliet will be opening in Wellington on 16 August, and the production will tour Christchurch, Auckland, Rotorua, Napier, Palmerston North, Dunedin and Invercargill.

Painting hearts with Sulie Filimoehala and Saffron LyttlePainting he

Annual

Children’sParty

Rosemary DeaneVillage ManagerPhone: 03 337 2702Call Rosemary for general enquiries, or any information about resthome, hospital and dementia care.

Susie CowlesSales Advisor Phone: 03 337 6500Talk to Susie about retirement living options and availabilitiesin the village.

Kitchen superstar takes Cashin Scholarship

Nika Wood, 18, who works at Yvette Williams as a kitchen hand, was picked for the 2017 Cashin Scholarship.

Nika is off to Otago University to study health science and hopes to become a doctor working in geriatric or paediatric care. She joined Yvette Williams last year as a kitchen worker and applied for the scholarship to ease her family’s financial burden.

“I feel awesome – it is great news. It’s a lot of stress off my shoulders,” she said.

When Nika was young she and her family were hurt in a house fire. The support

her family have received from health professionals inspired her to study medicine.

Nika is the sixth winner of the Cashin Scholarship. Congratulations Nika!

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her family have received from health

It was a busy end-of-year for the Evelyn Page team who won last year’s Ryman Mixed Fours Bowls Tournament.

Brian Wood, Leonie Wood, Yvonne Preston and Murray Pile flew off to Melbourne on Boxing Day to take on some of Australia’s best bowlers at the Ryman sponsored, Glen Waverley Christmas Bowls Carnival. The team had a brilliant five days in Melbourne.

“They looked after us like kings”, said Brian Wood.

Although the slower greens and weather conditions were a little difficult to adjust to, the team never gave up.

“We were always competitive,” said Murray Pile.

“We were never really thrashed.”

The trip included a visit to Ryman’s first Australian village Weary Dunlop, where they were treated to morning tea and “they felt quite at home.”

“We were there as Ryman representatives and we played our best,” said Yvonne.

“We did what we enjoyed. I’m just amazed at how fantastic everything went.”

Evelyn Page bowlers take on Melbourne

Front row: Janette Pile, Murray Pile, Yvonne Preston,

Leonie Wood and Brian Wood

Back row: Russ Nicholls, Dale Singleton,

Michelle Shaw, Debbie McClure and Kevin Clarke

During February, more than 5,000 residents sat down to a Long Lunch to coincide with Shrove Tuesday and the launch of Ryman Delicious.

Residents from Whangarei to Invercargill enjoyed a delicious meal, which included salmon cakes, salt and pepper hoki, beef cheeks, apricot chicken, and pancakes. The lunch was to celebrate the start of a food revolution at all Ryman villages across the country.

Ryman Delicious is a fresh approach to delivering food to Ryman’s 10,000 residents. Ryman Hospitality Manager Andrew Gibson said Delicious is all about putting a new twist on the old-fashioned home-cooked meals.

Innovations include a new Ryman-developed Calzone in partnership with

an artisan supplier, new Ryman club sandwiches and Ryman chicken salad. On the new menu, the tried and true rub shoulders with exotic newcomers.

“We’ve tried to get a good mix of the old favourites – we’ve still got mince on toast – with some much more interesting meals including Thai beef salad,” says Andrew.

The menu is just the start of the revolution. Delicious will also reorganise the kitchen space and will remove the serveries out of the village lounges.

Rosemary Deane, village manager at Essie Summers, says you cannot overestimate the importance of food to a village’s success.

“For many residents their day revolves around food. Giving them more choice about what they eat is great.’’

longThe

Lunch

delicious

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St Patrick's Day was a lot of fun at Edmund Hillary with green outfi ts, green food, and of course, Guinness!

Hi! My name is Melanie Asuncion and I’ve been the clinical manager at Essie Summers since October 2014.

I was raised in the Philippines and my father still lives there, although he recently visited New Zealand for the fi rst time and fell in love with the country. I have two siblings, both of whom live in Italy.

I qualifi ed in the Philippines as a pharmacist and a registered nurse. I worked there for two years in acute care and at the endocrinology clinic. I moved to New Zealand in 2010 and began to work as a caregiver while undergoing further training at CPIT and Princess Margaret Hospital. In 2012, I started work as a registered nurse at Beckenham Courts – as Essie Summers was known then – and became the clinical manager two years later.

I take great pleasure from caring for our beloved residents. I also relish the sense of teamwork and the friendly environment of Essie Summers. I really enjoy being a leader and helping my team achieve success and personal growth.

Away from work I seek adventure. I love camping and exploring the natural wonders of New Zealand. I also enjoy going on culinary adventures, exploring the foods of different cultures.

Introducing Melanie

Inter-village sports day

Essie Summers took part in the inter-village

sports day at South Hagley Park. Together

with Ngaio Marsh, Margaret Stoddart and

Woodcote, we had an enjoyable afternoon

competing in various games. These included

yellow square, bean bags, pétanque and

quoits. We also had a delicious lunch with

great entertainment.

Long lunchOn 28 February, we launched Project Delicious with a Long Lunch event for all residents. The lunch included 13 courses! We also hosted some special guests, namely Managing Director Simon Challies, Operations Manager Barbara Reynen-Rose and Hotel Services

Manager Andrew Gibson.

Ingredients:1 punnet of cream cheese2 packets of your favourite biscuits (Arnott’s Mint Biscuits are a crowd favourite)250gm block of chocolate for dipping

Method:• Crush biscuits and mix with cream

cheese. (If you have a food processor, whiz biscuits until smooth, then add cream cheese until mixed through).

• Roll mixture into bite size balls and freeze for 20 minutes.

• Melt chocolate gently over a low heat. (Add a little bit of oil to make the chocolate glossier).

• One by one, dip truffles in chocolate.• Place in the fridge to set.

Laura’s Truffles

• Melt chocolate gently over a low heat

Makes approx 20

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edit:

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Hi, my name is John Montagu.

I was married for 60 years to Colleen, who passed away four years ago from cancer. I was born and raised in Hokitika, it is also where I met, and married, Colleen.

We have four children. My two oldest children are twins, Gae and Garry.

Gae is a nurse in Australia and Garry works in China as an electrican. My two youngest children are Richard and Diane. Richard is a retired engineer and lives in Vanuatu. Diane is married and living in Australia.

We moved to Christchurch in 1963 for our children’s education and for better opportunities in a bigger city.

I worked as an electrician in Christchurch for almost 50 years. I have worked for a carpet company, the City Council and contractors. During my youth, I sailed the Grey River and the lakes of the West Coast.

I have been living in my serviced apartment at Essie Summers for seven and a half months. My life now is much easier. No cooking, no loans, and no gardens to tend to! That is great!

I’m having a lot of fun with my new friends here. I’m even a part of the walking group now. The staff have been very nice too. Life here is good. What else can you ask for?

Meet Jo

hn

longThe

Lunch

Hospital residents sat down for a Devonshire tea recently. Everyone enjoyed the special morning tea and the food was delicious. The tables were decorated with pink table runners and gorgeous fl owers. Residents enjoyed their tea in fancy cups and listened to a mini piano concert. It was a fantastic event.

Delicious high tea

Some of the delicious treats served

during the high tea

Upcoming Events

Easter

Triple A 10th birthday

Mothers’ Day

Anzac Day

Mid Winter Solstice

International Month

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