NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2023
 Hello everyone.
 Hello to one and all!
Surprising to most of us, we have had an unusually busy month, with unpredictable weather patterns for Spring, but despite that, we were very happy indeed to welcome into our Brylyn family, two new residents. These were Elaine Older, and Linda de Graaf. Elaine is from Hamilton, and Linda is from Ngaruawahia.
Both ladies have settled in well and appear to be enjoying the freedoms that come hand in hand with having 24-hour care available to them. So, we are thrilled to be able to extend an official welcome now to both ‘Elaine’ and ‘Linda’, to be part and parcel of our friendly extended family here at Brylyn!
On other fronts, we have recently had an issue with power supply to the residence, so as a precautionary measure, we have a generator in place, which is maintaining essential continuance of services while we work to resolve the issue in a more permanent way.
The weather has of course, been changeable, and our resident gardener Chris, has been busy pruning and tidying up our extensive gardens to ensure that they continue to look their best. We are also very lucky to have a very lovely neighbour who loves gardening, and she has kindly volunteered some of her time on occasion to assist to keep our gardens looking their best.
 Amongst our regular activities, to mention but a few, are bus trips
 Amongst our stories for this month, we have enjoyed a visit from Megan King, President of the Hamilton Cat Club, and her daughter Ellie, drop in for a visit with two of their Therapy Cats, named ‘Micha’ (a young Blue Maine Coon cat) and ‘Luna’ (a very mature, blue-eyed Burmilla); who spent some quality time with residents. Needless to say, both cats were very popular amongst the many cat loving residents!
Of course, many family or whanau members make regular visits to see loved ones residing at Brylyn; and this can include visits from sons or daughters that live overseas. Resident Jean Walters enjoyed a visit from her Australian based daughter Diane, and resident Glenys Alexander enjoyed regular visits and outings with her Australian based daughter Lisa, who remained in the area for several weeks.
We also enjoy a regular weekly visit from a pastor, David Marshall, who provides wise words and word games, to keep our minds healthy and agile. In this issue we also including some images of our visiting occupational therapists, who decided to take residents on a walk around our grounds one sunny day.
 

THIS MONTH’S PORTFOLIO OF PHOTOS

 

Last but not least, with October being the month for the General Election, we had scheduled a visit from the Electoral Commission staff, who kindly came well before the Election deadline and provided a booth and assistance to any residents who wished to cast their vote, without the need to leave the premises. We thank them for their kindness and understanding.

THERAPY CAT VISIT

Wishing you all well, from the family and crew at Brylyn and we look forward to reporting to you again next month. Stay well, healthy and happy in all things!   - from John and all the staff at Brylyn.
 
 
 
Left: Megan and Ellie King, with therapy cats, “Micha” (a very young Blue Smoke Maine Coon Neuter)
and Luna, (a mature, Seal Ticked, Blue eyed Burmilla). Right, a close-up of ‘Luna’.
 

‘Luna’ visits with our resident Prudence Clifford who is both a dog and cat lovers.

Hello everyone.
Temperatures are certainly getting cooler in the mornings and evenings now that we are in Autumn and am sure we can still look forward to some lovely warm days.
 Birthdays for the month of March were for Cherry Davis on 11th, Tom Muldoon on the 12th, David Shrimpton on 27th and Snow Brown on 29th. Happy Birthday to all our residents. Each resident had a cake made in our kitchen and shared with everyone at morning tea.
 In the afternoon of Wednesday 8th we celebrated Women’s Day with snacks and a special cake bought in from the shop. Three of our women stood up and chatted briefly about their lives and careers; we thank Floss Dunkin, Janice Newton and Marcia Fitzherbert for their interesting talks.
 St Patrick’s Day on Friday 17th was celebrated with everything green; green decorations, food and with staff and residents wearing something green. Charlie and Marlene came in to entertain for Happy Hour in the afternoon for a fun event. A nice day in all.
Carpets
 We have our bus trips on Fridays for a drive around town, or for a coffee, or to the golf club or to Raglan or to the lake to feed the ducks or just around the countryside to see the farms and animals and to take in the changes around the Hamilton area. This is on a rotation basis to give everyone a turn to go out if they want to.
 Bingo is held twice weekly, and this remains to be a popular game, with thanks going to Floss Dunkin for calling the Bingo. There are manicure & hand massage mornings, foot spa mornings, craft mornings, games mornings and walks outside.
 David Marshall comes in weekly to do his quizzes and religious instruction.
Reg and Jan Booth hold a religious instruction fortnightly with Len who very kindly plays the piano for the hymns sung.
Thanks go to all for their kind service to our residents.
 Feedback is always welcomed.
Keep well and be safe, until next month,
Regards
Jennifer Slement and all at Brylyn

Hello everyone.
This certainly has not been a very pleasant summer season, lets hope Autumn will be good.
 Only one birthday this month and this was for Bruce Scott on the 14th February. Happy Birthday Bruce.
A cake was made in our kitchen and enjoyed by all.
 Happy Hour with Gail on Friday 24th which turned out to be a happy occasion. Gail sang a good variety of songs getting everyone to sing along with her.
 We have our bus trips on Fridays for a drive around town, or for a coffee, or to the golf club or to Raglan or to the lake to feed the ducks or just around the countryside to see the farms and animals and to take in the changes around the Hamilton area. This is on a rotation basis to give everyone who wants to go, a turn.
 Bingo is held twice weekly, and this remains to be a popular game with Floss Dunkin calling the Bingo.
Thanks to Floss for her involvement.
 There are foot spa mornings, craft mornings, games mornings and walks outside.
 David Marshall comes in weekly to do his quizzes and religious instruction.
Reg and Jan Booth hold a religious instruction fortnightly with Len who very kindly plays the piano for the hymns sung.
Thanks go to all for their kind service to our residents.
 Feedback is always welcomed.
Keep well and be safe, until next month,
Regards
Jennifer Slement and all at Brylyn

 Hello everyone and Happy New Year to you all!
We hope you all had a wonderful festive season with family and friends.
 Birthdays this month were for Raymond Matson on 6th and Frances Toka on 20th February.
We had a Happy Hour at the beginning of the month with Charlie and Marlene which was enjoyed by all.
 We have our bus trips on Fridays for a drive around town, for a coffee, or to Raglan or to the lake to feed the ducks or just around the countryside to see the farms and animals and to take in the changes around the Hamilton area.
 Bingo is held twice weekly and is always a popular game.
Floss Dunkin continues to call Bingo and we thank Floss for her involvement.
There are foot spa mornings, craft mornings, games mornings and walks outside.
David Marshall comes in weekly to do his quizzes and religious instruction.
We welcome back Reg and Jan Booth who have resumed religious instruction fortnightly.
Thanks go to all for their kind service to our residents.
 I have included some photos from Christmas, apologies for the late attachment.
 Feedback is always welcomed.
Keep well and be safe, until next month,
Regards
Jennifer Slement and all at Brylyn.   

Hello everyone,
Happy New Year!
We hope you all had a wonderful festive season with family and friends and enjoyed the good weather too.
 Two of our residents celebrated their birthdays this month; Robert Brough on the 12th and Glenys Alexander on the 21st of December - both happy occasions sharing a cake from our kitchen with everyone at morning tea.
 In the morning of Monday 5th, we had the Electoral Team come to the facility to allow residents to cast their vote in the Hamilton West By-Elections which went well.
 On the 14th we had the resident Christmas photos taken next to the tree, unfortunately not everyone wanted their photo taken!
 On the night of the 15th there was a drive to see the Christmas lights around Hamilton – not many residents chose to go out.
 We had an early Christmas celebration, a BBQ lunch with Loma and Paul “L&P” to entertain. The resident Christmas presents were given out too by ‘Father Christmas.’ A lovely time had by all. Thanks go to the staff and to Ross Roulston (who took the part of ‘Father Christmas’) for making it special day.
 On Christmas Day there was a special menu with Christmas crackers on the table too.
 Happy Hour was held on Friday 30th to celebrate the New Year.
 We have bus trips on Fridays for a drive around town, to the lake or in the countryside and to go to a cafe for coffee too.
 Bingo is held twice weekly and is always a popular game. Floss Dunkin continues to call Bingo and we thank Floss for her involvement. There are foot spa mornings, craft mornings, games mornings and walks outside. David Marshall comes in weekly to do his quizzes and religious instruction. Thank you to both Floss and David.
 Feedback is always welcomed.
Keep well and be safe, until next month,
Regards
Jennifer Slement and all at Brylyn.   

Hello everyone,
It is hard to believe another year is almost over.
For catering purposes, please can you advise Brylyn as early as possible if you will be taking your loved one out for Christmas day lunch. Thank you.
 Only one of our residents, Ashley Connor, had a birthday this month with a cake to share with everyone. Happy Birthday Ashley.
 Melbourne Cup on the 2nd of November was a day enjoyed with a special menu by Lin, Head Chef; the decorating of hats for residents to wear, and then a late afternoon celebration watching the race with homemade pizzas and drinks. Residents all drew out a horse number and prizes were awarded for 1st and 2nd place. Well done Raymond Park for 1st prize and Mark Matthews for the 2nd prize!
 Residents did a craft for Guy Fawkes making fireworks ‘explosions’ for a display on the board. We had a special menu for the day and for this we thank Anna, our cook. After lunch we got everyone out on to the deck for a few very small fireworks and then ‘sparklers’ for everyone. Of course, it would have been more effective late at night, but most are tucked away in bed at that time.
 Remembrance Day on the 11th of November was a quiet day but acknowledged in honour of those that served.
 Bus trips are on Fridays which are always enjoyed by residents who love these drives out and about or in the countryside or going for a cup of coffee.
 We have a ‘celebrity’ with us now, Chris Whitta! Chris was a radio broadcaster for more than four decades in Christchurch and Wellington. Chris has very kindly taken on the task each morning of newspaper reading and a discussion with the other residents in the lounge - our thanks go to Chris.
 Bingo is held twice weekly and is always a popular game. Floss Dunkin continues to call Bingo and we thank Floss for her involvement. There are crafts mornings, games mornings and walks outside. David Marshall comes in weekly to do his quizzes and religious instruction. Thank you to both Floss and David.
 We are refreshing/updating our small library - if anyone has some books that they think our residents might enjoy we would appreciate receiving them, thank you.
 Feedback is always welcomed.
Keep well and be safe, until next month,
Regards
Jennifer Slement and all at Brylyn.

Hello everyone,
Hope you are all well and enjoying spring although spring weather can be very unpredictable, we do appreciate the good days. It’s lovely to see all the colourful gardens everywhere when one travels about.
 This month we had two birthdays celebrated with a cake at morning tea; they were for Ross Roulston on the 4th and Wayne Rolton on the 23rd. Happy Birthday to both gentlemen.
 We had a Diwali celebration in the afternoon on Friday 21st with Indian snacks. Some of the staff dressed up in their beautiful colourful saris and danced to entertain our residents.
 A craft was done making funny pumpkin faces which were put up on a string in the dining room for Halloween. Not too much fuss for Halloween.
 On Friday 28th Happy Hour was in the afternoon when Charlie entertained our Residents getting them to sing along with him while having their drinks and snacks.
 Bus trips are on Fridays which are always enjoyed by residents who love these drives out and about or in the countryside or going for a cup of coffee.
 Bingo is held twice weekly and is always a popular game. There are crafts mornings, games mornings and walks outside. David Marshall comes in weekly to do his quizzes and religious instruction. Two of our residents, Ian Birse and Floss Dunkin, continue to call the Bingo.  Thanks go to Ian and Floss.
 We are refreshing our small library - if anyone has some books that they think our residents might enjoy we would appreciate receiving them, thank you.
 Feedback is always welcomed.
Keep well and be safe, until next month,
Regards
Jennifer Slement and all at Brylyn.

Hello everyone,
We are enjoying the wonderful spring days in between all the rain! It is lovely to see the spring flowers and the shrubs and trees blossoming. There are colours everywhere.
 Marie Johansen celebrated her birthday on the 9th and Ian Stewart celebrated his birthday on the 21st.  They shared and enjoyed a cake made and decorated by staff.
 We had a Father’s Day Happy Hour celebration on Friday 2nd where each male resident received a peak cap purchased from Mountain Warehouse. They were very happy with their gift. Glen Carley entertained.
 On Friday 23rd we celebrated the new King, Charles 111, with a Happy hour and Charlie and Marlene entertaining everyone.
 Bus trips have resumed Fridays which is always enjoyed as residents love these drives out in the countryside or going for a cup of coffee.
 Bingo is held twice weekly and is always a popular game. There crafts mornings, games mornings and walks outside, weather permitting of course.
 David Marshall comes in to do his quizzes and religious instruction. Ian Birse and Floss Dunkin continue to call the Bingo and Ian does some quizzes too.  We appreciate their involvement.
 Feedback is always welcomed.
Keep well and be safe, until next month,
Regards
Jennifer Slement and all at Brylyn.

Hello everyone,
Spring has arrived at last and warmer weather is on the way, how lovely to see flowers and flowering shrubs everywhere.
 Susan Harvey and Annette Coombs celebrated their birthdays this month – Susan on the 2nd and Annette on the 30th.  Everyone celebrated with cakes from the kitchen at morning tea. As Jim Davey moved to New Plymouth we had a farewell morning tea for him - we will miss him!
 An early spring day celebration Happy Hour was held on Friday 26th with Charlie and Marlene to entertain the residents in the afternoon. This was a wonderful event, Charlie always gets everyone singing along with him. We kept to the yellow theme throughout the day. Anna made small French Toast triangles for morning tea, just for something different. There were daffodils on the tables - it was a happy day.
 Bus trips have resumed Fridays which is always enjoyed as residents love these drives out in the countryside.
 Bingo is held twice weekly and is always a popular game. There crafts mornings, games mornings and walks outside; weather permitting of course.
 David Marshall comes in to do his quizzes and religious instruction. Ian Birse continues to do quizzes and calling the Bingo which is very much appreciated, and Floss Dunkin has started calling Bingo again too. Ian has become very helpful to call on to help with TV problems– thank you to you both.
 Feedback is always welcomed.
Keep well and be safe, until next month,
Regards
Jennifer Slement and all at Brylyn.

Hello everyone,
 Only two birthdays this month, they were for Margaret Job on 22nd and Floss Dunkin on 31st. A cake was made and decorated for each in the kitchen and shared by all at morning tea.
 On Friday the 15th July we had a celebration for ‘World Ice Cream Day’ (which was on the 17th July) - we celebrated early. This turned out to be a happy event and enjoyed by all. It’s never too cold for ice cream!
 Happy hour was held on Friday 29th at 1.30pm with Charlie and Marlene to entertain. These occasions are always popular with residents singing along and even some dancing!
 Bingo is held twice weekly and is always a popular game. There crafts mornings, games mornings and walks outside, weather permitting of course.
 David Marshall has come in again to do his quizzes and religious instruction. We also have Ian Birse doing quizzes and calling the Bingo which is very much appreciated.
 Feedback is always welcomed.
Keep well and be safe, until next month,
Regards
Jennifer Slement and all at Brylyn.