Strawberries and cake mark care provider's 100th year
BBCA major care provider has marked its 100th birthday with a large garden party.
Residents of St Monica Trust's villages and care homes celebrated with cream cakes, strawberries and glasses of Pimm's, as well as music from brass quintet and poetry readings.
The party was held at Cote Lane Retirement Village in Westbury on Trym, where the charity opened its doors in June 1925.
David Williams, head of the trust, which has care homes across Bristol and North Somerset, praised the residents, saying: "They volunteer in the organisation, they run the shops, they're even brewing their own beer at the moment!"
He said the trust "believe in contribution" and "want to enable people to flourish by allowing them to develop relationships".
VIP attendees at the summer party – where temperatures hit 30C – included the Lord Lieutenant of Bristol, Peaches Golding.
Monica Carp, who has lived at Cote Lane for almost 20 years, spoke about the benefits of activities at the trust.
"You get what you give in," she said. "You can do what you like or you can help to organise events. I organised a craft group which I called 'pin and needles'."
The charitable foundation works with older people across the west of England to improve their quality of life.
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