The In Jolly Good Company Almanac 2023

What a jolly good year we’ve had filled with so many lovely memories! It was especially exciting to be filmed for BBC’s Red Nose Day. The Comic Relief team, including Rylan and Oti Mabuse, joined us at our Wimborne St Giles Jolly Day back in February.

Throughout the year our very talented volunteer Mary Bevan has interviewed some of the lovely guests who attend our Jolly Days and has written up their stories. They make fascinating reading, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading them and highly recommend you do too. You can read them here.

We were delighted to receive our Evaluation Report which confirmed what we have always suspected – that attending Jolly Days has a positive impact on the wellbeing of guests, carers and wider family members. People make new friends, keep mentally and physically active and try new things. As a result, 84% of guests feel happier and 86% feel less lonely. For carers attending sessions, the groups provide opportunities for them to connect with others in a similar situation and receive support (respite as well as practical advice). And for wider family members, knowing their loved ones are enjoying themselves in a safe and supportive environment brings them reassurance, as well as something to talk about when they visit or phone.

Grab a cuppa, relax and enjoy this glimpse into some of the things we got up to in 2023.

January

Local tree surgeon Brian Hennessy generously delivered lots of woodchip to our Step Outside allotment free of charge. Our lovely volunteer Tim set about loading the woodchip into his wheelbarrow so he and our wonderful team of volunteers could make accessible paths for our guests.

The very talented and much-loved Paula Fleming helped dispel the January blues and cheered us all up with a good old sing-song at our first Shaftesbury Jolly Day of the year.

Sharon, a volunteer, held a wonderful art session for us at our Wimborne St Giles Jolly Day. We each decorated a petal which became part of a big flower representing all the things that our Jolly Days mean to us all. It was so heartwarming to see the words love, laughter, friendship, joy, happiness and fun adorning the beautifully decorated petals.

Our lovely ‘dinner lady’ Kate Sheridan was out and about delivering delicious Jolly Lunches prepared by The Friendly Food Club. We are very grateful to Comic Relief who have enabled us to continue to provide this service.

February

Oti Mabuse, Rylan and the Comic Relief team spent a day with us and they really got stuck in, helping to dish up and serve a delicious meal prepared by The Friendly Food Club. After lunch, Paula led us in a sing-song. It was hilarious when we sang ‘Hey Big Spender’ as Rylan, who was sitting next to Margaret, was doing high kicks. He then decided to help Margaret Humphries with her high kick by lifting her leg into the air, and then he got down on the floor and supported her leg on his shoulder! Margaret and Ray Edkins were delighted when Oti and Rylan invited them onto the dance floor to strut their stuff. We finished with a percussion session, which is always popular, I have to say Rylan and Oti did a fantastic job on the djembe.

Our Jolly Shaftesbury guests thoroughly enjoyed the latest edition of Seasons of Stories 'Winter' which were gifted to us from Stepping into Nature Community Group. The book travels through Winter taking delight in the seasonal changes taking place in nature and our relationship with those wintery days. The changes are told through captivating short stories, riddles, recipes, poetry, and illustrations along with thoughts from the wider community.

We were delighted to welcome Anni Sax as our new Group Facilitator and Organiser. Anni has a wealth of knowledge and skills as well as a warm and enthusiastic personality. Over the years she has worked with groups and volunteers of all ages and abilities and in her younger years she was a community nurse and was also involved with various movement groups and therapies. All of this means she was the perfect person to join our team. We are very grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund for their support.

Our Wimborne St Giles Jolly guests explored their creativity with brilliant local artist Jo Kear. Jo had sketched the outlines of birds and flowers for us and we had a lovely time painting them.

March

Thanks to kind funding from Active Dorset and Sport England all our Jolly groups have been able to enjoy movement sessions this year – gentle yoga with Suzanne Greenwood and dance with Sandi Hart and Louisa White from Joyful Jams. They inspired us to learn simple exercises and movements to use at home to benefit our general health and well-being.

Anni was very happy to receive some very healthy looking sweetpea seedlings for our 'Step Outside' allotment that Margaret grew for us.

Our Wimborne guests love the poetry readings Anne and David read to us at our Jolly Days, they always entertain us and often make us smile. This month David treated us to the wonderful Spike Milligan poem ‘I Must go Down to the Sea Again’ amongst others.

Our excellent team of winter volunteers were extra busy this month preparing our allotment for the return of our Step Outside Garden Group guests. Brian planted the garlic, Margaret and Anni propagated stuff for us to plant, and the beds were prepared and covered in eco-compost.

April

It was such a joy to be back at our Step Outside allotment at Kingston Lacy, we had planned to meet in March but had to postpone due to staff illness. Fiona and Kate did a great job planting potatoes and onion sets. Brenda set about weeding, deadheading and transplanting spinach, while Tim and Bryan barrelled compost onto our newly weeded beds. Our hardworking volunteer Fiona helped Anni mesh chard transplants and broad beans… all in all we had a very productive day!

Emelye Purser and her Guide Dog Quaver visited us at our Blandford Jolly group. Emelye offered our guests hand and foot massages to help raise money to train more guide dogs. What a treat! Emelye has partial vision and works intuitively and runs her own business in Blandford called Hambledon Health.

Talented local photographer Brent Jones captured a beautiful moment between Kate and Fiona at our Step Outside Gardening Group last year. It was such a good shot that ‘Living Well Community Magazine’ used it for the cover of their spring edition.

We were fair tuckered out after our brilliant bushtucker lunch prepared by The Friendly Food Club and what a jolly time we had reading through the menu! The main course was Northern Territory 'skippy' (kangaroo) kebab on Australian desert earth rice, jungle canopy mango salad with mango vinaigrette with a witchety grubs veggie option – thank goodness it was tasty Quorn and not termites! Dessert was a delicious and colourful 'boomerang' cake served with crushed macadamia nuts, ice cream and jellified baby snakes.

May

We were honoured that Vivamente Voices made us their charity of choice for their 10th Anniversary year. Funds raised from their concerts were donated to In Jolly Good Company. 'Songs for a Summer Evening', their main concert this year was held in the Wimborne Minster. What a very special evening it was.

We had a thoroughly fun-filled afternoon with Caroline from Creating Musical Participation. As well as a good old sing-along accompanied by her beautiful cello playing, we performed our very own version of Oliver, where everyone who took part threw themselves into their roles wholeheartedly and had a jolly good time!

Several of our groups enjoyed sessions with our ‘feather lady’ as we call her, Sandi, as well as colourful feathers Joyful Jams use many other brightly coloured, sensory props in their sessions with the aim of connecting, uplifting, and supporting well-being.

June

Jolly Shaftesbury was buzzing as we got all creative and made our own mini mosaics thanks to our visiting artist from Bruton, Kate Plowman. We also enjoyed our volunteers Bill's quiz and Bridget's homemade cake.

Vivamente Voices held a beautiful evening of song at Wimborne Minster. The concert was a sellout and we were treated to songs from Bovington Military Wives Choir as well as Vivamente.

Carol Dawkins gave us the benefit of her knowledge gained whilst working as a Ranger at Avon Heath Country Park. She brought us some nests, eggs, snakeskin and other fascinating natural objects for us to discover and discuss. If you want to see more of Carol in action check out Episode 7 of Jolly TV.

We were joined by the very talented actress and storyteller, Michele O'Brien at both our Wimborne St Giles and our Wimborne Jolly Days. She shared scenes from her one-woman (and a puppet) show called I’m Glad I Asked'. The show was inspired by Michele’s memories of caring for her 91-year-old mother, Gena, and the time and conversations they had together. It’s a moving and very relatable piece of storytelling exploring the joys, frustrations, shared memories, and the love that binds generations together.

July

What a wonderful array of beautiful homemade cakes and scones we had at our Sunday Jolly Tea at Wimborne St Giles Village Hall! The sun was out and it was a joy to see people sitting in the garden, catching up with friends over a cuppa and a tasty treat or two. Lisa Osman from All Hallows Farmhouse Cookery School supported us with a raffle of a lovely bundle of baking equipment and a percentage of her sales. Judith was delighted to find out she had the winning ticket. Carol and Phyliss also used their incredible talents to help us raise some extra funds with their Knitting Angel’s stall. Our lovely Anni had a plant stall and Craig Charlesworth, who lives in the village, gifted us a wood carving which helped boost our takings when it was bid for in an impromptu auction. We had a lovely afternoon and raised over £1000!

Curly the Busker went down a storm at our Blandford Jolly Day as they do love a good old sing-song. Curly entertained us with some real classics. At the end of the afternoon, Brian declared this was one of his best afternoons ever!

Wimborne St Giles guests were treated to music from the impressive Skittle Alley Strummers, SAS for short, their motto being 'Who strums grins' (instead of Who Dares Wins of course). We were delighted to be visited by children from Wimborne St Giles First School and their Headmistress Mrs Hill and music teacher Jan. The children treated us to ‘She'll be Coming Round the Mountain' for their very first public performance to an appreciative Jolly audience. It was so lovely to have the children back for the first time since lockdown.

We were treated like royalty with a donated hamper personally baked, delivered and served by Lisa Osman from All Hallows Cookery School to celebrate National Cream Tea Day. Twenty of us sat and savoured the most delicious scones, including my personal favourite, rhubarb scones with ginger preserve.

August

We had such a productive Creative Vision Day when our staff and Directors came together with business expert Kate Robson. Kate helped us to look at our structure and the way we do things so that we can be the best we can be for our guests and their families.

Fiona, our wonderful volunteer, took on the mammoth task of cutting back and harvesting our abundant chard bed. Our guests got busy weeding and clearing and Sue and Robert sowed our last carrots for this year. Alan helped me clear the tomatoes, which very sadly were blighted. Valerie was gifted with a lovely bunch of sweetpeas picked by Alan and said how beautiful they smelt! We were especially delighted to have Aileen rejoin our garden group. It was lovely to see her again and she was so happy to have the company and the chance to share memories with everyone. She also got her hands dirty helping us with the weeding, while the amazing Tim and Brenda tackled the comfrey… again! Brian has recovered amazingly well after his hip operation…we did ‘try’ to keep him on light duties! But you can’t keep a good man down as they say. There was such an abundance of produce which we all shared.

Anne, one of our lovely guests at our Wimborne St Giles Jolly Days, led us in a buttonhole and corsage-making workshop. She brought along some beautiful roses and gypsophila for us to work with. Anne has a City and Guilds qualification in Floral Art and a Teaching Certificate. She has always enjoyed taking part in flower arranging competitions and is the proud holder of a Gold Medal from the Chelsea Flower Show! She did an amazing job and we loved the activity.

What a wonderful event the We Out Here Festival was, I'm already looking forward to next year! The great news is that they generously made a donation to In Jolly Good Company. The money went towards our Jolly Friendly Lunch delivery service this winter, prepared by The Friendly Food Club. We were able to provide 30 free home-cooked meals delivered locally each served with a friendly doorstep chat from our lovely Kate.

We were very lucky to have a visit from the Wardrobe Foundation who are based in Cranborne. They brought excellent quality second-hand clothes for our ladies to browse and take home. They are an excellent local charity that helps those who find it difficult to get out and shop.

September

We’re starting to feel the benefits of moving more. Being active by moving our bodies in whatever way works best for us can help keep us happy and healthy as we age. As well as the importance of moving, we know more about the harm that sedentary behaviour or sitting can cause us. That’s why we’re so happy to be able to continue with our Jolly Movement sessions.

We thoroughly enjoyed our pebble painting workshop at the Jolly Museum group facilitated by artist Joh Kennedy Wall.

We had all kinds of everything at our Step Outside gardening group this month – sun, rain, singing, gardening, tea and biscuits, laughter, jolly good company and a jolly good crop of veggies and flowers to share!

We had a lovely music session at our Shaftesbury Jolly Day with Paula. She sang a lovely Bob Dylan song with Marion, a retired music teacher. It's always so lovely to see the power of music and how it can bring such joy, especially when there are lots of great percussion instruments for us to join in with too!

Our Wimborne St Giles group enjoyed a very informative visit from Paul Beatson, a tree expert and ecologist, who talked to us about trees.

October

We had so much fun when the Wimborne St Giles First School children came to our Jolly Day to help us build Mr and Mrs Jolly the scarecrows. Mr and Mrs J took their place, (looking rather relaxed, or some might say drunk!) as part of the Village Scarecrow Trail which raised a splendid amount for the school. We love it when the children come in, the look on their faces and the looks on our guest’s faces when they are together is just so uplifting for all of us.

We really did make the most of our last day at our ‘Step Outside Garden Group’ for this year. We carved pumpkins, harvested the last of our crops, enjoyed butternut squash soup and homemade cheese scones in the cosy kitchen and we were even blessed with a rainbow too! Rob’s robin will keep me company at home during the winter months and our hardy bunch of volunteers will tend the allotment beds to ensure they are in ship shape for our return in the spring next year.

Our Shaftebury guests had a spook-tastic time making all things Halloween-inspired, while Hanna thoroughly enjoyed celebrating her 90th birthday with us at our Wimborne St Giles Jolly Day, where we all enjoyed the delicious cake!

Anni and I spent a morning outside of Waitrose in Wimborne with our Jolly Stall meeting people, chatting and letting them know what we get up to at our Jolly Days.

November

We were delighted that 60 people turned out on a dark and wet evening to enjoy the highly entertaining play ‘What’s to be Done with Algernon’ which explores the tragicomic life of Victorian Poet Algernon Swinburne. It was written by local playwright and author Michael Allen who is part of our Wimborne Museum Jolly Group. Local actors Tony Horitz, Michele O’Brien and Kevin Burke kindly gave of their time and talents to bring Michael’s brilliantly characterised play to life with a script-in-hand performance. It was so special that Michael at 84 and living with dementia got to see his great play performed to an appreciative audience once more.

We enjoyed a nostalgic trip down memory lane when our Jolly crew - Kate, Sarah and Anni transported us to the days of World War II by dressing as landgirls. We talked together and shared our memories of the war. Margaret remembered a plane crashing near Wimborne St Giles. She told us no one was allowed to go near in case it exploded! We looked at wartime rations - and marvelled at how anyone survived on such meagre amounts. Only one egg and 2 oz cheese per adult a week! Luckily The Friendly Food Club didn’t ration us when it came to our delicious lunch. We had good old sausage and mash, onion gravy, roasted carrots and red cabbage followed by that all-round British favourite, treacle sponge pudding and custard. Yum!

Anni dug up a monster mangelwurzel at our very wet and soggy Step Outside allotment! The mangelwurzel is related to beetroot and sugar beet and is mostly grown for animal fodder these days, although when harvested young, mangelwurzel roots and leaves are good to eat apparently.

This month we celebrated Inés’ 98th birthday (seen here doing yoga!) and Peggy’s who was 100 at our Blandford Jolly Group! Our amazing volunteer Peggy Whitty got her card from the King and was sent flowers and cards from the rest of our dedicated volunteer team.

December

We were very sad to hear of the loss of Stan the border terrier. He has been at every Jolly St Giles group with his owners Brian and Carol Thorne since we started. Stan was such a good and well-behaved little dog, that it was easy to forget he was in the room. He was so content to be with us and just sit under the table next to Brain and Carol. He made himself visible when lunches were being served, with several meaningful glances at those waiting tables until a sausage or a choice piece of meat was offered.  Stan often accompanied us on our Jolly Strolls in the afternoon. We will all miss him; he was a friend to everyone, and our Jolly Days somehow won’t be the same without him.

Our Volunteers Day was a great success. The day was organised by Kate and 25 of our volunteers attended. We started the day with an informative morning of Safeguarding Awareness with Vicky Hall from Volunteer Centre Dorset. The Friendly Food Club provided us with a delicious lunch. Afterwards, we enjoyed Kate's quiz, including the famous music round, followed by a creative craft session making seasonal wreaths and beautiful ‘woven’ paper Danish hearts.

Thanks to the year-long creativity of The Knitting Angels, Carol and Phyliss we were able to buy some beautifully handcrafted knitted gifts for unique Christmas presents from their stall. Everything sold was in aid of the Jollys! We are very grateful to these two amazing women.

Mary and her daughter Jane popped into our Jolly Shaftesbury group. Mary is officially our oldest guest ever at 105 years old!

Vivamente Voices held their final concert of the year, in support of In Jolly Good Company, Carols by Fairylight. It included Christmas carols that everyone could join in with and we were also treated to music from the Chromatix Quartet. On arrival, we were greeted with some lovely festive refreshments to get us in the mood.

What a fabulously creative month we’ve had! Everyone made beautiful Christmas decorations to take home, singer Susan Old brought some festive sparkle to all of our Jolly groups and Nonny held a Christingle for our Wimborne Museum group. We also enjoyed Instant Panto and lots of dancing and singing. Our Blandford guests were very happy to receive a return visit from Father Christmas (aka Brian) as he’d been so popular last year. Our Wimborne St Giles group enjoyed a delicious meal with all the trimmings, followed by Christmas pud and custard served up by The Friendly Food Club, who wore their chef whites for the occasion. We are grateful to our patron Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury, who kindly donated two turkeys and wine to make this possible, and finally, Kate delivered the last jolly meal of the year.