A group of eleven Spennymoor veterans had an enjoyable ‘Pie and Pea Supper’ evening at a local residential care home, after the care home’s Senior Home Manager had contacted County Councillor (Cllr) Pete Molloy to invite them to the home.
The veterans were joined by three of the Lothian House residents on Wednesday, 5 February – George Robson, Heather Ashford and Margaret Scurfield – both George and Heather being veterans themselves.
Speaking on how the evening went, Senior Home Manager, Jill Barlow said: “The night was a huge success, and on behalf of the residents at Lothian House, I would like to thank everyone who attended and those who were involved in making the event happen.
“Maintaining community links is an integral aspect of our resident’s lives and we are looking forward to the next event, which hopefully will be in a couple of months’ time.”
The pie and pea supper also involved playing games of cards, dominos and a quiz, as well as talking about their respective stories of their time in the armed forces, which the residents enjoyed listening to as well as sharing some of their own stories.
One of the attendees was Royal Air Force veteran Bob Pearson, who said: ”As a volunteer Soldiers, Sailors, Airman and Families Association caseworker, an important part of my role is meeting fellow military veterans and their families socially and providing advice and support when required.
“Quite often a chat and the inevitable laughter is all that is required to brighten spirits, and remind those that have served that they will always be part of the military family.
“Special thanks to the owners and staff at the Lothian House Care Home, Spennymoor, for enabling us to visit our fellow veterans, Heather and George, and for the excellent hospitality which was greatly enjoyed by all.”
This is not the first time the veterans have received an invitation to visit Lothian House.
They previously visited the care home in October 2024 for breakfast and the care home is thinking of hosting again for a curry night in the next couple of months.
To show their appreciation for being very well looked after by the staff of Lothian, the veterans had a collection and presented £55 to the care home’s Activities Coordinator, Sylvia Price, for resident’s activities.
Speaking about attending the Pie and Pea Supper event, Cllr Molloy said: “It was good to see both George and Heather enjoying themselves with their fellow veterans and the veterans are very thankful to all the staff for looking after them and for the work they do for their residents.”
The next Spennymoor Veterans Breakfast Club meet up will take place on Saturday, 22 March at 11 a.m. in Wetherspoons.
Spennymoor's local community newspaper.
