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A dear
friend of ours by the name of Lillian is soon leaving our area and moving
into a new home. She is going to live at ‘The Grange’, a Retirement Village
in the leafy, quaint town of Berry. In July, the developers of the project
were holding a Christmas in July luncheon for residents and visitors and
Lillian invited my husband Brian and to accompany her. We gratefully accepted
the invitation and arranged to pick Lillian up in our car at 9-45 on the day.
It was a
cloudy, cold winter morning when we arrived at her home where she was eagerly
awaiting our arrival. We were all looking forward to the outing. We set off
in our warm, comfortable air conditioned car and enjoyed the scenic drive
north to Berry. We drove through the busyness of the Nowra traffic and over
the Shoalhaven River Bridge. Looking down, the water looked deep, cold and
dark as the anchored boats bobbed on the rippling water. We saw cattle
grazing on the lush, green grass of dairy farms and rows and rows of grape
vines in the vineyards. We had only been traveling for an hour when Brian
turned off the main road and approached the entrance to “The Grange”. The
first thing we noticed was the water fountain. The water tumbled from the top
and fell like rain into a surrounding circular pond. The nearby crystal,
clear swimming pool glistened in the short burst of sunshine. Curved paths,
bordered by sweet smelling Orange Jasmine shrubs, led the way to a building
which was the Office and the ‘Broughton Club’. We were coming back there
later but in the meantime were headed to Lillian’s new home, Unit number 6.
The tarred roads were wide and lined with trees and shrubs. Brian drove into
a dual parking bay directly opposite her unit. We alighted from the car and
loaded each other up with curtain fabric samples, silk flowers and bathroom
accessories which Lillian had brought along to compare with the décor of her
unit.
We
entered the red brick building through a glass door and went up a very wide
carpeted staircase to the first floor. We stepped into Lillian’s foyer and
then into her large lounge, dining area. The three bedrooms, bathrooms and
kitchen are all lovely large areas. The fittings are all bright, shiny and
modern. There are lots of nice windows. The walls are painted a soft pale
green; the ceilings are white with lots of down lights that were like tiny
stars in the muted light of a dull day. The floors are all covered in a beige
carpet. There are big balconies, back and front. The front one has a lovely
mountain view. On the ground floor there is a large garage and a little
stepped garden. It is a beautiful new home for our friend. We spent one hour
there and then walked back to the Broughton Club for the luncheon.
The
Broughton Club is a community area shared by the residents. It features a
modern kitchen, dining and lounge area and a small library and a billiard
room. It is tastefully furnished and warmed by a cosy gas log fire. We were
met and warmly greeted by the manageress Joann, who is a bright, attractive
young woman. She led us to a comfortable lounge where we three sat and soon
met some friendly residents. Before too long, two very pleasant young women
came around again and again wit appetizers and aperitifs. After having lots
of nibbles, we were all invited into another room for lunch. It was a bright
room. The walls were painted in a bright lemon colour, the ceiling white and
there were lots of windows looking out onto a landscaped garden. I glanced
out and saw the brightly painted Grange mini bus that ferries the residents
around town. The room was normally used for table tennis, but that day had
been filled with tables and chairs for the occasion. The tables were covered
with crisp, white cloths and the silver and glassware sparkled under the
overhead lights. Each table was adorned with gold Christmas decorations. We
were delighted to realise that the three of us were seated at a table with
the developer of the village, Darrel and his lovely, friendly wife Caroline
and their three sweet little girls. The eldest girl Tahlee is ten years of
age. I think she is going to be very clever as I watched her sit very quietly
and really listen as she was spoken to by Caroline across the table. Lindien
is eight years of age and wearing roller skates, seemed to glide by silently
like an angel. Abby is six and reminded me of a little gypsy girl in her head
scarf. They all have brown hair, brown eyes and creamy olive skin.
We all
enjoyed a large first course meal, Christmas pudding and sipped a glass or
two of wine. Darrel then took the floor and made a presentation to Joanne for
her wonderful work as Grange Manageress. She is the face of the Grange and is
appreciated by everyone. She was taken by surprise and was quite overwhelmed.
Darrel had another surprise for everyone present. He announced that he had
arranged the Bomaderry Shufflers to entertain us all.
They are
a group of women, some not so young anymore who have as much fun performing
as do their watching audiences. They sang and tapped and toe danced. They
made us all laugh. They were all very talented. Towards the end of the show,
the principal dancer called from a volunteer from the audience. All of a
sudden the male members of the audience who had been thoroughly enjoying
themselves previously became very shy. Brian slid down lower in his seat.
Finally, Darrel stepped forward and was cheered for his bravery. The dancer
took him by the hand and soon had him spinning and turning in time to the
music. His high kicks need a lot of rehearsing, but he did well and was
smiling all the while. (So was everyone else in the room). His final bow
deserved a standing ovation. The dancer’s grand finale was great. We all
enjoyed their show immensely.
All too
soon it was all over and time to say good bye to our new friends. We thanked
them for their hospitality and friendliness and headed south towards
home.
Yvonne
Norris
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We have
now been residents of The Grange for almost four (4) months. When we first
thought of entering this type of housing, we did a lot of soul searching and
very extensive research to make sure we found the right place as there are
quite a few similar complex’s available at the moment. We wanted to be sure
we did not end up in a place where we were living virtually on top of the person
next door – we felt we wanted our privacy, yet had people around us.
The
aspect, the gardens – all add to the feeling of contentedness and security we
feel since we have been here.
Socially,
we have never been so busy – there is so much to do here (only if you want
to) – the arranged functions, the happy hours – not to mention the normal
interaction with the other residents.
We cannot
speak highly enough of The Grange and would recommend it to anyone who has
decided that this is what they want – we are now absolutely 100% sure that
our decision was the right one – the support, the empathy, the care and
concern shown by Darryl and Joanne is so much appreciated.
Margaret
& Ray
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"As
you know, moving to a new home can be a stressful experience and we would
like to express our appreciation of the way in which the staff of The Grange
helped to minimise the stress of settling in for us.
We are
very glad that we made the decision to move here and are more sure as time goes
on that it was the right one – we are enjoying the lifestyle we wanted, in a
house of quality, and of course without the worries of exterior maintenance.
Settling
in has been greatly helped by all the staff at the village, whose major
concern appears to be to keep their residents happy. Their cheerful, willing
help has made our transition to a new home much easier than it might have
been, and we would like to put on record a big “Thank You” to Darryl and his
happy band of helpers. "
Sim
& Graham
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