It is the highlight of our social calendar, and this year we kicked off our festivities at 5pm with drinks in the lounge. Our new lounge furniture had just arrived in time for us to enjoy the comfy chairs and sofas throughout the evening. There was much chatting and catching up over drinks, and then we headed next door to the Tratt for a Christmas meal. We had prawns and salad to start, followed by turkey and ham and all the trimmings. It was a lovely meal and the staff made us feel welcome (as they always do).

When we returned to the Astra, John, our music maestro for the evening, was getting ready to serenade us to dessert. John has played for us before, and always delights with his guitar and trumpet playing skills. There was a wide selection of desserts on offer for us, as well as plenty of alcohol and soft drinks to keep us going into the night. The Christmas decorations sparkled as we danced and sang and ate. At the mid-point we drew the raffle to see who would be going away with a prize this year. There were food hampers, gift cards, candles and all sorts for people to choose from. Congratulations to Mary, who won the big hamper that had gifts donated by the residents, and to everyone else whose ticket was drawn. We couldn’t have done it without you all!

After the raffle we had some speeches and a short summary of the year’s events. Then it was back to dancing and chatting and drinking, and having a great festive time. I think it’s fair to say we all had a lovely evening - many residents came by the office over the next few days to say what a nice time they had. Thanks to John for the music, Chris and Patricia for getting the desserts, and to everyone who came and contributed to the party atmosphere.