Care Home’s Tea Party Is Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Movie magic was brought to life as Hampshire care home residents rekindled fond memories of a much-loved film icon.

Amid songs and smiles all round, Colten Care’s Belmore Lodge in Lymington laid on an afternoon tea party with special guest and everyone’s favourite nanny, ‘Mary Poppins’.

Playing the Disney role made famous by Dame Julie Andrews, and dressed in similar period costume, was Highcliffe-based singer and performer Destine Unwin.

Residents joined in as Destine sang hits from the 1964 musical including A Spoonful of Sugar and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Resident Bob Crudass said: “It was lovely to hear these old favourites sung live in our lounge. What a beautiful voice.”

Belmore Lodge staged the afternoon in response to residents’ requests for a Mary Poppins-theme treat.

Several have been remembering the story of the famous nanny because of media coverage of Julie Andrews’ recent memoir and the release this year of the film sequel Mary Poppins Returns.

Belmore Lodge was also one of several Colten Care homes to participate in the 2017 Lymington Carnival on the theme of Mary Poppins.

Companionship Team Leader May Butcher said: “We do our very best to enable our residents to continue doing and enjoying the activities they love. The chance to join Destine, as a living embodiment of Mary Poppins, and sing along to these enduringly popular tunes, was just fantastic.”

The movie theme was of particular interest to resident Dorothy Haddow, who worked in New York in the 1970s as a personal assistant to the film producer Sam Spiegel. His films include On the Waterfront, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia.

Dorothy, joined by her daughter Joanne Hope at the tea party, recalled meeting many famous visitors at Spiegel’s Manhattan office including actors Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson.

Enjoying Destine’s performance as Mary, Dorothy said: “She looked and sounded lovely.”