Holiday @ Home 2025
What an exciting week our guests had holidaying ‘at home’ in beautiful Yorkshire. Monday, Wednesday and Friday saw about 30 guests, and as many volunteers/ helpers enjoying tea, coffee, cakes, dinner, dessert and more tea. And, yes, you guessed it, mid-afternoon even more tea and cakes were available, finishing with ice cream and chocolate flakes, just to give sustenance before leaving for home.
The window displays in the sanctuary were brilliant and Marilyn's lovely paintings in the lounge added a beautiful scenic touch. We even had two model train sets in operation, one of which we could operate ourselves. 
There was a variety of activities on offer, including craft work (making wonderful hedgehogs), Rummikub, carpet bowls, quizzes, jigsaws, bell plates, story time, Schulen etc, and for those who just wanted to rest and talk with their friends, or make new ones, there was plenty of time for that. In the afternoons there was a quiz, a sing-a-long, drama by the Townswomen’s Guild, a very informative talk about railways complete with a layout where all the carriages featured Yorkshire, and encouragement was given to ‘have a go’ playing with the controls and seeing the train pulling its carriages. Several guests remarked on the friendly, peaceful atmosphere and we pray that they will see something of God's love in our interactions with them. The finale on Sunday afternoon with the Norwood Wind Ensemble was excellent! What a variety of music they played.
A wonderful afternoon tea followed the concert and Barbara Burns was presented with the Shulen trophy for the second time. Well done, Barbara! Thank you to all the leaders and helpers who gave time and energy to making it such a happy time, and to everyone for their prayers. Some of our guests sent messages:
Sheila writes: ‘Thank you all so much for all the talents, hard work and prayer that have made Holiday at Home 2025 so special. You are my Lions and Lionesses of Holiday at Home and deserve a medal for making this a roaring success.’
Meryl writes: ‘After helping for several years, age and illness seem to have caught up with me and I experienced the time as a guest! … I was able to bring my neighbour. She and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. I felt a bit like the prodigal son, as it was so lovely to catch up with many ‘old’ friends, in person, after so long. So many lovely hugs.
Jane writes: ‘I wanted to thank everyone who is part of the Holiday at Home team, so I created this poster ... I am so pleased I was well enough to attend.’
Barbara writes: ‘A really big “Thank you” for all your efforts … I was not really looking forward to attending as a guest after being a helper since H@H started all those years ago. However, I really enjoyed it so much. You all worked so hard to make it such an enjoyable few days … The artwork of Yorkshire was brilliant – that had taken some effort... lovely meals … the ‘crowning glory’ of the week was the Sunday afternoon concert by the Norwood Band. They were brilliant. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE INVOLVED. God bless you all.’