A CARE home in Henley has held an art exhibition.
Henley Manor Hallmark, in Mill Lane, showcased the work of about 15 residents in the clubhouse on the ground floor of the home.
Pieces included paintings, drawings, flower arrangements and bonnets made from old sun hats, which were used in the recent amateur drama production of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice at the Kenton Theatre by the Henley Players. Maureen Buckland, 90, and Christine Wright, 84, both contributed pieces. Mrs Buckland said: “I’ve always enjoyed making things and making things by hand, ever since I was little.
“I was brought up during the Second World War and we didn’t have many games or things to play with, so we used to make our own.
“After a while, you get used to making things rather than buying. It’s a good upbringing, in that it teaches you to be independent and make things yourself.
“For the exhibition, I’ve created some drawings and a Chinese-style painting, which I particularly enjoyed creating. We are a happy bunch here, we really are. We get on very well with each other.”
Mrs Wright said: “I joined in with making the lovely bonnets and I really enjoyed it. I’m not a traditional artist but I love art of all sorts. My mother used to make hats and she designed them and made them and she influenced me.
“I knit as well, I used to knit a load of sweaters that my poor sons had to wear, whether they liked them or not.”
Mrs Wright said the exhibition is one of many “interesting things” residents get up to.
She said: “We have cruise nights and world nights, so if it’s India night, for example, they’ll set out Indian food and there’ll be Bollywood dancing. You can come down in the morning and you’re in India, or you’re somewhere else.”
Glo Stacey, 76, from Henley, is a member of the lifestyle team at the care home.
She said: “The art exhibition is all based on flowers. So, we have flowers on the bonnets. We do an exhibition every year in the spring but I think this one is bigger and better.
“It’s really rewarding because people have different abilities and we get so much joy from seeing them. It’s brilliant to see all the residents getting involved.
“Working here is part of my life — I live for the days that I come in and I take stuff home and prepare for activities at home, so it’s good for me and it provides a focus.
“I love it when all the residents achieve something. They start off thinking, ‘I can’t do that’ and after I ask them to try, they then can’t believe what they have achieved. It’s such a good feeling.”