Newsletter 17 March

Important Dates

• Wednesday, 23 March
  FREE music concert presented by BASScare and Melbourne Recital Centre.
  10:45am for 11:00am start at the Canterbury Centre, 2 Rochester Rd, Canterbury.
  Bookings essential please phone 9880 4709.
• Alexia will be on leave from Monday 22 March and returning on Monday 29 March. Rebecca will be on duty while Alexia is on leave.
• Tuesday, 13 April 9:30am
  Monthly Residents’ Committee Meeting.
  If there are any topics you would like discussed at this or any future meeting, please put it in writing to your Committee and place in the Committee letterbox before the above date.

Download 17 March Newsletter here:
Hester Newsletter 17 March

Week Two of the Autumn Menu starts on Monday 22 March.
Please place any orders by lunchtime the Thursday before.
Bon Appetit!

Housekeeping Notices

• Life can sometimes throw us all an unexpected curve ball, one being an unplanned visit to hospital….
  In case this happens it is recommended that you have an overnight bag packed with all your personal needs; it is most important to include an up to date list of all  your medications and also your Doctor’s contact details.
  The prepared overnight bag can then sit in the bottom of the wardrobe in case it is needed.
• Please do not leave your used items (cups, plates, cutlery and the like) in the sink. Once you have rinsed them, please place them in the dishwasher and they will be washed at the end of the day.  Your cooperation is appreciated.
• You may have noticed that morning tea is now being served 20 – 30 minutes later of a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This is in response to a request so that when delicacies such as scones or mini quiches are being served, they arrive to us still warm from the oven.

Some Interesting Facts About Saint Patrick’s Day….

1/ Much of what is known about St Patrick’s life has been interwoven with folklore and legend. Historians generally believe that Ireland’s patron saint was born in Britain near the end of the 4th century. At age 16 he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and sold as a slave to a Celtic priest in Northern Ireland. After toiling for 6 years as a shepherd, he escaped back to Britain. He eventually returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary.

2/ The red-haired green clothed Leprechaun is commonly associated with St Patrick’s Day. The original Irish name for these folklore figures  is “lobaircin” meaning “small bodied fellow”. The belief probably stems from the Celtic belief in fairies and leprechauns are traditionally responsible for mending the shoes of other fairies.

3/- The Shamrock, a three leafed clover, has been associated with Ireland for centuries. It was called the “seamroy” by the Celts and was considered a sacred plant that symbolized the arrival of Spring. According to legend, St Patrick used the plant as a visual guide when explaining the Holy Trinity. By the 17th century, the shamrock had become a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism.

4/- The meal that has become a St Patrick’s Day staple- corned beef and cabbage was an American innovation. While ham and cabbage were eaten in Ireland (by the few who could afford to), corned beef offered a cheaper substitute for impoverished immigrants (the vast majority who had fled The Famine in Ireland) and were living in the slums of lower Manhattan. In the late 19th century and early 20th century corned beef purchased from ships returning from the tea trade in China was cheap, even though it had to be boiled three times – the last time with cabbage to remove most of the brine.