This year the annual Contact the Elderly tea party was attended by nineteen members from the Gosport and Fareham group and seventeen members from the Southampton branch. It was a lovely sunny breezy afternoon overlooking the Solent from the Wheel House at Hill Head.
Once again club members excelled themselves and provided an afternoon tea consisting of a variety of sandwiches, sausage rolls and mini quiches, along with scones full of jam and cream, and a wonderful variety of homemade cakes, served with numerous cups of tea. The event organiser Alison Jenkins said: “A big thank you to all members who contributed by providing food and to those who spent their afternoon helping.”
Bridget, who has taken on the mantle of leader for the Gosport and Fareham group, asked everyone to raise their cups in memory of Stella Astbury, a club member, who started and led the tea parties for Gosport for more than 12 years. SI Solent East, formerly Gosport, Fareham and District club, has been holding tea parties for the Southampton branch of Contact the Elderly for over thirty years. The charity is dedicated to tackling loneliness and isolation among older people. Volunteers organise monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties for those over 75 who live alone.