Residents and tenants visit and explore 12 different destinations in honour of Prince Philip.
Intergenerational initiative ends with a beach party and ‘cruise style’ performance from teenage singer and songwriter, Albert Stott
Whilst the UK continues to experience strict travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, non-for-profit organisation, Harrogate Neighbours has embarked on an ‘around the world trip’ in memory of the late HRH Duke of Edinburgh.
In 1956, Prince Philip completed a world tour onboard The Royal Yacht Britannia, to commemorate and to celebrate a respected member of the royal family who was admired by so many around the world. Staff at Harrogate Neighbours have gone above and beyond to re-create his world trip to enable residents and tenants to explore the same destinations he visited in an imaginative and uplifting ‘around the world’ cruise.
The two-week cruise, which set sail from Portsmouth on Tuesday 6th July will visit destinations, including, Gibraltar, Sierra Leone, Accension Island, Cape Town, Zanzibar, Seychelles, Portugal, Falkland Islands, Papa new Guinea, New Zealand and Australia – ending the trip back in England with a community wide beach party.
Before setting sail from Portsmouth, ‘passengers’ were handed passports and boarding passes and enjoyed a traditional champagne afternoon tea in true British style.
Tenant at The Cuttings, Michael said:
I love that the staff have taken time to create our very own personalised passports. It has made me feel very important. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea with fresh produce and having everyone around to celebrate together gave it a very fun atmosphere.
In true cruise ship style, food and drink is playing a big role on the ‘trip’ and residents and tenants are being given the chance to sample an array of delicious delicacies from around the world. Traditional foods, such as ‘Pastel del Nata’, an authentic Portuguese custard tart and ‘curried chicken’, a popular dish in Sierra Leone will be served, alongside ginger-based mocktails from the Seychelles.
Suzie also a tenant at The Cuttings said:
I am most looking forward to trying new foods as to sail to different countries. My favourite part so far is having our own individual passports that are stamped when we have visited each place.
Residents and tenants are also enjoying a range of sensory activities which capture the most traditional aspects of each country. These include the burying of a time capsule in the grounds of The Cuttings, which included messages from tenants and staff, items from the around the world tour, a picture of tenants and staff at The Cuttings and a COVID-19 pack at Accension Island, Safari-related quiz in Cape Town, a ‘guess the spices’ game in Zanzibar and a staff Kangaroo race (jumping in sacks down the lawn) in Australia. Children from Richard Taylor Primary School have also designed postcards for the residents to send to friends and family from each country.
Katie Dickens, Community Engagement Officer at Harrogate Neighbours, said:
We’re already well into the ‘trip’ and so far the feedback from everyone has been brilliant. We wanted to create a memorable experience whilst supporting our residents’ mental and physical wellbeing. Addressing social isolation plays a big part of my role, so an initiative like this which allows for so much interaction between residents, tenants and staff is just fantastic. We are also supporting the Duke of Edinburgh Award and will have students from the local area come and volunteer for Harrogate Neighbours. It has been great to work closely with Richard Taylor School and engage with the students and teachers.
Emma Crisell, Acting Headteacher at Richard Taylor CE Primary School added:
The children have loved engaging with the Duke of Edinburgh celebrations. It has been a great way to re-establish out community links, whilst also learning about the places he visited. The children are excited to find out what the residents think about their postcards and songs.
To help support Harrogate Neighbours through volunteering, donating, fundraising, sponsoring an event or to join the team please visit www.hnha.co.uk or call 01423 888777.
