Rena Ramsay was the winner of our poetry competition and won a trip to Edinburgh to meet Daniel O’Donnell and attend his live concert at the Usher Hall.  Accompanied on the day by Luncarty’s acting senior care assistant, Emma Moyes tells us about the whole special experience;

“Rena woke up on the morning of the 4th May 2018 and said she couldn’t sleep properly because of the excitement she was feeling about meeting Daniel O’Donnell later that day. Rena went for her breakfast that morning and couldn’t help but tell everyone how excited and happy she was. As 2pm was creeping round Rena became more and more excited.  Staff assisted her to get her glad rags and make up on before the taxi arrived. Rena enjoyed the drive to Edinburgh and the scenery, she was totally mesmerised by the new Queensferry bridge.  When arriving in Edinburgh she recognised a few of the streets and said it brought back a lot of memories of her and her sister shopping back in the day.  We finally got to ALL-BAR-ONE where Rena ordered a 17oz rump steak with chips and ate the whole lot, she then had a raspberry and almond cheesecake with chocolate sauce, washed down with a vodka and lemonade, no ice!  We then made our way over to the Usher Hall and got dropped right outside the stage door where she was greeted by Daniel himself and all of his mangers etc., she then had her meet and greet with him.  At first she was absolutely speechless and couldn’t stop smiling like a Cheshire cat!  They spoke about the care home and asked each other how they were and had their photo taken together, then Daniel kindly accepted a copy of her poem and signed Rena’s photograph for her.  After saying their goodbyes, a lady from security escorted us to the main auditorium and to our seats.  The staff at the Usher Hall really treated Rena like a queen! We were first into the hall and Rena was still overwhelmed about meeting Daniel and couldn’t wait for the show to start.  When Daniel made his grand appearance on stage Rena was over the moon and knew every song word for word.  When it came to the interval we went to the merchandise stalls where Rena bought a case for her glasses and a new coffee mug.  After interval we returned back to the show where Daniel entered the stage singing with Mary Duff, which Rena absolutely loved.  At 10.30pm the taxi called to say he was outside however Daniel was still on stage saying a final few words.  He saw Rena and I getting ready to leave and unexpectedly lent down to Rena, took her hand and said goodbye to her through the microphone for everyone to hear.  I think this was a very kind gesture and a special memory for Rena to cherish.  When leaving the auditorium, the same security lady helped us outside and even helped Rena into the taxi.  We couldn’t have thanked her enough for taking such good care and time with us.  In the taxi home Rena was exhausted but said she had the most amazing night of her life and couldn’t thank myself enough for taking her and for the home and everyone involved in making such a special experience all possible for her.”

We are absolutely delighted to hear that Rena had such a positive experience and thrilled to play a part in making special life moments happen for our residents, with special thanks to Balhousie Care Group Chairman Tony Banks for donating our poetry competition grand prize.

 

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