Wonderland at The Anchorage for Mad Hatter's tea party

Popular Plymouth pub The Anchorage provided a ‘dementia day’ with a difference by putting on an Alice In Wonderland themed ‘Mad Hatters’ Tea Party’ to the delight of its patrons.

Sarah McCaffrey, deputy manager of Butterfly Lodge Nursing Home in St Budeaux regularly brings a group of residents to the pub for drinks and lunch and was full of praise for the way staff at the family-run pub cater for the needs of her group.

Sarah said: “We really appreciate being able to make a booking for our group and know that they will be able to relax and enjoy themselves, with their special needs being catered for in a friendly and caring fashion.

“The team at The Anchorage dedicate a lot of time and effort into making sure their monthly ‘dementia days’ are enjoyable for all their guests, and it’s so nice that they’re prepared to commit to giving their customers with dementia exclusive use of the pub until 4pm on these special occasions.

“The Mad Hatter’s tea party themed day was a huge success – our ladies and gents thought it was great fun and especially enjoyed the cream tea.

“Huge thanks to Mari Kenny and Ross Beveridge for always making us so welcome. We’re already looking forward to our next visit.”

Regular trips to The Anchorage are part of a varied programme of activities provided for residents of St Budeaux-based Butterfly Lodge. The home is run by award-winning dementia care providers Camelot Care who also run home in Bridgwater, Wellington and Yeovil.

Photo: Anchorage landlady Mari Kenny (right) with resident Molly Coyne (centre) and her daughter Karen