£500 Prize for Rose Lodge Care Home
‘Gladys and Bev’ the resident and staff duo from Rose Lodge Care Home in Aycliffe won first place in the UK’s Care Home Idol 2013.
The online competition, designed to showcase the talent and the fun that exists in care homes, came to a close earlier this month with Rose Lodge top in their ‘Care Home Residents and/or Staff’ category.
Rose Lodge hosted an official presentation ceremony on Wednesday 9th April at 11:30am to present Gladys and Bev with their prizes. They were joined by friends, family and well-wishers including the Mayor of Newton Aycliffe Barbara Clare, and the Mayor of Gladys’ home town of Shildon Peter Quinn.
There was even a special guest appearance from Elvis Presley impersonator Mike Memphis, who performed for residents and guests before reprising the famous duet with Gladys.
After the speech and presentation, guests enjoyed a glass of bucks fizz to toast the talented duo, before tucking into a buffet spread.
For winning the contest, competition organiser carehome.co.uk sent an engraved trophy and a cheque for £500. The money will be donated to the home’s residents’ fund and used to purchase special treats for the residents.
Care Manager Karen Frew-McGill, Said: “We are all delighted that Gladys and Bev have won the competition. I am so proud of both of them. It has been really touching to see the support and backing that their entry has had from the whole community. Gladys and Bev are very good friends and I believe that the reason that the video was so popular is because it really came across that these are two people who genuinely care deeply for each other.”
Their duet of ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ received over an amazing 16,000 views, with fans from as far afield as Canada.
