SPECIAL TRIP TO THE ZOO

I was honoured recently when I was asked to drive a party of elderly residents and staff from a Residential Care Home in Keynsham to Bristol Zoo for the day.  It was their annual outing and we were all so pleased the weather stayed fair and that a good time was had by all.  Apparently one of the residents was so 'happy' she actually cried, seen here with a very kind and lovely staff member.

I count myself so fortunate belonging to an organisation which provides that level of service to the community, as indeed are the management and staff of Keynsham Dial-a-Ride.

I am a volunteer driver for Keynsham Dial-a-Ride and I took the party of elderly ladies in this bus, nicknamed Ivy, plus seven staff, who helped by pushing the seven residents in their wheelchairs.  Another vehicle took the wheelchairs and some staff members.

St Philip and St James Residential Care Home in Keynsham was formed over 25 years ago by Mrs Pat Clarke, who is a very good friend of mine.  I am so pleased she was able to share this delightful day with us. Not long ago she had a painful replacement knee operation and it is remarkable she was able to push a wheelchair.  Mind you with that lady nothing is as remarkable as it seems - she truly has a direct line to Heaven and she does incredible, almost impossible things.

Pat is a well loved and highly respected 'angel' in the community and she has helped so many people she really should be a saint.  My dear wife, Maria, worked for her and Pat treated her just like a daughter.  Pat and I are like brother and sister.

The day started at 10.30 and it took a while to transfer all the residents into the 12 seater bus, with another vehicle following. Fortunately Ivy is equipped with rear wheelchair access and a lifting mechanism and we were able to get them all abroad, transferred into seats and safely strapped in.

We arrived at the zoo and the wheelchair pushers, including me, were admitted free of charge: 

I took a few photos - some would say of my distant ancestors.

This one seemed to be hanging around for ages:

I was pushing the lady in the foreground, although the lady in the mid ground seemed more in tune with my jokes and you can see Pat laughing in the background:

There was not much doing in the lion's quarters - the two male brothers were out of sight from their main enclosure, sleeping which was disappointing.  So we headed for the penguin enclosure:

. . . . taking care to keep hold of my bits, of course:

I did not take too many photos of the animals . . . since I was pushing a wheelchair and it was sometimes difficult to break off . . . . but this chap seemed interesting:

We took a packed lunch with us and of course I was looked after as far as food and drink was concerned:

The time went by very quickly and we arrived at the restaurant and all assembled for a cup of tea and an ice cream . . . . here is the lovely Laura, waving my ice cream:

. . . "Only one dear!"  

Then someone else thrust another ice cream into my other hand and the day was so hot the ice cream was dripping all down the cone.  

"Help!! . . . I said as Ella arrived with a very self indulgent scone laced with raspberries and a huge dollop of Cornish Cream, insisting I should have some there and then!  

We were all in hysterics:

There was universal amusement with my inability to eat two ice creams at once without the contents running down my arm:

 "And don't forget your scone, Eddie!"

Then it was time for some more photos:

The two Polish girls, Sandra and Ali were amused with my feeble attempts to speak Polish - my wife, Maria spoke it fluently, but I managed to say a few things correctly, like "Sto Lat" meaning cheers or one hundred years, and "Dziękuję bardzo" meaning thank you very much.

The lady in mauve was a former user of Dial-a-Ride and I knew her very well.

Nice to see people enjoying themselves:

Just time for another walk around the grounds:

Ali and Peggy are waiting patiently:

Laura looks refreshed after her ice cream and so does the lady.

"Did I say something funny?"

One lady next to Sandra insisted on walking . . . didn't she do well?

Hey what about me?  

Who's taking a piccie of me?

Sandra obliged, thank you:

. . . almost ready for another look see at the zoo:

What a load of posers we are!

One more for the road.

A great day!

So glad it went well for them
Hopefully we can do another one soon