New world record for a Communi-tea cosy

21 May 2009

Bupa care home residents across the country are celebrating with a good old-fashioned cup of tea after helping set a new Guinness World Record for knitting the world's biggest tea cosy. The record was attempted to raise awareness of Bupa's "Communi-tea Week" (20 - 26 April), a giant tea party which helps tackle the problems of isolation and loneliness in older people.

It took 64.8km of wool to knit the giant tea cosy, which is made up of 1924 individual squares and stands at 3.9 metres tall and 11.1 metres in circumference. Over 300 Bupa care homes took part in the record attempt and were joined by knitting fans throughout the UK after residents urged their local communities to help by sending in their own knitted squares.

Bupa's network of care homes across the world also supported the record attempt, with residents in both Spain and New Zealand digging out their knitting needles to lend a hand.

Siobhan Drane, Bupa's community consultant, said, "It's been such a fantastic effort so thank you to everyone who has already helped make this year's Communi-tea Week one to remember.

"We've been asked countless times if we have a giant tea pot to match, but rest assured we'll be serving up plenty of cups of tea throughout the week, so we hope a record number of people will join us in raising their mugs to mark the occasion."

As part of Communi-tea Week, care homes across the country will now be inviting thousands of older people from their local communities who live on their own to join them as they host hundreds of tea-tasting, tea dances and afternoon tea parties. Many of the care homes have invited local entertainers to perform during their tea parties and will be offering tea-tasting tips and guides to making the perfect cup of tea. There will even be a guide to knitting your very own Communi-tea Week tea cosy. Director of Bupa Care Homes, Dean Cowley, said, "Communi-tea Week offers the perfect excuse to put on the kettle and could make a real difference to anyone who may be struggling on their own. Anyone who wants to come along and join any of our events to meet new friends and faces will be guaranteed a warm welcome."

To find out where your nearest event is taking place, call the Communi-tea Week hotline on 0113 381 6306 or email communi-teaweek@bupa.com.