Press release
Care home resident surprised with autograph from Brian May, followed by a Queen themed celebration
As part of Bupa Care Homes’ #NeverTooLate initiative, care home staff at Wykebeck Court Bupa Care Home in Leeds surprised Sandra, a Queen super-fan, with a signed personalised autograph from Queen’s lead guitarist, Brian May, followed by a Queen-themed party in her honour.
Born in Leeds, Sandra Townshend has been a passionate Queen fan her entire life. Sandra’s favourite song is Bohemian Rhapsody – a song which she has seen performed live at one of their concerts in the 1980s, which Sandra recalls as “the best concert I have ever been to!”.
After speaking to Sandra about her love of Queen, Dani Saipe, Wykebeck Court’s Activity Coordinator decided to try and surprise Sandra with a signed autograph from Queen’s lead guitarist, Brian May.
Dani Saipe commented: “Sandra lights up whenever we mention Queen, so we thought why not try and get her a signed autograph from Brian May? We wrote to his agent, enclosing a stamp towards postage, and explained how much of a lifelong fan Sandra is and requested his autograph. We were elated to get a response from Brian, but nowhere near as star struck as Sandra!”
In celebration of the personalised autograph, the staff at Wykebeck Court decided to throw a Queen-themed party in Sandra’s honour. Complete with a soundtrack of Queen’s greatest hits, the celebration saw care home residents dress up in Queen T-shirts, play with inflatable instruments and enjoy party food. When asked about how she felt about the Queen-inspired surprise, Sandra commented: “It has all been so exciting! It has always been my dream to receive an autograph from one of the members of Queen and now I can’t believe I have one. I am going to display it in my room and look at it every day!” She added: “Listening to Queen’s music always makes me want to get up and dance so the Queen party was so much fun. I am so grateful to the Wykebeck Court team for making it all so special for me.”
The Queen activity was part of Bupa Care Homes’ #NeverTooLate initiative rolled out by Bupa across all its care homes nationwide. #NeverTooLate helps residents live life to the full and achieve the things they’ve long wanted to do, from trying out new activities to reconnecting with old pastimes.
Wykebeck Court Bupa Care Home is situated in Leeds and welcomes residents in need of nursing or residential care, including those living with early-stage dementia. For further information, please visit https://www.bupa.co.uk/care-services
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