A Typical Holiday Fortnight for Mental
The Green Lady Hostel, Littlehampton (reserved for several months by the C.A.M.W.) was occupied for a fortnight at the end of April by a group of 48 women of very varying ages, in the charge of three members of the C.A.M.W., in addition to the usual household staff of the Hostel. About half the holiday-makers were girls and women placed out under the Guardianship Scheme of the C.A.M.W., while the rest came direct from Authorities’ Institutions. Some account of how they were kept happy is given below.
We settled in well, but unfortunately one woman immediately developed an abscess on the knee, and had to be admitted into the Local Public Assistance Institution. The weather, though good on the whole, was rather cold, but a beach hut was available and we had picnic teas there once or twice. The first week was spent in exploring the neighbourhood, particularly the local Woolworth’s, which was the greatest joy to the women from the Institutions.
It was not possible to arrange many outings, because of the shortage of pocket money, but the manager of a local cinema made it possible for all those who wanted, to spend one afternoon in the cinema, sitting in the 1/2 seats for 4d. This was much appreciated and nearly all the party went. We were very pleased and grateful for the interest taken in us by the local Girl Guide Association. The Guide Commissioner notified her local officers that we should be staying in the neighbourhood, and two Guiders visited us twice, spending the evening teaching new games and giving us new ideas?which was a tremendous help to the staff.
An invitation was given to the party to visit the garden of one of these Guiders, and a small group of us had a glorious afternoon there. We had one ” rampageous ” evening when a local resident came to play the piano whilst we danced and sang.
One afternoon we organised Sports on the beach, which enabled the younger people to exhaust their surplus energy and at the same time provide an amusing entertainment for the older people.
There is no doubt that the piece de resistance was our day at Worthing, which we could not have managed if we had not been given a very generous gift, enabling us to engage a double decker motor coach for a whole day. We left in the morning and arrived at Worthing in time to wander along the front before our lunch, which we ate in a shelter. In the afternoon the party split into three groups and went in search of adventure. Naturally, we all met at Woolworth’s, which proved to be more wonderful than most Woolworth’s, having not only a ground floor but an upstairs department. Here we purchased every variety of present for sisters, cousins, aunts and mistresses.
Except for the unanimous decision that Wool worth’s must be visited, each group spent their day in quite different ways, and we all foregathered at 3.30, and arrived at the hostel in time for a late tea. Apart from the loss of one hat, which blew away whilst a group of us were on the pier, we had no misadventures during the day.
Our last two evenings were exceptionally good ones. An entertainment was given by six of the guardianship girls. They were entirely responsible for the whole programme, for the rehearsal and for the performance, and it was extremely well organised and arranged. They sang, recited and acted a charade, whilst one individual provided the lighter side of the entertainment by giving an uncommonly good representation of Charlie Chaplin.
It so happened that Littlehampton was having a Carnival on our last evening, so we took a large group to see the fireworks, which were a tremend- ous thrill. The girls behaved well and we should have been able to stay until the end of the programme, but unfortunately the weather was wet, and we had to abandon the Carnival earlier than we need have done otherwise. Everyone seems to have enjoyed their holiday and the groups were extra- ordinarily good.
Perhaps the most satisfactory feature of the holiday was the way the higher grade girls behaved towards the older and more defective people; they showed extreme kindness and helpfulness, and in many ways were of great assistance to the staff. B.C.M.
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