Ordinarily one would expect retired people to be pottering about the house, tending to their gardens or regaling their grandchildren with stories.
But this is not the case with the senior citizens of Brookshaw Old Age Home. You are more likely to find them engrossed in the odd thriller or romance novel courtesy of the local library.
Ordinarily one would expect retired people to be pottering about the house, tending to their gardens or regaling their grandchildren with stories.
But this is not the case with the senior citizens of Brookshaw Old Age Home. You are more likely to find them engrossed in the odd thriller or romance novel courtesy of the local library.
The Hill Street Public Library acknowledged the steady support of our seniors by inviting them for tea and music on Friday.
It was also fitting that the shindig took place during Women’s Month as most of Brookshaw’s residents are women.
Nomgcobo Spondo, a senior librarian at the Hill Street Library, said they were glad to invite the seniors as a way of showing how the library "appreciates the service that you give us by diligently supporting the library".
A group of learners from Graeme College, led by their music teacher Priscilla Glover, sang songs like How do I say goodbye? and I Won’t Let Go of Your Caring Hand as entertainment.
Brookshaw resident Lorna Els showed everyone that the ‘oldies’ haven’t lost their melodic touch by providing soothing piano music.
The guest speaker was Rosemary Van Wyk-Smith who is the chairperson of the Friends of the Library (FOL). She started by informing the audience that the FOL was in its 10th year of existence and then traced the origins of the library from the early days when Grahamstown was still a frontier country.
"In 1842 the Albany Library opened and an announcement proclaiming the opening read: ‘Gents were to pay 10 shillings and ladies five shillings’." She further explained that the library had gone through "a long history of rented rooms in High Street".
"In 1922 Grahamstown acquired its own library in what used to be an old mill and that is where the library is presently situated," Van Wyk-Smith said.
She paid tribute to previous librarians for their role in fostering the culture of reading among the senior citizens. She made specific mention of Meg Hackenburg who still brings books to the aged who aren’t mobile on Wednesdays.
Smith concluded her speech by reading from Libraries, a place in the heart by Eva Ebersohn. The smiles from the faces of the senior citizens confirmed their satisfaction as Sine Tyanase and Emily Tshukulwana from Makana Municipality handed out some special gifts to them.
