Residents and staff serve up a treat for visitors to Aberlour tearoom

6 September 2022

Staff and residents at Speyside Care Home have launched a weekly pop-up tearoom in the village in a bid to strengthen community ties and keep residents active and engaged.

They'll take over Aberlour’s community owned Station Tearoom every Thursday afternoon serving a wide range of tea, coffee, juice and homebakes. Proceeds will be donated to the residents’ comfort fund which pays for day trips, parties, entertainment and special celebrations.

The idea for the pop-up tea-room came about during a staff team meeting. Activities coordinator Amanda Shaw then approached the chair of Aberlour Community Association, which owns the building, to explore the idea of the Tearoom and care home working together.

Speyside will run the café every Thursday afternoon from 2.00pm to 4.30pm until 20th October, and will make a donation to the Association for use of its facilities.

The cafe will be staffed by care home employees with the assistance of residents.
 
Amanda Shaw, activities coordinator at Speyside said: “The idea for the tearoom came from a team meeting where we looked at various fund-raising ideas on behalf of the residents. As we have a good relationship with Aberlour Community Association, we were keen to explore how we could work together and the Tearoom was the perfect opportunity.

“It is a fantastic asset for the village and we’re delighted that we have been invited by the Community Association to help run it for the coming weeks. The community are very supportive of Speyside and keen to work with us and include us in community events.”

Pamela Winchester, Association chair said: 'As chair of the Aberlour Community Association I was very keen to rekindle partnerships with the community pre-Covid. Amanda approached me back in the summer with their proposal. Aberlour Community Association reopened the tearoom on Aberlour Games weekend and, thanks to volunteers, it’s now open Thursday-Monday every week. I would just like to take this opportunity to wish Speyside care home all the best with their fundraising venture.”

Louise Gillies, manager of Speyside care home, added: “Full credit to the team for making this happen. As well as raising funds for the residents, it’s a great way to get the residents out and about and engaged with the community. They’re loving the experience of running their own tea shop.”