A right royal good time for residents
Residents at the Ernest Rutherford Retirement Village have been delighted by a visit from royalty as part of their Queen’s Birthday Weekend celebrations.
They were treated to an appearance from Queen Elizabeth II impersonator Tracy Allan on Friday, who could have easily been mistaken for Her Royal Highness herself.
Originally from England, Allan said playing the role had been an easy way to give back to a deserving group.
‘‘I’ve just moved to the Nelson community so I thought it was such a wonderful way to connect with the older generation.’’
Allan arrived in true royal fashion, dressed in full costume, in a red 1991 Rolls Royce donated and driven by Cartel Garage owner Mike Wilson.
Wilson said he did not hesitate when asked to provide the car to such a worthy cause.
‘‘We’ve all got only so much excitement in our lives and if we can add to that excitement then that’s a nice thing for us to be able to do.’’
Allan visited residents in the village’s hospital, special care unit and rest home, knighting them as she went.
Residents got into the spirit of the occasion, singing God Save The Queen to show their appreciation.
Event organiser Rose Shepard said that the visit brought absolute joy to the residents.
‘‘There was no negativity, it was really fun, lots of smiles, they really enjoyed it’’.
Shepard said despite the effort that had gone into organising the occasion, seeing the residents’ reactions made it all worthwhile.
‘‘Just seeing their faces, basically, was really nice and the comments afterwards were just laughter and reminiscing about the fun that had just happened.
‘‘It’s always a good thing.’’