Valentine Lunch 2018
Medway Stroke Club were celebrating Valentine Day this week by wearing red and enjoying a two course lunch together.
It has to be said that the chocolate coated strawberries went down extremely well!!
A sweepstake was run raising funds for the club and cash prizes for the winners.
Chrishmas Lunch 2017
We were definitely in the Christmas spirit on 14th December 2017. Medway Stroke Club started their celebrations with a complimentary drink at the bar at the Franklin Rooms, Masonic Centre, Gillingham. This was followed by a smashing 3 course lunch, cheese and biscuits, mince pies and all sorts of festive delights! With the paper hats on and the bad cracker jokes out of the way, we were handsomely entertained by ‘Donna’ who had us singing a long, jingling sleigh bells and dancing those calories off!
The raffle was a great success raising £134.00……
A big thank you to the all club committee and Lisa and the staff at the Franklin rooms for looking after us so well.
Give a Hand and Bake
On Thursday 27 October Medway Stroke Club had a lunch and then had a fundraising afternoon in aid of ‘Give a Hand and Bake.’
So we had a cake stall and a raffle which included cakes. The club was also presented with a Life after Stroke Award. Doreen was also awarded a Life after Stroke Award for volunteering. Well done to all.
Christmas Lunch 2015
It’s that time of the year for our traditional Christmas lunch. As always we started the day with the delightful children’s choir from Barnsole School. For some of the children it was their second time of coming to sing for us. It started with a young boy singing a beautiful solo before singing a variety of Christmas songs.
After enjoying some refreshments it was time for them to return to school. The children enjoyed performing for us so much that they asked if they could come back next year, which we readily agreed. It was now time to settle down to our Christmas lunch with all the trimmings. Lisa and her staff did us proud. After lunch it was time for our entertainment.
This year we welcomed Santino Fabbricatore, Vocalist/Guitarist, who performed a variety of songs for an hour. Soon our members were up on the dance floor, dancing. After all that dancing it was time to have a rest as it was time to draw the Christmas raffle
. There were over 20 prizes, some donated by local businesses and attractions. We all sat with anticipation hoping that our ticket would be picked. After that it was time to wish everyone Happy Christmas before leaving for home.
Medway Stroke Club 10th Birthday
9th June 2005 to 11th June 2015
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US.
It hardly seems 10 years ago that Medway Stroke Club was formed. Starting out we met at the Municipal Buildings, Gillingham with about 15 members. Of those original members, 7 plus Annie and Denise are still coming to this very day. Soon after the numbers started to rise and all too soon the little room we had, became overcrowded. So we had to find alternate accommodation. Lucky for us Jim, who was a Mason, asked if we could rent the Masonic Hall for our meetings, and that is how we are here today. The numbers rose steadily over the years to a point that we were getting about 40 people attending each week. Now we average about 25 – 30 per week. The club still has a varied program of outings, speakers, Tai Chi, Pilates and quizzes.
To celebrate us today, on our 10th Birthday party, we had 55 attendees covering both past and present members. It was nice to see so many faces which we hadn’t seen for many years. Tara, the Assistant Regional Manager for the Stroke Association presented the club with a certificate to commemorate our 10 years as a Stroke Club. She presented it to Doreen and David on behalf of the club. Then it was time for the buffet lunch followed 
by a 10 year quiz. After this everyone congregated for a club photo around our special birthday cake which was baked by Sharon.The honours of cutting the cake fell to Joyce and Paul who were two of the original members from 2005. 
The cake which was half fruit and half Madeira was soon cut up and passed around. Then it was time for the raffle which had numerous prizes to be drawn. All too soon it was time to leave after having an enjoyable afternoon.
2nd April 2015 Easter lunch
On Thursday it was our Easter Lunch. Members and guests arrived and enjoyed a drink in the bar before sitting down to lunch. Today we had the choice of either Roast Lamb or Curry followed by Easter 
surprise or Fruit Salad. After lunch we played two games of Bingo followed by our Easter raffle. Prizes including Eater eggs, bowl of fruit and a bottle of wine.
Christmas Lunch 11th December 2014
Another year gone and here we are again celebrating Christmas with our Christmas lunch. We were joined by the school choir from Barnsole School, who sang a selection of Christmas songs to us.
Lunch was served at 12-30am which was excellent and plenty to choose from. 
As we rounded off our meal with tea, coffee and mince pies we then started the raffle. The raffle consisted of over 20 prizes and we had the help of Darcey, Gary’s granddaughter to draw the tickets. The entertainment this year saw the return of Maddie Hart. She sang a selection of songs, and, with the help of Darcey on the tambourine, people 
were soon up dancing. John also got up on stage and sang a couple of songs. All too soon it was the end of a lovely day. 
We wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and made our way home.
Autumn Lunch 23rd October 2014
The club had an autumn lunch on Thursday 23rd October. Club members were encouraged to wear autumn colours. We enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Franklin rooms. This consisted of chicken casserole or chicken curry followed by fresh fruit salad or apple pie. After lunch we had a raffle to raise funds for the club.
Valentine’s Lunch 13th February 2014
Valentine’s Lunch 13th February 2014
The theme of our lunch was St Valentine’s Day, with paper hearts and heart shaped chocolates adorning the tables. 27 club members, wearing something red, sat down to either chicken curry or cottage pie, followed by strawberry moose or fresh fruit salad. Following our meal we had a raffle and a Valentine’s Day quiz.
As our previous Christmas Lunch events have been so successful in the past we kept to the same programme.
Members began arriving soon after 10.30am and over coffee exchanged Christmas cards, their forthcoming plans and latest news.
The children from Bryon School arrived to entertain us with the lovely singing of Carols and members joined in the popular ones.
Whilst the final preparations were being made to the dining tables, members retired to the bar and were able to enjoy a drink, paid for from funds collected through the year. (Each week members pay £2 to attend club and this helps with subsidies) Raffle tickets were sold, prizes having been kindly donated by local companies.
The three course lunch was followed by mince pies, cheese and biscuits and a selection of sweets.We then relaxed while the superb vocalist Maddie Hart entertained us with a varied selection of music from the 60s, 70s, 80s, plus oldies but goodies and a few Christmas carols. Most members were soon singing along and a few brave folk got onto the dance floor, and Ted and Kath particular showed their dancing skills. Maddie can be contacted via details on her web site www.maddiehart.com
Next it was time to draw the raffle, money collected from ticket sales reached a grand £107 which will go towards events in 2014.Before too long it was time to say fond farewells to friends, exchange good wishes for the festive season and plans to meet again on January 9th 2014.
2013 has been another great year for Medway Stoke Club, speakers have included Mrs Margaret Wood who talked about Being a Magistrate, David Gutteridge – George Patron Saint, James Preston – Rochester Airport, Rob Wilcox – Aids to Help Independence, Mel Rees – Life in General, and Clive Lawrence – Radio. We have also had visitors from the Health service. Our outings have included a trip to the seaside, Dobbies for afternoon tea, ten pin bowling, Scalextic and a trip to Canterbury which included a visit to the Cathedral. We are fortunate enough to have a mini bus when required. We have also enjoyed on a regular basis Tai Chi and Pilates, which is important although optional as we have enjoyed a Valentines cream tea, Easter lunch, Coronation celebration tea, strawberries and cream, and Halloween Lunch. Another successful event was our ‘Step Out for Stroke’ which took part at the Riverside Country Park.
The club is open to anyone who has had a stroke and as mentioned above is very varied, we also ask members what they would like to do, and places to visit and are always open to suggestions. Anyone who is interested in finding out more about the club can use the details on this web site.
Halloween lunch 31st October 2013
Halloween lunch 31st October 2013
There was a spooky feeling to the club today, as we were having a Halloween lunch. Some members dressed up in scary costumes, while others wore orange and black.
We tucked into chicken curry or homemade burgers with chips followed by fresh fruit salad or key lime pie. A raffle was held with many prizes, including sweets, wine, fruit and vegetables.
This was followed by a Halloween quiz. Doesn’t time fly when you are having fun. All too soon it was time to go home.
The strong winds did not deter 20 members from meeting at the Riverside Country Park for our fund raising event.
After refreshments in the café, walkers set off clutching a quiz with questions about the park. Did you know that the Dog Poo fairy is just a myth? That was just one of the interesting questions. The group started together and enjoyed a walk to the pond. The less abled bodied members then returned to the café, whilst the rest continued to Horrid Hill. There are 3 suggestions to where the name Horrid Hill came from.
All answers can easily be found just by walking around the riverside country park. Top man was Gary who insisted on completing the whole course. He was encouraged by Annie, who walked backwards with him and there was a promise of a cup of tea waiting for him in the café. Back at the café the other members were waiting for the safe return of the final walkers. Congratulations go to all who exceeded their personal achievements and, maybe, those who just came along for the ride!!!!! After more refreshments and answers to the quiz were revealed, the group made their way home after a happy and successful afternoon.