Monica lives at Kingfisher Court and has done for just over a year. Monica has told us about her years volunteering for Warwickshire County Council Heritage and Culture, she volunteered for 10 years and enjoyed every minute of it. Recently Monica was invited to a volunteers reunion to be held at the British Motor Museum near Banbury. Banbury is 88miles from Kingfisher and because of this I don’t think that any of the other volunteers were expecting to see Monica there, however in the words of Diana Ross, when it comes to our residents, there ain’t no mountain high enough to stop us from making things happen.

Monica got up early and the care team descended to make sure that she was thoroughly pampered and looking glam in plenty of time to begin the journey to Banbury. Steve checked the map, checked the tyres and the oil and escorted Monica to her awaiting carriage to begin the 90-minute road trip. Steve tells us that they laughed for at least 70 minutes of it.

The Volunteers Day was organised to recognise and appreciate the hard work carried out by those who volunteer across the county and to offer an opportunity to reminisce with old colleagues.

The reaction to Monica’s arrival was priceless, everyone was overjoyed that she had made it along and they were all so happy to see her.

The day was wonderful, everyone gathered in the rather splendid Corporal Room for an awards ceremony during which Monica was presented with a certificate for 10 years of service to the council. This was followed by a fancy lunch and a tour around the Jaguar centre to end the day.

From the day that the invitation arrived Steve was determined that Monica would be able to attend. The journey back to Kingfisher was a happy one, Monica was a little overwhelmed by the response to her arrival and was delighted to have caught up with old friends and Steve was just happy that he had been able to make it happen.

Monica has been invited to a lunch at the sorting office where she volunteered in November and so another road trip is on the cards for Steve and Monica.