A care home in Hounslow celebrated its 30 birthday with a barbecue and garden games over the weekend.
Dozens of family and friends of residents at The Mulberries were joined by staff past and present to celebrate the milestone.
Along with a full feast of sausages and burgers, everyone enjoyed a game of snakes and ladders, giant Connect 4 and giant Jenga.
The small residential care home which houses six people with complex learning disabilities was opened in March 1986, and Alastair and Malcolm were among the first to arrive.
Even some of the staff have been at the home for 30 years including stalwarts Alison Hill and Mark Edwards, support workers at the home since day one.
Mr Edwards said: “I have literally grown up with Malcom and Alastair, in fact, I’ve actually known Alastair for 40 years, since he was a patient at Normansfield and I volunteered on his ward.
“I see them more than I see my family. And although they have no speech and can’t use picture based communication, over three or four decades you develop a built in knowledge of what they want and how, in their own way, they’ve learned to express that.”
Alastair's mum Liz Bruce, added: "He moved into The Mulberries in January 1986 and was the first person to move in. He was even in the local paper!”
A special handmade cross stitch mural was presented to the care home.
A raffle raised £166 which will be used towards refurbishing the sensory room at the care home on Bath Road.
Manager Crystal Taylor-Judd, said: “Personally as the manager of the service I would like to thank all those who attended and contributed to make the day a great success, plentiful food and drinks were enjoyed by all and it was great to see past staff attend the event and re-engage with the people they once supported.
“A huge thank you to all the staff who helped organise a fantastic day for the people they support.”
The Mulberries care home is run by Dimensions which helps people with learning disabilities, autism and challenging behaviour
