Resident's introductory booklet for Penylan House, Cardiff, 1996-2012

Description

A booklet entitled 'All you need to know about Penylan House'. The background of the front and back cover is a faded photograph of Penylan House with daffodils in the foreground. On the back cover is the Penylan House logo, which uses the phrase 'Over 50 years of Caring', which places the booklet between 1996 (50 years since the Home has been established) and 2012 (involvement on Linc Cymru). On the inside cover is a note addressed "Dear Resident" from President, David Weitzman. The note welcomes the resident to the Home and outlines the ethos of Penylan House.

After this, there is a contents page and a foreword from the Matron, Gil Varner, also welcoming the resident. Throughout the booklet, there are many black and white photographs of the building's interior and exterior, the gardens, residents and members of staff. Amongst the many sections of the booklet are the following: information about what residents should bring with them, the cost of living there, members of staff, food and meal times, laundry, details about healthcare and leisure activities. There is a section on Penfriends, a group of volunteers who help provide a weekly shopping trolley and organise trips out and fundraising events. At the back of the booklet is a map of how to find Penylan House.

Pencare (formerly known as 'The Trustees of Penylan House') is a charity, which offers care for elderly people of the Jewish faith and is currently based in Cardiff, although the catchment area for the home covers South Wales and the West of England. Pencare has been working with Linc Cymru to redevelop their care home, Penylan House, to ensure high quality care to Cardiff's elderly Jewish community and extending the care to elderly people not of the Jewish faith.

Mr Henry Silver and other members of the Cardiff Jewish community had originally founded a Home for the Aged in 1946 in Canton. In December 1948, the Home moved to Holme Towers in Penarth to provide more space for its large number of applications. Despite the beautiful surroundings, the Home in Penarth was quite isolated, so the difficult decision was later taken to move the Home to Penylan Road in Cardiff, meaning many residents were now closer to their friends and relatives. Residents moved to Penylan House in February 1959.

Sources:
http://opencharities.org/charities/243968;
http://www.housingcare.org/downloads/facilities/generated-brochures/134508-penylan-house-nursing-home-cardiff-wales.pdf;
Cajex, Magazine of the Association of Jewish Ex-service Men and Women (Cardiff), Vol. IX, No. 1, Ninth Year - March 1959, pp. 60- 65.

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.