'Burly tattooed fireman' grants 105-year-old care home resident's special birthday wish

Crawcrook care home resident, Ivena Smailes recently celebrated her 105th birthday and got her unique birthday wish granted, when a tattooed fireman from the local fire station climbed a ladder to deliver her a birthday cake.

When care home staff at Addison Court care home, Crawcrook asked their oldest resident Ivy what she wanted for her 105th birthday, she joked about wanting a 'burly tattooed fireman' to climb a ladder and bring her a cake.

Unbeknownst to Ivy, staff at the home saw her request as a challenge and set about making enquiries with the local fire station to see if they were able to help.

Manager at Addison Court, Scott Nichol said: “Ivy had a special request for her 105th birthday and we wanted to do something as special as possible for her.

“She said she would like a ‘burly tattooed fireman’ to deliver a birthday cake onto her balcony, so we set about making calls to the local fire station. The fire fighters came out to the home to assess the best way to do it and came back later the very same day on her birthday on Wednesday 17 August.

“A big burly tattooed fireman climbed the ladder onto the third-floor balcony, carrying a cake to deliver through the window to her.”

'An unusual request'

Staff at the home managed to keep their plans a secret only telling Ivy that there would be a few surprises on the day without giving too much away.

Speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle on the day, Andy Lake, watch manager at Swalwell Community Fire Station in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who attended to Ivy’s unusual request said: “It certainly was unusual and something very novel, but it was something that we felt was incredibly important to try and carry out the lady’s wishes for her 105th birthday.

“It was something that we’ve never done before or come across before. Ivy’s request was quite specific and to use her words, she wanted a ‘burly tattooed fire fighter’ and on our shift, we had the ideal candidate for the job.

“The crew member who climbed the ladder also had the idea to pick up some flowers for Ivy on the way to help make her day that little bit more special.”

'Sharp as a tack'

Ivy was born in 1911 and has lived in the Crawcrook area her entire life, living through two World Wars. She is much loved by all staff and residents at the home and the nearby village and is known locally as ‘Aunty Ivy’.

Now, she lives on the residential floor at Addison Court and has been at the home for three years.

Addison Court's second oldest resident is a 103-year-old lady called Annie, who unlike Ivy has less extravagant demands when it comes to planning her birthday celebrations.

Describing Ivy, Mr Nichol said: "She's as sharp as a tack. She’s always having a laugh and joke with the staff, who on this occasion asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She described what she wanted which may have originally been a bit of a joke, I don’t think she thought we would make it happen.

“She was quite taken aback as I don’t think that she thought it was going to happen and there were even a few tears. When she saw the fireman coming up the ladder carrying the cake she was over the moon.”

“The rest of the fire crew came up to see Ivy and some of the other residents at the home, spending some time with Ivy and even had some photos taken with her.”

On Ivy’s birthday, staff at the home worked to make everything run as smoothly as possible making sure everyone was in the right place at the right time, inviting the local newspaper to attend and document the day and organised a special birthday tea in the home’s garden with entertainment from the local children’s dance school, an Elvis impersonator, and singer to entertain the residents.

Ivy has already made suggestions for her 106th birthday with suggestions including a fly-by from the Red Arrows.

Making residents smile

Mr Nichol added: “Staff at the home try to carry-out as many of the residents' wishes as possible, aiming to make birthdays and special occasions memorable for residents at the home.

"It’s a testament to the home that the staff that we have here are willing to make calls and put the time in to try and make things happen for the residents. Even if they’re not able to exactly what residents wish for, we can say that we tried to carry out their special wishes and we can make plans for similar alternative arrangements.

“Staff will go above and beyond their duties to make residents smile and I cannot fault them for that.”

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