'Licence to thrill': Castor care home celebrates first anniversary with 007-themed party

Glamour, style and even a touch of swagger were on full display at Castor Lodge Care Home for its first anniversary.

On 26 October, the residential care home celebrated by throwing a party Daniel Craig himself wouldn’t have looked out of place at.

Sporting dapper bow ties and glitzy jewellery, staff and residents were joined by members of the community and the mayor of Peterborough to soak up the jet set, secret agent vibe.

Along with swanky refreshments and stalls from local businesses, guests were invited to try their luck on a range of casino tables, including Black-Jack and Roulette, while filling up on canapes and Martinis.

Land Rover Defenders stood guard on the drive outside, echoing the party’s action hero theme.

Guests were also greeted by bubbles and a red-carpet entrance as they arrived, while acoustic guitarists and ukulele bands provided additional entertainment throughout the day.

Castor Lodge’s senior customer relations manager, Laura Mills, described the celebration as “blimmin’ marvellous.”

"Everybody just loved it – they had such a good time,” she said. "They loved all the food, they loved the entertainment, and being able to try their hand at the casino tables.”

Laura told the Peterborough Telegraph guest numbers exceeded expectations:

"A lot of relatives came and it was really nice to see all the families interacting with one another. We were hoping for around 70 [people] but we ended up with in excess of a hundred people. To see all that interaction happening was really lovely.”

The day’s events were brought to a suitably grand conclusion when a decadent 007-themed cake – created by chef manager Claudia Goode – was revealed amid great fanfare.

The joint honour of cutting the lavish treat was given to home manager Natalie White and Castor’s very first resident, John Carr. John was delighted to be asked and was keen to thank the staff and team for all their hard work in looking after him and his fellow residents.

Laura noted that the residents enjoyed the day so much they were still “buzzing about it that evening at supper”. “And yes,” she said, “they did have room for supper, even after eating all day.”