Residents aged in their 90s took part in a special performance of The Nativity at a Cwmbran church.
Holy Trinity Church in Pontnewydd asked members of its congregation to play the parts; the youngest person was in their 50s.
They wore dressing gowns and tea towels in a lovely service led by the Reverend Sue Hobbs. She handed out fun face masks to members of the public in the pews to encourage them to join in with noises of cows, donkeys, wolves, and lots more noise effects. Between each scene, there were readings and carols.
After yesterday morning’s service, everyone was invited into the vestry for a hot drink and mince pie. I chatted with two cast members, both in their 90s, Celia and Eileen, who smiled and laughed as they told me about their experience of dressing up and learning their lines.
Celia Patterson, 90, told me: “I was a sheep and I was an angel. I was just in the background. In my younger days, I’ve been King Herod on a stage and had to have a beard stuck on because they didn’t have a boy to play him. I remember those days very much, a long time ago.
“It was good to do [today’s Nativity] because we shared. I think what we found when we were doing it, was that we all shared. It was something done together and I think this is what it’s all about. If you do things together, it’s better.”
Eileen Chaloner, 91, said: “They [Mary and Joseph] had to come to me to ask me for some room in the inn. We didn’t have many rehearsals. We only had about two. Sue gave us the script and we just had to read it and learn it.”
“We’re a limited congregation. I mean Sue hasn’t got a lot to choose from, only us 90-year-olds. Let’s put it this way, we do our best and over the years we’ve done a lot.”
Reverend Sue Hobbs said: “Well, we don’t have many children come to church so we had to use the best we had. The youngest is probably 50+ and the eldest I know is 90+. A couple of them are [aged over] 90. And when I suggested it they were absolutely delighted and as excited as when they were children. So that was lovely. So we’ve reinvigorated them now. We had to use our imagination but my goodness they done extremely well.”