Trip down memory lane for resident at MHA Pennystone Court as she visits former place of work

A resident at MHA Pennystone Court went back in time and visited her former place of work, more than 40 years after she first started working there.

Dorothy Smith started working at The Grand Theatre in Church Street as the head of catering and hospitality in 1981 when it reopened as a theatre.

Dorothy still speaks quite fondly of her time at the theatre and refers to it as “her beautiful grand”

When activity coordinator Jaide Foster-Howarth heard about Dorothy's career and saw her photo albums of programmes and letters of thanks from people such as comedian Les Dawson, she asked her if she would like to revisit the theatre and Dorothy obliged with “yes please”.

Jaide, Dorothy, Dorothy’s daughter, Jacquie and her husband Terry made the short trip from the home to The Grand Theatre where they were greeted at the door by the operations manager, Shaun Gorringe.

Dorothy went straight onto the stage and said, “I can’t believe it, it’s lovely to be back after all these years.”

Jaide added: “Shaun asked us to turn around, upon doing so, he lifted the safety curtain to show the stunning theatre auditorium. 

“We were all in awe of how beautiful it is’’, Dorothy said, with the biggest smile, “There she is, my Grand.

“She relayed stories of people she met, how she loved her job and said she will always love the theatre.

“Seeing Dorothy’s face and hearing her talk about the theatre was lovely. She was animated, focused, and enthusiastic about it all. 

“She was happy, excited and very thankful for the time the staff at the Grand made for her. She talked with stage door staff as well as other staff and talked about our trip all the way back in the cab. 

“She was so thankful and said to me, "I cannot believe you did that all for me. Thank you, it's been a lovely afternoon.”