Dinner Down Memory Lane for Marie Curie

As I write this I really cannot believe that in two weeks it will be the third anniversary of my mum’s death. It feels as though it happened last month, I miss her terribly. But the other day I opened my purse and a white feather dropped out and as I was telling my daughter I saw another white feather on the floor…

Someone dying is not a particularly pleasant time however I can honestly say that I consider my mum’s death to have I'm blogging for dinner down memory lane for Marie Curiebeen beautiful, she probably had the best kind of death anyone can have (I know this sounds very odd, bear with me). She could have died in hospital with strangers around her, unfamiliar noises, unwanted intrusions and we, her family, would not have been able to stay with her twenty four hours a day in her final days. My mum was extremely lucky that she spent her last two and a half days in a hospice. As she was living with me for the last few weeks it meant that she didn’t die in my home where I would have been panicking  every five minutes about her and also worrying about the effect on the children, although, that would have been preferable to a hospital had my mum not been given a bed at our local hospice. The staff at the hospice left us alone to sit with my mum but were there if we needed them, I am eternally grateful to them.

Whilst my mum didn’t die in a Marie Curie hospice I felt honoured to be invited to a special retro dinner held by Marie Curie to kick off their Dinner Down Memory Lane campaign. Marie Curie provide care and support for more than 40,000 people living with terminal illness and their families in the UK. I hadn’t realised they also have nine hospices around the UK and are the largest provider of hospice beds out side the NHS.

Mai Tai for Dinner Down Memory Lane

In my opinion everyone with a terminal illness should be able to choose where they want to die but unfortunately there are cost implications and sadly according to Marie Curie research seven out of ten carers say that people with a terminal illness do not get all the care and support they need. Marie Curie aims to help families make the most of their time together either with nurses that care for people in their own homes or in the hospices.

None of this is cheap though and charities like Marie Curie have to raise funds constantly to carry on providing these services.

How can we help?

Recreate your favourite nostalgic food and host a retro-inspired dinner party for Marie Curie. My favourite childhood dinner was sausages, mash and beans, probably the first meal my mum ever taught me to make, I’m not sure it’s good enough for a dinner party though so I’m thinking of serving up:

  • Prawn Cocktail
  • Chicken Kiev with a twist
  • Fruit Cocktail Trifle

However, you could get really inventive and host a 70’s theme, or 50’s… what would you go for?

By hosting a retro-inspired dinner you can support the campaign by asking your invited guests to make a donation to Marie Curie and have some fun at the same time!

Retro dinner for Dinner Down Memory Lane

I had an amazing retro dining experience which started off with a Dirty Shirley cocktail, followed by Vietnamese style prawn cocktail, french onion soup with bread and charcuterie. Then a waldorf salad with the best crispy pork belly, ever. Next up was duck a l’orange, then a lime and white chocolate cheesecake with Mai Tai’s to finish! All served with 70’s themed wine. I just about managed to roll home. It was so lovely hearing how passionate the Marie Curie team are about their cause and I really hope that this campaign is a huge success.

To take part in this fabulous campaign you can text DINNER to 78866 and you will receive a free fundraising pack or you can find out more HERE

You can also look out for the hashtag #retrodinner and find out more from Marie Curie on:

Let me know if you decide to host a #retrodinner I would love to know what everyone has on their menus.

 

 

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4 thoughts on “Dinner Down Memory Lane

  1. I appreciate the information in this post. I’m checking out the #retrodinner hashtag now.

    Posted on November 1, 2015 at 6:53 pm
  2. I always think it is so vital that we get birth and death right as so much in between is random and not ideal. Marie Curie help with that for many families massively and I think this is a great awareness-raising campaign. So sorry for your loss, always huge to lose a parent

    Posted on October 28, 2015 at 6:15 pm
  3. Oh Nova what a touching post in memory of your mum. I can’t conceive what it must be like to watch your parents die, but at least she was able to spend her last days in dignity xxx We do need to get it improved in this country, its appalling what has happened to our hospitals.
    Looks like you had a lovely meal and what a great idea a retro dinner party. I am popping over to Marie Curie social media to follow now and will definitely try to set up a retro dinner party xx

    Posted on October 23, 2015 at 12:22 pm
  4. That looks a lot of fun xx

    Posted on October 15, 2015 at 10:53 pm