I’ve always loved getting my nails done. There is something about neatly painted nails that completes an outfit and makes you feel special. I would always feel underdressed with bare nails.

A visit to the salon is not just about having fabulous nails, it’s about the relationships, the chatter, the fun of meeting up and laughing together. The salon is where you go to have a gossip, to discuss current affairs and put the world to rights. The fact that you leave with a beautiful manicure is just the icing on the cake.

We have a wonderful salon here at Hazel End, when salons were forced to close due to the lockdown, ours stayed open. We were lucky.

I am often surprised by the many hidden talents of the team here. They are so adaptable, one day they are hosting a game of bingo, the next they are styling hair and painting nails. I have seen them singing, acting, hosting events, they’ve held exercise classes, cookery clubs and craft days, they’ve even learned to knit. I often wonder how the position was described in the advert.

But I digress, we had one of our weekly salon visits today and it didn’t disappoint. A group of us went along, we sat back and allowed the team to pamper us, we had such a giggle, we laughed so much, by the end of the afternoon we all had aching jaws and beautiful nails.

Not wanting the afternoon to end too soon we then retired to the bar to continue the fun, looking out of the window at the world below, gin and tonic in my perfectly manicured hand I reflected on the day, I’m sure that when people envisage a care home, they don’t envisage this, but they should because this is just an average day here for us.