No doubt people have different memories of June at different stages of her life, but here at Milton Court we always knew she was a colourful character. When reminiscing about her personality, there was one common theme that kept popping up. Even in her darkest moments it was quite evident that she was truly a gentle soul, but she could also be a stubborn person at times. Those two traits didn’t always go together. At times, when she was being persuaded to do something she didn’t particularly want to do, she would naturally lose her temper. She would raise her voice to the member of staff (ever so slightly), and would even hit out on occasion only to apologise immediately afterwards with kisses and cuddles. It was as if she caught herself being rude and felt bad for it almost immediately. It was always a strange experience to be told to go away, only to be offered a cuddle or kiss straight afterwards. Sometimes she would tell you she had had enough with a very curt ‘thank you.’ This was her way of saying ‘I’ve had enough now and I’m leaving’ but still remaining polite in doing so. However despite being a gentle soul, she did manage to get a few good whacks in with her walking stick.
 
 Another apparent trait she held was her love for one particular thing. During her time at Milton Court, she didn’t have a very big appetite, but there was always one thing she didn’t hesitate in gulping down; chocolate. And this love of chocolate didn’t stop at her own chocolate bars. They extended to other residents chocolate also it would seem. As one night, around midnight there was a slight comeuppance appearing to take place in the vicinity of June’s room. Upon investigation, June was not to be found in her room. Instead she was found in the room next door, invading the persons chocolate, eating as much as she could. Naturally the staff member proceeded to guide June out of the room, when she pulled one of her stunts she had played many times. Pretending to do as she was told, she would calmly walk to the door to exit, appearing to abide to the staffs requests. Upon reaching the doorway, the staff would go to guide June out of the room, only to be told to go through first.  The member of staff would naturally exit the room, ready to usher her out, only to have the door slammed on their face. Sometimes she would even manage to lock the door from the inside, requiring the member of staff to then have to go searching for a key to open it again. For on top of her gentleness and her stubbornness she also had a mischievous sneaky side to her.
 
And this mischievous side of her may have been the reason that some people at Milton Court knew that rain wasn’t the only thing you had to worry about falling out of the sky when approaching the building. Sometimes you would have to watch out for more harmful objects. Many people knew that June liked to help inanimate objects escape the premises by helping them along their way, straight out of the window and two stories down to whatever lay below. Walking sticks and CD’s were among her favourite objects to toss to freedom, but other objects also joined the list. Ornaments, cutlery, items of clothing and a plate were lucky enough to be among the objects to be granted freedom. The plate actually smashed the glass overhead canopy below while June remained oblivious to the damage she had caused. We saw the funny side of it, though we’re not sure the person footing the bill did. Some days we would see things resting on the canopy below, and the bets were always on June as the person responsible. Many minutes were spent scouring the bushes and premises for escapee objects. Thank you June for those pleasant treasure hunts.
 
When objects weren’t being thrown out of the window, you could mostly guarantee they would end up inside the cushions. June seemed to like to clean up after herself, which is not a bad thing to want to do, but she possibly got a bit confused as to where exactly she should place discarded items. Every now and again a resident or member of staff would sit on a rather lumpy cushion, only to find wrappers, old sweets and mugs lovingly placed inside the cover. Some people sweep mess under the rug. June stuffed them into pillows. Nobody minded too much though, she was only trying to help. Why she liked to strip the covers off the cushions and take them away for the cushion itself is a mystery to anyone though.
One of the earliest memories the unit manager has of June was her dying swan routines when the GP was visiting. Each day she would be fine without any concerns to her health, but as soon as the doctor was in sight she was suddenly dying and in desperate need for medical attention; never mind if the doctor was actually there to see her or not, she would appear to make it her mission to hold up the GP’s rounds until she was seen to. Funnily enough she would be well again as soon as the doctor was out of site. If only she had the same strategy with her dental needs, she wouldn’t have gotten through so many dentures. We’re sure Graeme was pleased with the appointments they had to attend, and was even more pleased with the dent it made in the bank account. Her dentures were another object privileged enough to have sailed through the air. All thanks to an open window and June being in close proximity to one another. Although it couldn’t be helped, I remember the staff dreading having to tell him that the newly acquired dentures had been broken in two. Some of us felt slightly guilty, despite it not being helped.
 
Although she did keep staff on their toes at times, the vibe we got from June was that she was a very social lady. As well as being chatty with staff, she formed some lovely relationships with other residents. Sometimes she would pull someone to the side and would tell some rather interesting stories. We had no idea what she was talking about or in what context they were meant to be, but she enjoyed telling them and we would laugh along with her. If she wasn’t talking she was singing, and again nobody really knew what she was singing about or even what song she was meant to be singing, but she gave it her all, a large smile on her face.
 
June has stamped her name onto many people’s hearts and this was no exception in her later years. Her bubbly good natured personality has provided many smiles, laughs and giggles. Wherever she is headed now, the people of Milton Court are sending their best wishes and are praying that her next adventure is as joy filled and as jubilant as her time with us.