Retirement village opens on a high note

A special performance by world-acclaimed opera singer Dame Malvina Major heralded the grand opening of the new Jane Mander Retirement Village last night.
Whangarei Mayor Stan Semenoff was also on hand to formally open the village with the unveiling of a plaque.
The new village, run by Ryman Healthcare, in Fairway Drive in Kamo  is already home to more than 100 residents with another 100 expected to move in once their new homes are completed.
"We have been overwhelmed by the warm welcome we have received from the Whangarei community and the wider Northland region," Ryman Healthcare chief executive Simon Challies said.
"We look forward to providing Northlanders with a first-class choice in their retirement living and retirement care."
Dame Malvina Major has an arrangement with Ryman Healthcare to sing at the opening of villages.
The partnership began when a village was named after her in Wellington  15 years ago.
The atrium in which she was to sing had good acoustics, was beautifully presented and made a good performance venue, she said.
Of the village, she said, "The standard is right up there - people will feel cared for whether in a hospital situation or a unit."
Entertainment at Ryman villages was "amazing",  she added, and residents were welcome to participate if they wished, too.
The singer was no stranger to Northland, saying she visited three or four times a year to see her son who had a farm at Te Arai, near Mangawhai.
The village is named after early New Zealand novelist and journalist Jane Mander.
Jane's father,  Francis Mander, was Member of Parliament for Marsden and later  bought the Northern Advocate newspaper where Jane honed her skills as a journalist.  Her 1920 novel The Story of a New Zealand River was critically acclaimed and is believed to have been a significant influence on the film The Piano directed by Jane Campion.
The village offers independent townhouse and apartment living, serviced apartment assisted living, rest home, hospital and dementia care, along with a range of resort-style facilities including a bowling green, grand internal atrium, village centre, dining room, bar, indoor swimming pool and spa, gym, hair salon, beauty therapy, movie theatre and much more.
 Mr Semenoff congratulated Ryman, and welcomed it as an important addition to aged care in the Northland region.
"The Jane Mander Retirement Village represents a major investment by Ryman in Whangarei.
"We are delighted to have gained such an outstanding facility offering quality care in a secure, neighbourly environment for our older citizens," Mr Semenoff said.