Tuesday 10th March 2026
A special thank you
Guy was part of the family at Shottermill House, Haslemere, passing away in September 2024 at the age of 97. Here Henrietta Blyth, Guy’s daughter and the CEO of Open Doors, shares a letter of thanks to our managers and the wider team
Dear Mike and Anne,
We have just had the first anniversary of Dad’s death and I wanted to write formally both to mark it, but also to thank you and the team at Shottermill so very much, once again, for all you did for Dad and for us.
After Mum died in June 2022, Dad really struggled. He had been wrestling with depression and anxiety for some years but had always had Mum beside him spurring him on. Without her he was, as he said to me several times, “Just so lonely”. I would go down once a week for the day and we would go out for pub lunches, or down to the seaside. He and Minnie, their little dog, really loved a trip in the car! And as you know, Dad loved to have a big G&T before he tucked into his meal. I was responsible for his care and his finances, and he had support from the carers at the Clockhouse in Guildford [the retirement complex where Guy lived], and also several visits each day from Seniors Helping Seniors who were an absolute lifeline.
But then about 10 months after our mother died, Dad fell during the night and one of the carers at the Clockhouse heard him calling for help at about 9am. They called the paramedics and he was admitted to Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey.
They think he had been lying on the floor for several hours (he was not wearing his “button” to call for help) and obviously that knocked him for six. He was in hospital for six weeks and during that time he received no physio or help to exercise and so by the time he came home his legs could not bear his weight and he was effectively bedbound. At that point we brought in live-in carers, but Dad didn’t really get on with them, although they cared for him physically. He told me, “They’re just not cosy”.
Honestly, we were all really struggling. Then one night I had a dream – I was on a boat and it was sinking and my sister was on the harbour wall yelling “you’re going down, get off, get off” and the next thing I saw was the boat upside down on the seabed. I discussed the dream with my sister and husband and we all felt that it was the Lord telling me that the weight of managing Dad’s care and having a fulltime job was literally sinking me. We all agreed that it was time to find a care home for Dad, and when we spoke to him, he also agreed.
That was when Josie, my sister, said, “Call Shottermill”. We had called you the year before about Dad but there were no beds available. When I called you the following day, Mike, you said there were two rooms available and when did we want to come and see them?! And as you know we moved Dad in about 10 days later.
The reason I wanted to tell you all this is that I want you to know how absolutely transformative it was for Dad and for us when he came to Shottermill. These are some of the things that you did for him and for us:
"I want you to know how absolutely transformative it was for Dad and for us when he came to Shottermill.”
• He had been struggling to sleep and that significantly added to his anxiety, and he was shouting and calling out at night. Anne brought in the nurse consultant and she altered his medication and, from then on, he never spoke of difficulties sleeping again. That was a huge weight off our minds as well as his.
• He loved all of you as a team and he knew you all loved him. Hearing him laugh with Anderson and Shinu [carers] as they cared for him was so wonderful.
• Anne’s suggestion to buy him a chair was brilliant – he loved being pushed around the home and in the summer it was so good to be able to sit in the garden with him.
• He had been very bothered about not being able to go to church, for quite a long time. When he came to Shottermill he loved joining in with Songs of Praise and the singalongs. He loved it that Deborah would joke with him about asking her for hymns she didn’t know. He absolutely loved to sing (he and Mum used to sing in competitions together) and you gave him the opportunity to do so again. In fact, one time I was coming into the home and one of the other relatives said to me, “Your father has a beautiful singing voice, I heard him singing the whole of the Messiah the other day!” He had people to talk to about faith and about Jesus. I think he had struggled with his faith – he felt a lot of guilt about things he’d done many years ago, and intellectually he sometimes found it difficult to accept that faith was what mattered. You all gave him the opportunity to talk about the Bible and the Lord and that meant the world to him.
• You let me bring his little dog in to see him, and they both loved that! Sadly, she became sick a few weeks’ later and we had to have her put to sleep so it was so special that Dad had the chance to cuddle her that last time.
You encouraged him to have his alcohol free wine and G&T and his sweets and crisps – these were all things that were a big deal for him and they really helped to make him feel at home.
• He loved his room and being able to have all his pictures up, including some of the pictures he’d painted himself which he was very proud of!
"Josie and I were immensely touched at the welcome we always got when we arrived at Shottermill.”
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Josie and I were immensely touched at the welcome we always got when we arrived at Shottermill – big smiles and greetings as we came in. It is hard to overestimate what an immense difference that makes. We felt like we were part of the Shottermill family too, and we loved it when the tea trolley came round and we got tea and cakes as well! (And sweets when Deborah brought the tuck shop round on a Friday afternoon. I loved it that you even put them in the pink stripe bags I remember from being a child myself. In fact, Dad used to help me smuggle sweets into my boarding school when I was 10 and so we have a long history with sweeties!)
The last week of Dad’s life was difficult, of course. Rick and I came home from our holiday when Josie called us and we were so very, very glad to have those final days with Dad. When he said he wanted meat we were so touched that you went and got him some so that the chef could make him some stew. And when Hilary called us early on the morning of the day he died we were immensely touched to arrive in his room and find that she and another carer had been with him singing hymns and reading to him from the Bible.
I can’t tell you how glad Josie and I were to be with Dad when he died. I had a strong sense of the Lord calling him home and saying, “It’s time Guy, come on”. Josie had a strong sense of huge angels in the room with us (also confirmed by one of my colleagues at Open Doors). And Josie saw his spirit leave his body. Dad had been a bit iffy about dying – he did not want us to talk about it – but he was so peaceful at the end.
And then we were so blessed that Lux said he would stay with Dad’s body for a bit after we left to go home. And we knew that Lux would be praying for him. And then how precious it was that your chef came to Dad’s funeral.
The home was always clean, always bright, there were always people about (Beauty and Isabella saying hello from the carers station and Anna waving from her office!). There was no horrible smell and it always felt so incredibly positive and full of life. The ‘family members’ [those who live with us] would smile and say ‘hello’ through their open bedroom doors as we walked past or wave at Dad as he was pushed along. It didn’t just feel like family – it was family. We miss Dad enormously, and we miss all of you.
When one of the carers accompanied Josie to take Dad in an ambulance for a hospital appointment, she told Josie that she had worked at many care homes, but Shottermill was far and away the best. When Josie asked why, she said, “Because everyone knows where they are going”.
And that is the thing I take away from all those months visiting and after your wonderful love and care for Dad for the year he was with you. Shottermill is an Embassy of Heaven. You are professional and your care is excellent but more than that the way you love the family members is truly Christlike and is a massive encouragement and a powerful witness. I am sure it is not always easy, but you make it look effortless and I am so grateful, and praise God for you all.
So thank you. Thank you so very much for all you did for our Dad and for all you did for us.
God bless you all,
Henrietta
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