The icing on the cake
For Neil Sykes and his family, the care he receives from Caremark Kirklees which enables him to remain at home is the icing on the cake – in more ways than one!
That’s because by sheer coincidence, Neil decorated the wedding cake of Caremark Kirklees owners Duncan and Fiona Smith when they were married in 1996.
It was only when Fiona, who is the company’s Director of Recruitment & Training, went to Neil’s home to cover a caring shift that she recognised who he was.
Neil says: “Fiona said ‘you iced my wedding cake’ and when she said that, the memories came flooding back and I remembered doing it at the time.
“And then to make it even better, Fiona came back again with the top of the cake she had kept, and photographs of the cake being cut at the wedding. It really was the icing on the cake!”
Cake decoration was a hobby for Neil, who says it came naturally to him, although he did also go on to spend three years at night school honing his craft.
Margaret, his wife, also made cakes for weddings, so between them, they had a nice little enterprise going in between their day jobs.
Neil adds: “It was always something I enjoyed doing and it was nice knowing Margaret and I had made something which would hold so many happy memories for people, like in Fiona and Duncan’s case.”
Neil worked for the first part of his career as Spinner in a cotton mill. That is where he met Margaret, and they spent 65 happy years together until she sadly passed away in 2022. The couple have three children, Michael, Kathryn, and Andrew.
Seeing the cotton industry slide into decline, Neil went to work as a Postman and spent 34 years working for Royal Mail before retiring.
He says: “It was the best thing I ever did.”
It wasn’t just sugar art that Neil was good at either. He was also one of the best Cornet players in the country and played in some famous bands, and was also a great singer too.
Neil’s son Michael says: “Dad sang in clubs and was asked to perform a summer season at Blackpool, but he turned it down.
“And once, he sang in a competition whilst on holiday in Madeira and he impressed so much the hotel wanted him to stay on to become the regular singer, but he said no to that too!”
Margaret originally started receiving care from Caremark, with Neil acting as her main carer, but his health also suffered, and we began helping him too.
Our carers visit him four times a day to provide a little personal care and prepare his meals.
Neil says: “I feel I have been very lucky. I do miss Margaret, but I have support from my children, especially Michael, and the carers help to break up my day and give me someone to talk to, so I cannot complain.”
Michael adds: “We rely on the carers and Dad could not be at home without them. One of his carers, Sarah, goes above and beyond for him all the time, so we could not be happier with the care he receives.”