There was music and laughter as a care home threw open its doors to visitors as part of National Care Home Open Day.

Apthorp Care Centre in Barnet joined residential care homes taking part in the celebrations across Britain.

Guests were treated to a performance from musician Abdul Williams on the steel pan drums, and the elderly people living at Apthorp also completed an Around the World challenge to reconnect with their loved ones overseas.

As part of the activity, they had been introduced to a paper cut-out character called Stanley, who appears in Jeff Brown’s 1964 children’s books, Flat Stanley.

Stanley was flattened in his sleep by a board that fell off the wall, but he saw this as an advantage because he could slip into an envelope and be posted to friends around the world.

The Apthorp residents were inspired by the story and sent cut-outs of Stanley to their family and friends overseas, along with a letter asking them to write about their life, take a photo of Stanley at famous landmarks and mail it back to the centre.

Stanley was sent all over the world including America, India, Italy, Guyana, Jamaica, Mauritius, Spain, Romania, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

As part of National Care Home Open Day, photographs of Stanley’s adventures and the destinations he reached were displayed at the home for everyone to enjoy.