Residents, families and staff at Minchenden Lodge in Blagdens Lane, Southgate raised more than £90 for Asda's Tickled Pink over cake, music and dancing.

A care home in Blagdens Lane, Southgate has raised more than £90 for breast cancer charities by throwing an afternoon tea with its local supermarket.

Residents, relatives and staff at Minchenden Lodge Care Home were joined by Asda Southgate Circus for a Tickled Pink afternoon tea. The home announced the total in a statement issued on 7 September. It was the second time Minchenden Lodge has held one.

Asda’s community champion at Southgate Circus, Sejal, came to the home for the afternoon. The home says she brought:

  • cakes and treats donated by the store
  • Tickled Pink merchandise
  • information encouraging people to check their breasts and pecs regularly

There was tea, coffee, cake, music and dancing. Tickled Pink is Asda’s breast cancer campaign, and the home says it supports Breast Cancer Now and CoppaFeel!.

“Lots of laughter throughout the afternoon”

Kemisha Morris, home manager at Minchenden Lodge, said it was “such a lovely afternoon and we were so pleased to welcome Sejal and the team from Asda Southgate Circus back to Minchenden Lodge”.

“Our residents had a wonderful time,” she said. “There was music, dancing, plenty of cake and lots of laughter throughout the afternoon. More than anything, it was lovely to see residents, relatives, staff and members of our local community all enjoying the occasion together.

“We are incredibly grateful to everyone who donated and helped us raise more than £90. It means a lot to our residents to be part of events like this and to know that, together, we are supporting such an important cause.”

A stall covered with a pink Asda Tickled Pink cloth, laid out with lip balms, badges, keyrings, nail files and stickers, a collection bucket and breast checking leaflets.
The Tickled Pink stall at the afternoon tea. Photo: supplied by Minchenden Lodge Care Home

Sejal said it was “an absolute pleasure to spend time with everyone and to see so many smiling faces”.

“The residents thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and it was such a joyful and heartwarming event, bringing everyone together while supporting such an important cause,” she said.

The home, and why it keeps inviting the town in

Minchenden Lodge is at 54 Blagdens Lane, N14 6DD. It is run by Birchstone Care, previously known as AgeCare UK. The home’s own website says it is registered for 25 residents and offers residential care, dementia care and short stay respite, and that it was accredited under the Veteran Friendly Framework in 2025. (Birchstone Care, Minchenden Lodge)

The home describes the afternoon as one of a number of ways it keeps close links with the Southgate community, giving residents the chance to meet local people and take part in events beyond the everyday life of the home.

Ninety pounds is a small total next to the sums that pass through a national supermarket campaign. That is not really the measure of it. A home registered for 25 people spent an afternoon full of relatives, neighbours and shop staff, and the breast checking message went out with the cake.

Four people dressed in pink, wearing Asda Tickled Pink sashes and feather boas, standing beside the pink stall in the entrance hall of the care home.
Pink was the dress code for the afternoon. Photo: supplied by Minchenden Lodge Care Home

What it means for you

The campaign’s whole point is the checking, so here is the official advice behind it, from the NHS and from one of the two charities Tickled Pink funds.

The NHS says to see a GP if you notice:

  • a lump or swelling in your breast, chest or armpit
  • a change in the skin, such as dimpling that may look like orange peel, or redness
  • a change in the size or shape of one or both breasts
  • nipple discharge, which may have blood in it, if you are not pregnant or breastfeeding
  • a change to the nipple, such as it turning inwards or a rash that may look like eczema
  • pain in your breast or armpit

Breast pain on its own is not usually a symptom of breast cancer, and all of these changes can have other causes. (NHS, breast cancer symptoms)

CoppaFeel! asks people to check every month, so that an unusual change gets noticed quickly, and says that if a sign has not gone away after a week you should arrange to see your GP straight away. (CoppaFeel!, how do I check?)

Breast cancer: what to look for, and when the NHS screens you Panel listing the six changes the NHS says to see a GP about: a lump or swelling in the breast, chest or armpit; skin dimpling or redness; a change in size or shape; nipple discharge with possible blood; a nipple turning inwards or a rash; and pain in the breast or armpit. A second section gives the NHS breast screening ages: women are invited from 50 up to their 71st birthday, every three years, and anyone aged 71 or over can still request screening every three years by calling their local breast screening service. See a GP if you notice any of these The changes the NHS names. Any of them can have other causes, but get them looked at. A lump or swelling in your breast, chest or armpit Skin that has dimpled, like orange peel, or turned red A change in the size or shape of one or both breasts Nipple discharge, which may have blood in it A nipple turning inwards, or a rash that looks like eczema Pain in your breast or armpit NHS breast screening 50 the age invitations start 71 invitations stop at your 71st birthday, having come every 3 years 71 and over: no automatic invitation, but you can still ask for screening every 3 years. Source: NHS, breast cancer symptoms and NHS breast screening. Graphic by Enfield Today
The NHS list of changes to get checked, and the ages at which screening is offered.

Screening itself has an age limit that matters in a home like this one. The NHS invites women for breast screening from 50 up to their 71st birthday, every three years. After that the invitations stop, but screening does not have to. Anyone aged 71 or over can still have it every three years by ringing their local breast screening service to ask for an appointment. (NHS, who breast screening is for)

If your own group, school or club is raising money in the borough, tell us and we will put it in. More of what is happening locally is in our guide to things to do in Enfield.