Author and screenwriter Deborah Moggach has told Nightingale supporters that visits to the south London home had inspired her to write a novel about the elderly, These Foolish Things — on which the hit movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, was based.

With a little help from his hosts, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith managed to fulfil his speaking engagement at Nightingale's key fundraiser and an event with David Cameron on the same night.

Opening the Wohl Wing at Nightingale on Wednesday, the Prince of Wales was so impressed by the home's care for the elderly that he said he was "booking early to avoid disappointment".

Nightingale supporters gathered at a London West End venue to check out the reasons behind the success of Sainsbury's.

Addressing the inaugural Young Nightingale business lunch, company chairman David Tyler discussed the fundamentals in running a major supermarket chain - customer service, good quality products and competitive prices. Sainsbury's earns £60 million on an average day.

The contingent running for south London care home Nightingale included Sam Vickers (4:50), whose mother Marion Davids is a Nightingale resident. "The atmosphere was incredible and along with the many family and friends there, the crowds cheered me through every mile," he said. "I feel so proud of my achievement and the money I raised for Nightingale.

Nearly 25 kilos of matzah meal, more than 650 boxes of matzah, 6,000 eggs and 180 bottles of Palwin No 10 will help feed 200 Nightingale residents in what chief executive Leon Smith believes is "the biggest Pesach operation in the country".