Hunters Down Care Home have recently received some wonderful artwork to hang in their gardens.

The daughter-in-law of a resident in the home is the founder of Lincoln Art Ninja. She is an experienced art teacher, running groups of all ages and abilities who love to create and have fun!

The idea behind Art Ninja is to leave pieces of art in places where they will be found, in order to spread a smile! The people who find them can either re-hide the pieces, or keep them. The Art Ninjas kindly agreed to donate some of their fantastic artwork to brighten up Hunters Down’s gardens.

There are now twenty-seven beautiful and colourful pictures of flowers, patterns, beach scenes and more hanging on the fences. As a result, the gardens now look vibrant and unique! Residents have said how lovely the art looks, and that they will even be able to admire them in the winter from the windows.

Thank you to Lincoln Art Ninja for their hard work!

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Hunters Down have created a ‘Comfort Box’ for those in the home living with dementia. This box contains items which trigger memories and help residents with way-finding. When residents are feeling anxious, talking about items associated with past memories can be comforting.

Hunters Down have filled the box with a knitted blanket, cosmetics, sweets, a teddy bear, music and more! Sound, taste and smell are particularly powerful senses for triggering memories. Having this box of familiar items can provide reassurance, as well as promote communication and socialisation between residents. The box has been received very well by residents in the home.

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Hunters Down Care Home recently held a Seaside Day in their lovely gardens! It was certainly seaside weather thanks to the hot summer we are currently having.

Residents and families were invited to take part in the seaside-themed activities. Hunters Down also invited some local children to attend the Seaside day. This included pupils from the local pre-school Hansel and Gretel who visit the home monthly, and children from Huntingdon Gymnastics Toddler Sessions which residents regularly attend. Some special friendships have formed between the residents and children, so it was lovely to have everybody together at this event.

Seaside sound effects such as ocean waves, music and seagulls were playing in the background to set the scene. There was a large gazebo, sun sail and pergolas in the garden for some much-needed shade. The garden was filled with paddling pools, sand pits, beach games, badminton, bubbles, flying aeroplane toys and more! There was plenty to keep residents, children and families active and amused! Staff served a variety of refreshing mocktails and Neapolitan ice-cream cones.

The pièce de résistance was a donkey named Basil who made a special appearance at the event! Basil was even taken into the home to visit the residents who were unable to come outside. The residents and children thoroughly enjoyed petting the donkey. It was especially special for one resident called Rosie who used to have a farm with donkeys – it brought back lots of fond memories of her younger years.

Overall the day was a brilliant success! Everybody felt like they were enjoying a fun day at the seaside.

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Ashlyn Care Home recently organised a trip to The Kings Head Pub in North Weald. Six residents enjoyed an afternoon of delicious food and drink accompanied by volunteer Marion.

Len, one of the newer residents got the chance to try new things at the pub. He said it was too hot for a beer, so tried a Diet Coke for the very first time! He really enjoyed it and said it was ‘just the ticket’ on such a hot day! Len also enjoyed his first Crème brûlée for dessert. June chose a burger for her main, but it was so big she couldn’t finish it and brought it home for her son to finish!

Everybody loved the trip to the pub. One Ashlyn resident worked at The Kings Head pub for 25 years, but was unfortunately ill on the day of the visit. However, Ashlyn staff plan to make a return trip very soon so that she can re-visit her old workplace!

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Rheola Care Home recently held a Sports Day in partnership with a local nursery school. The home meets with St Ives nursery school twice a month, either visiting the nursery or inviting them to the home. They also have a penpal scheme for the children and residents to write to each other, resulting in some really special friendships being formed!

It was lovely to have the nursery children attending Sports Day and playing with the residents. Everyone took part in various races, including the sack race, egg and spoon and running races! Afterwards, everyone sat down to enjoy a nice picnic together.

The residents and nursery children love spending time with each other. Recent research suggests that increased social interaction helps reduce the risk of disease in the elderly.  The nursery school partnership allows them to take part in fun and engaging activities. The childrens’ confidence and social skills can massively increase from spending time with the residents. Rheola look forward to putting on many more events with St Ives nursery school!

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Ashlyn Care Home in Essex is home to a resident named Pearl who was formerly a police officer within the Metropolitan Police Force. Despite being retired, Pearl has kept has her old police habits! She regularly patrols her beat, looks after the nurse’s station paperwork and occasionally answers the phone! Staff have given her a desk which has her name on it. If anyone has any problems, they report to Pearl. Pearl loves her new desk, and keeps herself very active and busy in the home!

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Winifred Dell held a ‘Hawaiian Day’ in the home today because of the hot weather! The home was adorned with tropical decorations, such as palm trees, flowers and Hawaiian leis.

Staff and visitors were encouraged to take a refreshing drink from the station set up in reception. Staff were also invited to wear their own clothes for a donation of £1, which would go towards activities for the residents.

Everyone really appreciated the chance to cool off in the heatwave. It’s so important to stay hydrated in these conditions, especially for staff who are constantly on the move! The home looked bright and inviting thanks to all the fun decorations hung up in reception.

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It’s not every day you hear that someone is turning 100!

… That’s why the staff at Queens Oak Care Home in Peckham, SE15 are on a special mission to make this a truly memorable day for Charlotte, on her 100th Birthday on Saturday 4th August 2018.

 How can you help?

• Can you donate your time to give Charlotte a pampering manicure; or a nice hair wash and blow-dry?
• Do you have a lovely dress (size 8); shoes (size 4) or some pearls you can donate?
• Can you bake a nice cake? Or come along and sing some songs?

 Please help to make Charlotte’s 100th Birthday Special!

Please contact Amanda by Monday 30th July 2018 with your offer of help!

Email: amanda.tanner@excelcareholdings.com

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Like many of our Excelcare homes, Castlebar Care Home held a Sports Day event last week. Residents, staff, and friends and family took part in a selection of races including Egg & Spoon, Sack Race and more! They even included a Wheelchair race, so that less mobile residents could still take part.

The event was attended by professional cheerleaders from London. Their cheerleading team has been established for four years, and has performed at numerous events including the Rugby World Cup 2015! They put on a brilliant display to motivate our competitors, and gave out silver pom poms for everyone to get involved in cheering on the teams. There was a lot of excitement as care staff, nurses, residents and family members competed for first place! The winners of each race were awarded trophies, badges and medals.

Afterwards, staff held a cake sale with refreshments. Overall Castlebar raised £ 180 for the Excelcare Staff Benevolent Fund!

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Peartree Care Home hosted a Sports Day and Boot Sale on 18^th July 2018 to raise money for The Excelcare Staff Benevolent Fund. This fund provides support for Excelcare staff in their time of need.

Residents and staff gathered in the garden, before being split into two teams for Sports Day – Red and Yellow.

Residents’ games were adapted to allow those less mobile to get involved. They competed in a seated Egg & Spoon Race, Knocking Down Tins, Ball & Bucket and Passing the Parcel! It was great fun for the residents to take part in the races, cheer on their friends and get active! Afterwards, the staff competed against each other in their races. These included Egg & Spoon, Sack Race, Throwball, Football, and Tug of War.

Excitingly, the Sports Day ended with a tie between Red and Yellow teams! The Red team triumphed in the finale, which was a relay race to decide the winner.

The boot sale consisted of items donated by staff and sold to raise money for the Excelcare Staff Benevolent Fund. Overall, Peartree raised an amazing £202! Everyone had a brilliant time, and are therefore asking that Sports Day is held as a yearly event!

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