During art class one of our ladies wanted to paint a picture of her granddaughter's favourite flowers so she could frame it and give it to her for her engagement present. We went to the garden to pick some of the flowers so she could use them to inspire her painting. Her granddaughter was very pleased when she was presented with the painting.

Jayne the home manager at Wyndham Hall was moved when she saw a balloon release recently held on Copacabaña Beach.  The release was in recognition of the 100,000 people who have died in Brazil as a result of COVID-19 and she decided she wanted to do something similar at Wyndham Hall for the people of Oxfordshire.

After a nail-biting week of dreadful downpours, the rain stopped and the sun peeped out just in time for our Summer Garden Party on Sunday 30th August.  We all enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of live entertainment, hand jiving, garden games, bubbly, jam and cream scones and a chance to try out some rather jazzy photo booth props!

This year, White Rose Lodge brought the Care Awards to the home. It was a day of celebrations. Coming together as a team and a community, celebrating not only nominations for Best Chef and Best New Comer but also celebrating the team in its entirety, for all their dedication and hard work throughout what can only be described as a testing year, mentally, physically and emotionally. It was a wonderful sight to behold, gathered together again and listening to sounds of laughter and chatting amongst residents and staff alike.

This month the notion was to ‘play’. No matter the age ‘to play’ is vital to unlocking our creative selves and our subconscious. Taking this into consideration the residents were gathered together around a large table, with a large sheet of paper for all to share. Residents were invited to ‘play’ and unlock their inner child, using any materials and art supplies that were made readily available, in an attempt of creating a piece of artwork together. There were no rules, the only guidance was ‘to play’ of which residents appeared to enjoy and welcome the notion of playing.

The residents at Willow Bank recently enjoyed a Caribbean and Indian Food Carnival. In preparation for the Carnival the residents made decorations and masks to wear. On the evening they enjoyed delicious food thanks to our wonderful kitchen staff, listened to Indian music and watched a colourful carnival on YouTube. The residents said they had a fantastic evening and were full of praise for the chef. 

Our green fingered residents had fun planting herbs, cauliflowers and spring onions in one box and pumpkin seeds in the other.

We have some very keen gardeners at Croft House  and we have previously grown our own potatoes and we all enjoyed them. Our pumpkins are coming along lovely.

Acorn House have recently been asked to join a group called elderly friends. They received their first package from them last week, which the residents really appreciated. In the parcel was a jigsaw puzzle, a pack of playing cards and a colouring book and pens and also lots of hand written cards and messages from people in our local community.

When Anne separated from her husband 13 years ago, she never thought she’d find love again, that was until she moved into Willowdene Care Home in July 2019 and met Gerry.  Anne who is due to turn 78 at the end of September met Gerry, 82, when she moved into the home and the pair became firm friends. They enjoyed spending time with each other, laughing and taking part in the activities at the home and discovered they liked similar music and puzzles. In March, on Gerry’s birthday, Anne realised she thought more of Gerry than just a friend and the feeling was mutual.

We did a repeat of an activity for the first time this week, but they looked so beautiful the first time around I thought we needed some more! They really brighten up the home and everyone enjoys looking at them. We've also tailored some of the pictures we're using to the residents to try and make it a bit more personal!