Our catering team have been cooking alfresco with BBQs a-plenty and a huge thank you to all our staffing team for working so hard and keeping everyone smiling and hydrated through the heatwaves. Residents have enjoyed getting to grips with the cocktail shaker – mocktails are regularly being made and their signature “Orange Sunrise” is their drink of the summer!
We celebrated World Beatles Day in style on 26th June. This date was deliberately chosen to commemorate the band's historic 1967 performance of "All You Need Is Love". We stepped back into the swinging 60s for a fantastic afternoon filled with timeless classics, great company and plenty of nostalgia. Thank you to our talented singer Matt Clay for bringing back memories and singing our favourite Beatles hits and more. From singalongs to smiles all round, it was a wonderful afternoon.
The fondest memories at this time of year for lots of our residents are British seaside holidays, so we threw a Seaside Day! Complete with a paddling pool, beach games, fish and chips and ice creams. It was a festival atmosphere with everyone in colourful bucket hats and flower garlands, singing and dancing with wonderful live entertainment from super talented Kim.
We also marked International Beer Day, setting up our mobile bar with lots of unique beers and ales to try. The strawberry beer was deemed the winner and we enjoyed a pub quiz and beer themed bingo!
We have been out and about with a visit to Hartlebury Castle, followed by a stop in their lovely tea room for cake and a cuppa. Our bakers have made delicious cookies and cupcakes for afternoon teas and are looking forward to the start of The Great British Bake Off. Residents have also been out in the garden, pottering at the shadier times and taking moments together for a natter in our serenity garden.
Kim has been entertaining us with tunes through the eras. He knows our residents so well, and just the song for each person to bring a smile to their face, or a toe tap in the chair or to get them up on the dance floor.
We've brought the world a little closer for our residents with the amazing Recreo VR headset. We can use virtual reality as a way to encourage reminiscence, spark conversations, reduce feelings of isolation, and create meaningful moments of joy. Residents were amazed at where in the world they could explore and our staffing team thought it was amazing too.
We have just welcomed back Amber Walters for a photography day with our residents. This was for World Photography Day and she has taken some wonderful pictures of our resident as keepsakes.
As we head towards September, we are thinking of the children heading back to school for a new term. We are looking forward to autumn activities with the Debutot pre-schoolers and children from Astley Primary School.