Life at Adlington Manor Care Home

A local woman is through to the Cheshire Woman of the Year Awards. Kelly-Anne Livingstone, Senior Carer, has been selected for her achievements in being an amazing and inspiring woman in Cheshire by caring for the elderly. The prestigious Cheshire Woman of the Year Awards are organised by NSPCC, and they aim to recognise women from all walks of life for their personal courage, services to the community and outstanding professional achievements.

To mark Elvis’s birthday, we held our annual Rock ’n’ Roll day at the beginning of January. Staff came dressed as pink ladies and greasers, while the residents enjoyed a variety of Rock ‘n’ Roll inspired activities. To top it off, we were visited by Elvis himself, who quickly had the residents singing along and tapping their feet.

Even visiting family members couldn’t resist joining in with some swing dancing.     

January has been a month packed with celebrations. We kicked it off by seeing in the New Year 12 hours early. Many of our residents and staff would have missed the New Year celebrations as they are past our usual bedtimes. So, we decided to count down to 2020 with the people living in Australia. We made home-made party hats and had our glasses of Bucks Fizz ready to watch the fireworks over the harbour, which we live-streamed from Sydney.

We have also seen in the Chinese New Year this month. To celebrate the year of the Rat, we tried our hand at some Chinese lettering. Our Head Chef whipped up an authentic Chinese feast, which was better than any take-away!

Celebrations have been in full swing at Adlington Manor Care Home as one of its residents reached his centenary in style.   Henry Smith was joined by staff, relatives, friends and other residents as he received a telegram from the Queen in recognition of his landmark birthday. A champagne reception was held at the home and guests enjoyed a special birthday cake made by the home’s chef Alfie.

Originally from Liverpool, Henry served in the Navy during WWII and lived with his wife in Marple before coming to Adlington Manor where he is enjoying a new chapter of his life.  The birthday boy said: ‘I can’t believe I’m 100, I thought everyone was joking. I only feel 91!’ Henry believes the secret to a long life is saying active as not many people at his age can still walk.

Fiona Gough, General Manager said: “We’re delighted to be celebrating a truly remarkable man as he reaches this amazing milestone. Henry is such a popular resident who always has an interesting tale to tell, and we look forward to hearing many more as he breaks into his next century.”

What could be more Christmassy than laughing along to a Christmas pantomime?! This month we were invited along to a local primary school to watch their dress rehearsal of their pantomime Charlie in the Chocolate Factory. A small group of residents went along to give their support and to enjoy the children’s fantastic acting, singing and dancing.

So that all our residents could have some pantomime fun, we were also lucky enough to be joined by Grand Dame Theatre company, who performed Jack and the Beanstalk in the main lounge. This two-man show brought the classic story to life, and the residents loved joining in with well-known songs and shouting out ‘He’s behind you’. Some of them even had their picture taken with the world famous Golden Goose.

It’s been a busy month here at Adlington Manor as our Christmas preparations are in full swing! At the beginning of the month, residents made and painted their own decorations to go up on the tree in the activities room. We have also been busy decorating gift bags ready for Santa to fill and give out to all our residents on Christmas morning.

Several of the residents also said that they would like to send Christmas cards to their family, so yesterday we made and wrote cards that can be given to friends and family next time they come to visit. We also went out in the mini-bus to a local garden centre to see all the beautiful Christmas decorations and to have a well-deserved coffee and cake.

Last Saturday we also held or annual Friends and Family Christmas party. Everyone was invited to join us for quizzes, games, pass the parcel, a delicious buffet tea and even a glass of mulled wine. It was a great day with fun had by all.