Activities at Ashcombe House Care Home

We had a fantastic afternoon as we welcomed Ben Bamboozle, a traditional Punch and Judy show, to entertain us — with some very special young guests from Kings Furlong school. 

Our residents especially loved watching the children’s reactions. Their joy and laughter were so infectious. Joan said it was lovely to hear the children’s laughter. Sally said she immensely enjoyed the whole afternoon, and it made all the difference to have the children enjoy the show with us.

Punch and Judy shows have been enjoyed by generations. Today we were reminded of the joy that comes from connecting generations through sharing special moments. At the grand old age of 363, Mr Punch still makes everyone laugh, young and old.  

We spent the week celebrating VE Day 80. On Monday, we gathered together in the lounge to watch the moving VE Day celebrations in London on the television.  Gerry was really pleased to see the Portsmouth Royal Marine Band taking part in the parade. The Red Arrows fly past was the highlight for Sally.  

We enjoyed a good old singalong, singing VE Day songs including Pack Up Your Troubles, We’ll Meet Again and Somewhere Over the Rainbow along with other songs. Vera Lynn songs were definitely our favourites.
The children from Kings Furlong school came to visit and made crowns for everyone. It was a joy for the residents to talk to the children as they were busy colouring and sticking jewels on crowns which they proudly presented to each resident.

Finally, we celebrated with a delicious buffet lunch made for us by our fantastic chefs Tracey and Jules. Everyone got together in the lounge to enjoy the amazing food, followed by a performance by the band China Wolf, which finished with us all singing ‘God Save The King’. It was a week that reminded us of who we are, and of all we still mean to one another. 

At Ashcombe House we like to take advantage of the sunny weather to go out and about in our minibus. The residents thought a trip to the seaside for fish and chips would be a lovely way to enjoy the gorgeous sunny April weather.

We decided to visit Southsea as Georgie used to live in Southsea and fondly remembers her time bowling at her bowling club and Gerry grew up and lived in Portsmouth before moving to Ashcombe House. Walking along the seafront enjoying the sunshine and the sea view, we bumped into Gerry’s old neighbours!  Gerry was delighted to see them. They chatted and caught up with their news.

After a delicious lunch of fish and chips on the pier, Ron walked down to the seaside to collect some seashells. Gerry remembered the barbed wire on the beach during the war to protect against invasion. He was pleased to see Ron able to enjoy walking on the beach. 

We took advantage of a lovely sunny day in March to go out in our minibus to Conkers Garden Centre. Sally and Gerry were keen to look around at all the indoor treats and the outdoor plants. We needed a new plant for our garden. Sally was in charge of choosing one that would fit in well with our other plants. Sally decided a yellow Forsythia would be a perfect addition to our garden, so we chose the best one we could find! We are looking forward to seeing it in full bloom.

A trip to the garden centre wouldn’t be complete without a visit to their café! We sat in the garden overlooking the stream enjoying a coffee, a hot chocolate and a piece of cake in the early spring sunshine.

Last year Ashcombe House was fortunate to be invited to pilot the Milestones Memory Lounge. Our residents thoroughly conducted the sessions, which involved items and memories from the 1960’s. We were invited to attend the official opening of the Memory Lounge, which gave us a chance to see the finished 1960’s ‘house’ full of items that spark memories and conversation. It was a lovely afternoon. We met the Mayor of Basingstoke and got a chance to explore the museum, visiting and reminiscing about all the shops that used to be in Basingstoke.

We ended the visit with a trip to Milestones' very own pub, The Baverstock Arms!  

Ashcombe House enjoyed taking part in Nutrition and Hydration Week.  We started the week with Guinness and Irish cream with our St. Patrick Day celebrations.  On our Baking for Fun morning, we made jelly and blancmange in a rabbit mould.  The blancmange rabbit brought up memories of birthday parties.  Peggy said that it wasn’t a party with a rabbit blancmange!  Our Nutrition and Hydration Trolley was a great success. It was taken around the home, so everyone could choose a treat to enjoy.

However, the star of our Nutrition and Hydration Week was our fruit-carving afternoon with our amazing chef Jules. Jules showcased his fruit-carving talent, turning fruit and vet into a sea scene, apple swans, orange mice and our very own Joan’s face in a watermelon!  Pat said how wonderful it was to see the fruit and veg come to life.  Everyone enjoyed a bowl of fruit while we all agreed it had been a fabulous afternoon.