Activities at Ashlar House Care Home

William was a member of the University of the Third Age for 11 years, participating in country & forest walks, retired at the age of 70. After attending the residents October meeting himself and others took on a weekly walking challenge. It can be steps, meters or miles, either way any excuse to catch the winter breeze, enjoy the nature and focus on movement is always welcome. One of our residents has a great competitive spirit and took the challenge of completing the daily steps very seriously. He felt totally rewarded at the finishing line. An Apple watch was issued to the residents, so they could track their steps and show off later. Of course, the fantastic achievements were properly celebrated with cake and tea in the afternoon. What a lovely experience, enjoyed by all involved. 

Willoughby Peters made some beautiful new friends at Ashlar House, and even shared a dance or two. What an lovely afternoon of song and dance. Cannot wait for his return.

What a wonderful morning we’ve just had here at Ashlar House Care Home in Epping yesterday. Our group reiki session with Kate Marshall was loved by all with the vibration and energy in the room reaching high levels on numerous occasions! With a very zen feeling all around, we can’t wait to arrange the next one. 

Rita, the home's Lifestyle Activities attended the Epping Forest Dementia Fair on Saturday, 1st of October, accompanied by Creative Mojo. The aim of the event was to raise awareness for people living with dementia and provide information to those interested. A number of our local partners and local community groups joined the event. It was lovely to see familiar faces and to discuss interesting dementia-related topics. This was the first event of its kind in Epping and the Epping Forest Dementia Action Alliance, working in partnership with the local church, are keen to hold more events like this again in the future. Oovie Usher, a teacher from Coopersale and Theydon Garnon Primary School, also attended, showcasing and raising awareness for the intergenerational work they have done with Ashlar House and how all children in the school learn about dementia. Three Year 6 pupils - Presley, Remy and Elsie - also spoke about the impact it's had on them and why they think children learning about dementia is so important.

The guests were offered a glass of bubbly on arrival and all took great interest in the artwork on display. There was lots of chat, laughter and smiling faces as they wandered around. Great interest was shown in how our Creative Mojo Ltd workshops worked and the residents we worked with. Some guests liked the artwork so much they even wished to purchase some of the pieces. The Mayor, Barbara Scruton, also attended and turned out to be a friend of Claire Stallan Mum and Dad - hence the unconventional hugging photo. Amelia - Lifestyle Leader Rita Green’s daughter - also introduced us all to a great art app she has been using which plays back how the art piece was made from start to finish.

Glenn having worked with most of these ladies and gentlemen previously it was very clear that they was very capable, so today he decided to try some exercise up and out of the chair! They started with a good full body warm up, using lots of the techniques that we use when seated in the chair, but standing makes some of them more challenging and really helps the participants to work on their balance. Then managed a full 30 mins class. Using our chairs to help us with our balance and to use to lean and rest on when needed, we went through a series of lower and upper body exercises working on Strength but concentrating mainly on mobility, and working the areas that the residents individually mentioned to me that they felt needed moving and strengthening. The residents also added in some low impact marching in the spot to break things up a bit! Once we had finished, we took to our chairs for a well deserved rest, and had a nice Long Cool down and full body stretch followed by some relaxation with some nice soothing music. The whole class done so well, and I very much look forward to seeing everyone soon for our next session where we will try some new exercises