Activities at Beaufort Grange Care Home

A few residents were clear in wanting to play the map game. With their mind focused on a map of the United Kingdom put up on the board, they were invited to draw on the map to show where they were born, along with other places that prompted memories, which they then described to the others.

Residents and staff at Beaufort Grange have received protection from the coronavirus with their first vaccination jabs.

They received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which was rolled out by the government recently following its authorisation for use by the Medicines & Healthcare products Regularity Agency (MHRA) at the end of December.

The vaccinations were administered at the home on 11th January, with a date for everyone’s second booster jab yet to be confirmed. Care home residents and staff, along with others who work in social care, are amongst the government’s stated priority groups for the vaccination.

There were no obvious anti-needle phobias on display, as residents and staff waited to receive the vaccine. If anyone did feel a bit squeamish, it was kept private and under control, with everyone understanding how worthwhile the vaccinations are.

Receiving the jabs indeed represents an important development for everyone at the home. It marks the beginning of a healthier, safer, happier future – and hopefully protection will be administered soon throughout the UK and around the world as vaccination programmes get fully under way.

Our first activity after the Christmas festivities was painting. Using many colours they could express feelings conjured by Christmas which, of course, had been very colourful in its own right. It was as though, subconsciously, they wished to continue with colourful thoughts to counteract the dullness of winter!

It is difficult perhaps, for most of us to imagine how we would feel on our 100th birthday.

Joyce has recently become a centenarian at Beaufort Grange. She has a wealth of memories and, when asked to recall any particularly wonderful ones, she was happy to share with us all.

It is a beautiful thing when people are able to keep friendships close within their hearts throughout a lifetime, and to remember those friendships as some of the most beautiful things in their lives.

Needless to say, for Joyce’s 100th birthday celebration, we were inspired to decorate the lounge in a manner worthy of such a special day for her and her family, who were allowed to join her, given suitable social distancing. Our Head Chef turned out sandwiches, small cakes, crisp, fruits, tea, coffee and, of course, a beautiful birthday cake.

There was much happiness and for Raji Sunil, General Manager, and other staff. The biggest reward was to hear Joyce say that she had had a wonderful day, and to know that we had managed to lay the foundation for a very happy celebration.

Beaufort Grange welcomed Oktoberfest with open arms. Our residents were delighted to have a taster session of different German beers, and the Erdinger beer quickly became a favourite.

We had a little history lesson on the origins of beer, a quiz and we also displayed footage of the 'Wiesn' from the '50s and '60s to fully immerse our residents into the spirit of this famous Bavarian celebration.

Our residents stepped into the Diwali spirit at Beaufort Grange. One of our lovely carers had cooked delicious Indian food for the day and Beaufort’s residents were delighted.

We gave a short presentation on what Diwali is about and had so much fun dancing with our residents whilst  listening to Punjab folk music. Residents who wanted were lucky enough to try on some traditional Indian clothing.