Activities at Braeburn Lodge Care Home

We were joined by Joan and Jill on a very special trip to buy some surprise additions to Braeburn Lodge. As soon as we stepped off the mini bus at Notcutts Garden centre we could smell the beautiful flowers. Joan loves being outdoors and was memorized by all the vibrant colours. Jill clocked all the garden ornaments, her favourite were the little dogs. We strolled through to the animals where they chatted away to a parrot, who was casually sitting on his perch. The ladies then helped us choose two little special additions to Braeburn Lodge. We carefully drove home and Jill and Joan have promised to keep our new little friends a secret until the big reveal at our summer fete.

On June 2nd our fabulous Nancy celebrated her 106th birthday in style. She sipped on her bubbly as she sat like a queen surrounded by her loved ones who had worked with the home to plan this extravagant day. Nancy’s daughter said “my mother had a wonderful day.” Nancy received a total of 102 cards including one from King Charles and Queen Camilla. Nancy is a remarkable lady, she is a published novelist and was once a world record holder, and we were honoured to share this memorable day with her.

Residents across our services enjoyed a fantastic virtual tour of The Deep, an award-winning aquarium in Hull.

Our residents dived into the underwater world of some fascinating creatures such as sharks, turtles and stingrays.

It was a truly immersive and educational experience that brought the wonders of the ocean right to our screens.

On May 22nd we took two of our lovely ladies to our local museum in the historical town of Peterborough. Jean and Pat were very excited to be able to go and see all the exhibitions on show. We walked around the geology collection where they saw a range of Jurassic marine fossils including the specimen of the largest fish that ever lived. Followed by the natural history collection, where our residents were able to be interactive with the mammals on show and even stroke a preserved fox.

Later, our they were memorized by the social history collection where Jean and Pat could try on costumes from 1600 onwards. This was an amazing chance for Jean and Pat to see items from there past and artefacts that wowed them. They were both full of laughter all morning and thoroughly enjoyed their museum trip.

This is something we shall definitely continue to plan going forward. Cultural visits are very beneficial for those living in  a care home and we cannot wait to take some of our other residents on similar trips in the future.

This month, we re-introduced our gardening club to all our lovely residents at Braeburn Lodge. It has been quite a few years since the grounds in our home has been updated properly, and therefore we thought it would be an ideal opportunity to start gardening again since the weather was finally improving. We have many keen and experienced “gardeners” living in our home, and so we wanted to set up a club that would benefit all those who were interested in taking part.

 First, we spruced up the raised soil beds, in preparation for some spring planting. Some of our residents observed from far, giving their ideas on how to clean the dead weeds. It was beautiful weather and perfect for residents to soak up some sun, have a nice refreshing drink and help staff members with the organising of the garden. Then, over the following days we set up smaller groups of planting, where our residents had a more full on experience of sowing small pots of flowers and vegetables, ready to be planted into the gardens later on.

Overall, it has been a successful activity so far and we hope to continue planting with our lovely residents  until gardening season is over.

On May 2nd, our adorable resident Gwen, celebrated her 100th Birthday with her grandchildren, residents, and staff members. The room was filled with balloons, delicious treats, party props and a beautiful collection of birthday cards, written especially for our lovely lady. Gwen normally prefers to stay in her own room, although on this occasion she was very happy and content to spend time with everyone who truly adores her.

 Gwen has been residing at Braeburn Lodge for almost ten years. She has made so many friends since being in our home, as well as capturing so many of our hearts with her beautiful, contagious smile. She used to live on a farm when she was younger, and enjoyed a wonderful life with her husband, children, and farm animals.

 We wish Gwen a very happy and healthy 100th Birthday and hope to spend many more precious days with her in our wonderful care home.