Activities at Claremont Parkway Care Home

Today at Claremont we listened to the beautiful voices of The Weekley Singers, who entertained both residents and staff. The Weekley Singers explained that they were to perform a concert the following week, and therefore this was their rehearsal, and they didn’t disappoint. The residents joined in with the songs that they recognised and some had tears of joy in their eyes, it was simply amazing. Mary a resident at Claremont voiced “It was beautiful, I absolutely love this, and they have brought back many memories for me”. One member of the choir visits his partner within the home and his partner was delighted to catch up with the members as she herself had been a member of the choir. It was a beautiful afternoon and we look forward to welcoming back the Weekley Singers to Claremont in the near future.

For World book day at Claremont we invited the local Nursery Busy Bees, which have visited the home before and it has always been a great success of interaction between the residents and the children. The afternoon was started with a story of the ‘Smartest Giant in Town’ which the children interacted with well and it brought a smile to their faces. Karen one of the activities team dressed as the giant from the story which also went down a treat with the children. Afterwards the children chose a book to share with the residents and for the resident to read it to them, which produced an abundance of smiles to everyone. Refreshments were given out, which led quite fittingly to the story of the ‘Hungry Caterpillar’ with a visual aid for all to see. The afternoon was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone and we look forward to welcoming the children back again for the Easter egg hunt.

At Claremont Parkway we are always looking for new ways to keep active and help keep the residents bodies moving. During February we welcomed Tom from G-Fitness who joined us for a free demonstration to see if the residents would enjoy a regular visit each month to help with their exercise. We had a warm up to start the session, followed by strengthening exercises using an elastic stretch band and a foam football, which all of the residents excelled at and the exercises were made fun and adapted for those with mobility issues. All the residents agreed it was a wonderful afternoon and are looking forward to the next session and with some practise between Tom visiting we would be find the exercises getting easier to do.

During February we started a Knit and Natter group as a few of our residents had expressed how they used to enjoy knitting. Karen one of our carers who also helps out with activities was more than happy to set this up and volunteer her own time to set the group up and help with the knitting. We were also lucky enough to be joined by Nikki who kindly volunteered to come in and help us with our project of making a blanket. As a group we had a natter about the history of knitting and what people had knitted before. Derek informed us that he had knitted a twin set for his sister and would ask if she still has it so he can show us all. Una’s son showed off the socks she had made for him. We also chatted about how relaxing it was to knit and or crochet and how it helped with our fine motor skills and general wellbeing. A lovely cup of tea was had during the session and some amazing cakes and short bread biscuits were consumed that had been made by our lovely chef Vera. The knit and natter group will be held each Tuesday between 10.30 and 12pm if anyone would like to come along and join us.

At Claremont Parkway to celebrate the Chinese New Year, year of  the Dragon, residents in the morning painted hats ready for later that day for the activities. In the afternoon we looked at the traditions surrounding the Chinese new year, some of which the residents had heard about, however there were some quite unusual facts. All the activities were related to the Chinese new year, with “Guess what I am” and Bingo! We then tried some noodles and egg fried rice, which had been prepared by our home chef. Residents tried to eat these using chopsticks, which did phase some of us. We also had fortune cookies to see what was in store for us. The residents that were unable to join us in the lounge were visited in their rooms for one to one activities.

Claremont was joined by David McFegan.

Residents clapped, waved and cheered at his absolutely amazing skills on his Accordion and what a voice he had to go with it, he had the residents all singing along with him.