Activities at Cubbington Mill Care Home

Cubbington Mill celebrated Remembrance Day with a service thanks to resident ambassador, Gerald. Due to the current restrictions, we have been very lucky to already have our own reader, licenced by the Bishop of Lichfield. Gerald gave an amazing Remembrance Day service to staff and residents, who were truly moved by his words.

This was followed by the 2-minute-silence to remember those of the armed forces who died in the line of duty. This is a very important day to many, if not all of our residents, as they either know someone or have connections to those that fought in the war. 

Handmade Remembrance Day booklets were made for staff and residents attending the service to follow along with prayers. Gerald’s lectern was decorated with the beautiful poppy wreath that was made by the children of Oakdene Nursery, Cubbington.

The home has been adorned with poppies since the beginning of November thanks to the children at Caterpillar Nursery, Leamington Spa, sending in beautiful apple stamped poppy paintings. This is also when we began our own Poppy appeal, placing a donation box on our reception desk alongside a box of poppies for staff and residents to wear. This has been a great success and we have raised money for the Royal British Legion.

Residents at Cubbington Mill have expressed their gratitude to Gerald for holding such a wonderful service giving them time to reflect on the current situation as well as on the past. Well done, Gerald!

Residents came together to mark International Men’s Day, which aims to appreciate and celebrate men and the contribution they make to society.

Male residents love going to the pub (our ladies too!), so we thought we would bring the pub to them. Lager, wine, stout, bitter, cider, and mocktails… you name it, the Cubbington Arms Pub has it, along with pork scratchings, salt and vinegar crisps, onion rings and more!

Residents listened to classic pub songs like 'Lambeth Walk' and 'Side by Side' as they drank their drinks and said “Cheers to us!” as they reminisced on their youth.

Deputy Manager, Cat, showed residents some party tricks he had been hiding up his sleeve, and they were very impressed by the way he could open a bottle without a bottle opener.

We finished the afternoon with a good ol’ pub quiz, which questioned their general knowledge; and a special round of obscure questions that produced lots of laughter.

World Food Day is a worldwide day of action against hunger, with the theme for this year being ‘Grow, Nourish, Sustain, Together.’ To celebrate this special day, residents joined together to pot coriander seeds which they will help water and grow to eventually use in the meals at the home. This activity has been a great conversation starter about the importance of food and growing it yourself. We have many keen gardeners at Cubbington Mill Care Home so getting their hands dirty has been a lot of fun!

In October 1945, 42 countries assembled in Quebec, Canada, to create the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). Their goal was to free humanity from hunger and malnutrition, and to effectively manage the global food system. On 16th October, every year since 1979, World Food Day commemorates the founding of the organisation and events are organised in over 150 countries across the world, making it one of the most celebrated days of the UN calendar. These events promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and the need to ensure nutritious diets for all.

Residents had great fun playing a game of bingo in the dining room virtually with the pupils from Princethorpe College. Using Zoom, the sixth from students called out numbers and played alongside our residents, kindly donating prizes to the winners of the bingo game also! Residents wanted to say a big thank you to all the pupils who made them laugh with their silly hats!

The pupils of Princethorpe College would regularly visit the home before restrictions so this has been a brilliant way for residents to keep their connections and sense of community with the local school.

Residents and staff members at Cubbington Mill Care Home celebrated the Harvest Festival recently by working together to design and bake their own Harvest Festival salt dough bread decorations and display for Barchester’s special seasonal competition.

Head Chef, Oliver Hopkins and Activities Co-ordinator, Hannah Fawcett helped residents to plait, twist and mould their salt dough into Harvest themed creations. Residents had great fun feeling and squishing the dough in their hands, they were able to get creative with added sensory fun.

Oliver used coco powder to give the dough a darker colouring and contrast against the white, this made the plaits stand out and gave them a great effect once brushed in egg wash and cooked. The coco powder once baked filled the room with a delicious chocolate smell.

After foraging for clippings from our garden with the help of our maintenance man, Waldemar Stezycki, the flowers and leaves were added into a wicker basket alongside the dough decorations. This beautiful display has been placed in our newly decorated foyer area for the postman, staff, residents and essential visitors to see!

This year’s theme for Arts in Care Homes Day is #CreativeCommunities. We started our morning by video calling our friends over at Overslade House.

Residents took part in a colouring activity to create the 2020 #ArtsinCareHomes poster. After a good chit chat, the sheets were ready to be put together to create the poster in support of this fantastic day!

We continued the festivities into the afternoon with a creative writing workshop, where residents wrote a poem based on the Autumn Equinox, Poetry has been a fantastic outlet and yet another way to get creative for #AICH2020.

The day was a great opportunity to reflect on the creative activities we provide for our residents and staff. We have done some great things during COVID-19 and enjoyed getting creative!

All aspects of the arts are explored in our home and it has been important for us to work with the local community with each project. We’ve become pros at card making, creating our own designs for Carers Week back in June and giving these to the hardworking members of staff at the home.

We were part of Creative Mojo’s ‘Your Face, Your Way’ community project, where residents saw their drawings showcased online!