Activities at Denmead Grange Care Home
We understand that the people we support have passions and interests that could be difficult to pursue after moving into a care home – but that doesn’t mean we won’t encourage them to try! Some hobbies can define a person, so our activities team is dedicated to ensuring that everyone we support is able to do what makes them happy to the best of their abilities. Social events are organised with individual tastes in mind and with the idea that residents have the opportunity to try new and exciting things.
Lisa Harris
Being Head of life Enrichment isn’t just a job, it’s a passion.
My time with the residents has and will always be an honour and pleasure.
Finding out their interests and hobbies, so I can tailor the weekly planner is such a great thing to do, as this means lots of chats over a good cuppa! But it also means that I can get to know them personally and get to understand a part of their past, so I can continue to help them experience their interests in this next phase of their lives.
A truly rewarding role, where I can be part of and contribute to something meaningful. All I hope for, is to make this journey for both the residents and their families, as restful, easy and enjoyable as possible. Then I know I’ve done my part.
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at Denmead Grange Care Home
Our beautiful grounds
Summer may be nearly over but our gardens at Denmead Grange are still beautiful and are enjoyed by residents and their visitors. As well as beautiful flowers in both the garden and out the front of the home, we also have nesting birds and today we saw 2 baby birds leaving their nests for the first time, even though we kept well away Jamie was so excited to see them fly with the mother (they did land right in front of us and took off again) it was certainly something to behold! All photos of the birds were taken at a distance so we did not scare them
Supporting our Local Hospice
We were pleased to support the Rowans Hospice on Sunday by hosting a cake stall at their summer fete, the cakes were so delicious we raised over £265 for them in one afternoon, this wouldn't have been possible without the wonderful cakes provided by Denmead Grange, our family and friends and the wonderful supporters of the Rowans. The event was very popular and it was great to see such a worthwhile cause be so well supported by the local community
Painting for fun
Our residents are always keen to try new things and this week they enjoyed trying out a different painting technique at our Arts and Crafts Afternoon yesterday. The masking tape technique!
Our residents started by delicately placing their tape in geometric lines across their paper. Paint was then laid all over the paper, some residents did block painting whilst others went for an ombré effect! Once painted, they peeled away the tape to reveal an abstract piece of art! They were quite rightly very proud of their achievements!
Music and Movement Sessions
Over the weekend, our Memory Lane residents took to basketball like professionals! Our residents took it in turns to shoot the hoop in hopes to gain points for prizes! Take a look at our action shots below.
Our residents are very competitive and love a challenge, so while listening to 50's dance tracks in the background, all the players were determined to be the winner but the overall winner was Alan, who received a fantastic array of Faux Flowers for his room. He scored a whopping 4 hoops during the game and was so pleased with his result he couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day.
The music continued while we took a break for refreshments and we sang along to some great tunes that brought back fantastic memories
Furzeley Book Club -
Every Thursday, our residents come together to the lounge for the Book Club. Together we select a book from a range a titles to read together over the following weeks.
This session, our residents have chosen a gripping thriller by Ann Cleeves based around the famous Shetland detective, Jimmy Perez. The story follows Perez as he hunts for the killer of a local teacher! It's a suspenseful, murder mystery packed with twists and turns; and after the first session today, our residents are hooked!
Gwynyth, one of our fellow residents, enjoyed reading a few chapters for the group; working in a library her whole life, she has always been surrounded by literature and reading. Residents were enraptured and complimented her on her fantastic reading ability!
We will keep you updated on our next book venture!
The year so far
Today we decided to look back over 2022 so far and all the wonderful things we have achieved and done. From arts and crafts and flower arranging ready for the Queens Platinum Jubilee, to fund raising for local charities and holding Jubilee parties and summer fetes 2022 has certainly been busy! With the world slowly getting back to normal we were able to restart our minibus trips with visits to the seaside, Stansted Park and the top of the hill.
We have been determined to keep fit and look good so with the help of Sally Carter we have been exercising and Lloyd has ensured that all the ladies have beautiful nails
Group activities have restarted and we have not only celebrated many different countries and our national days like St Patrick's Day and Burns Night, we have also practiced our baking skills and we have had Bieber the dog visit and even made dog treats for our families dogs. Flower arranging has proved to be very popular and everyone enjoyed celebrating National Tea Day, The Grand National, Cocktail Making and Cheese and Wine Tasting.
Fund raising has been really important this year and we have raised money for Alzheimer’s UK, Parkinson's, The Denmead Community Centre lunch club and most recently our summer fete raised over £700 which will be split amongst local charities including Cowplain Age Concern. As well as fund raising we have said thank you to our amazing carers, hospital nurses and our local district nurses with cakes and a hamper, and let's not forget celebrating with Sue for her long service award and Lloyd with his Divisional Activities Co-Ordinator of the Year award
All in all it has been an amazing 7 ½ months and we are looking forward to enjoying the rest of the year with visits from Monroe the Bearded Dragon, visits to the donkey Sanctuary and many more activities planned
