Activities at Elm Bank Care Home

Residents had a very busy day yesterday, marking Pancake Day with a pancake flipping afternoon of fun for both staff and residents and of course, lots of pancakes! Sharntelle, head chef at the home, flipped more than 100 pancakes, serving them up with sweet and savoury fillings for all the eager staff and residents to enjoy.

Sharntelle said: “My secret to the best pancakes is all in the whipping. Give it some elbow grease when mixing the batter and you’ll get perfect pancakes every time. I like experimenting with the fillings – the residents’ favourites are good old fashioned lemon and sugar!”

In the afternoon it was time to get decorating Valentines cupcakes, Marvellous the General Manager said "so much fun was had by all it was lovely to see all the smiles on everyone's faces , the pancakes tasted amazing and the cakes looked fabulous!"

Staff and residents at Elm Bank welcomed in the Year of the Dragon which took place on February 10th in style, with a day of music and celebrations throughout the home.

Inspired by Chinese culture and traditions, staff exchanged their uniforms for brightly coloured red tops, symbolising luck joy and happiness. The home was adorned in Chinese decorations and crafted paper lanterns. Residents learnt all about the traditions and superstitions of the Chinese New Year, with a quiz that got all thinking.

Chefs Sophie and Jo cooked up an oriental feast for lunch that got some residents tasting Chinese food for the first time. The celebrations went on in to the night, ending with a superb violin concert performed by Jon Spinner that got feet tapping and voices singing.

Beryl a resident at Elm Bank said: “I love this, it is absolutely brilliant, I love all the songs, and I love the music, just beautiful”.

Elm Bank care home residents and colleagues wish to congratulate our wonderful Head of Maintenance; Robert Elsey on receiving Employee of the Month for January. Robert was nominated for always having a smile on his face from the start of his shift to the end! No request is ever too much and he always does his very best to make everyone laugh.

Home administrator Anna had the pleasure of presenting Robert with his certificate and £25 gift voucher. Home Manager; Marvellous said, "Robert is such an asset to the Elm Bank team and has made a real difference since joining, we thank him for all he does and continues to do for the home and our residents."

What a busy day our residents had yesterday with a fantastic Race Day. Drinks flowing, bets placed and the stakes high, it was all eyes to the big screen to see who would pass the finish line. 10 races completed and some lucky winners, much fun was had by all!

Mabel one of our residents said "it is nice to have a drink and relax, I just hope I win some races."

If you fancy joining our residents, did you know that we have regular events and entertainment happening at our home that are open to the community? To receive a copy of our events calendars please email Tina and the Activities team on ElmBank.Activities@barchester.com 

Residents at Elm Bank enjoyed a challenging game of Monopoly this morning. The concentration was evident on their faces as all eyes were on the board. The game began with a warm drink to hand, buckling up as they were all about to pass GO!

If you fancy joining our residents, did you know that we have regular events and entertainment happening at our home that are open to the community?

Traditional Scottish ‘Piper’ hit the high notes yesterday opening our Burns Night Supper. The tune of bagpipes rang through the home as the fun continued well into the night.

Staff and residents at the home were in awe of professional Scottish piper; Mark McLaughlan as his 27 years’ experience shone through when he lead the home’s time-honoured address to the ‘Great chieftain O’ the pudding race’ – the haggis.

General Manager, Marvellous Bindura, at Elm Bank, thought Mark’s piobaireachd was the perfect accompaniment to an evening steeped in age-old tradition in celebration of the poet Robert Burn’s.

She said: “Burns Night is always a fantastic event at Elm Bank, it’s so important to continue these traditions particularly as many of our residents have connections to Corby known locally as "little Scotland".

Our residents enjoyed a hearty meal of Scotch broth, Haggis with neeps and tatties all prepared by our stellar senior head chef; Sharntelle Hall.”

Shelia, resident of Elm Bank said: “I love Scotland and the sound of the bagpipes, it brought back so many fond memories". Resident Betty remarked “The piper even took requests, the gentlemen really enjoyed singing along - it was simply amazing!”