Activities at Fordmill Care Home

Our residents came together to enjoy an exciting virtual talk courtesy of the team at National Trust Talks Service.  The illustrated talk took us closer to one of Cliveden’s most famous families, the Astors. Our residents were able to discover what motivated William Waldorf Astor, America’s richest man, to purchase Cliveden in 1893 and how the estate became the centre of high society in the 1920 s and 30 s thanks to his son Waldorf and daughter in law Nancy Astor.

We had a lovely time joining Holly and Marie-Therese from the Wallace Collection, for a virtual introduction to the Collection, followed by a sensory exploratory walk through one of the museum’s most famous landscape paintings.  The Collection ranges from Old Master paintings to 18th century French furniture, arms and armour.   We all had a wonderful time and cannot wait to put our creative skills to a test and paint some landscapes in the upcoming days.

Residents at Fordmill Care Home in Montrose welcome Cassie a Collie who’s definitely the cutest 5 months old puppy they’ve ever seen! She’s been an absolute ray of sunshine for the Fordmill family ever since she joined us at the end of January. We have made sure to incorporate her and daily exercise with the residents as well as having her roam free during events making sure everyone can enjoy her youthful energy.

Kara the operational trainer has been trying to show Cassie how to act in the Home but it looks like chewing through her lead and making everyone play with her is a personality trait. It seems like everyone is absolutely smitten with her, not that we could blame them. She is somewhat bossy when she doesn’t get her way and always wants to make sure she’s the centre of attention.

Rhyming couplets were the order of the day at Fordmill care home in Montrose where residents were keen to get involved in World Poetry Day.

UNESCO says: Poetry reaffirms our common humanity by revealing to us that individuals, everywhere in the world, share the same questions and feelings. Poetry is the mainstay of oral tradition and, over centuries, can communicate the innermost values of diverse cultures.

Staff and residents at Fordmill care home decided to host an afternoon party to celebrate World Poetry day. Residents enjoyed the journey back in time to an Old Montrose through the book ‘Bonnie Montrose – Poems and Songs’ by Montrose author William F. McHardy. 

We had a lovely time joining Angela Cobbin for a theatre-inspired virtual talk about her book ‘My Name is Not Wigs’.  ‘My Name Is Not Wigs’ is the ultimate read for fans of witty behind-the-curtains memoirs, especially those with a penchant for the bright lights of stage and screen: tears and accolades aplenty!

We were treated to an amazing live virtual talk and a tour of Cliveden, hosted by the house and chapel guides from the National Trust Talks Service.

The volunteers kindly gave us a tour around the famous house taking an in-depth look at Cliveden’s many stories from its 350 year history, from devilish dukes to scandalous headlines and boundary-breaking garden designs to political notoriety.

Starting with the Duke of Buckingham who built the first house in 1666, our residents met the key owners who helped shape the house and its gardens including the Orkney, Sutherland and Astor families.

The talk was accompanied by an illustrated presentation which brought to life these individuals and showed how their influence at Cliveden still continues today.