Activities at Harton 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 don’t encourage them to try! Some hobbies can define a person, so our Activities Coordinators are 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.
Marius Sidoriuc
Hi, my name is Marius, I am the activities coordinator here at Harton Grange. I joined Barchester's family in 2021, as I found their approach and standards on dementia very interesting. Since early 2022 I work for Barchester as both activities coordinator and care assistant. In 2018, I started my journey in health and social care as a care assistant and very soon after, I completed courses on dementia and activities (NAPA, level 2) and I worked as both activities coordinator and care assistant in Kent. I'm also an apprentice in health and social care. I've met some amazing people that have guided my understanding of dementia.
The most important thing for me is to see our residents achieving a meaningful raison d'etre, living as they like and to benefit from a range of activities starting from Namaste to reminiscing and spiritual needs (such as praying or listening to hymns), art and craft, armchair exercises, music therapy or finger nail pamper sessions.
I like to acknowledge that I am working as a part of a whole team, including the fantastic management, hospitality and maintenance departments, promoting a person centred approach for each resident and we are glad to know each persons preferences and abilities in order to plan how the day will look with them. One way we are able to do this is through our residents' and family' meetings where we try to let everyone have their say about the way they want to live and the activities they take part in.
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 Harton Grange Care Home
Tea in the community
Diane had an appointment in Cleadon Village and we took this chance to visit her village. We had a stroll along the Front Street and re-visited the pond. As Diane lived in Cleadon, we decided, of course, to visit the church as well. We were so happy to find the church open and a wonderful community there, enjoying a cup of tea after the service.
Namaste
We spent a great time relaxing or singing in our Namaste room. This time we had a session in the morning and another one in the afternoon. David enjoyed very much to see the lights and to listen to his preferred songs. Jackie and Maureen asked for white wine and Anne was over to moon to sing and came again in the afternoon session. Even Thomasina, Jean and June enjoyed very much to see the lights and Joan was so happy and tried to dance.
Retail therapy
It's Friday, so it is shopping day, not only fish and chips day... We went to Asda Boldon as Audrey used to do shopping here, years ago. Audrey invited Dotty and all three went to Asda. We had a look around and Audrey brought ice cream, chocolate and muffins - to indulge in these sweets over the weekend. Of course, we stopped for a chat over a cup of coffee in this rainy day.
Bowling Club
Don't hit the Jack, don't hit the Jack, get closer (as the aim of the Carpet Bowls is to get as near as possible to the small yellow ball called jack). No, but we hit the road and went to Durham Indoor Bowling Club to play bowls. Tracey, Shelley were so kind and allowed us to play despite of having minimal knowledge to play this game. We learnt as we played and at a point Derek came and explained some tips. Dorothy was just amazing to play it. As she said, she only watched carpet bowl games on Tv but now, when she's in her 80s, has learnt to play bowls.
Residents enjoy sound of brass band
How to miss the chance to listen to the brass band on a Sunday afternoon as these bands are performing outdoor only for 3 months, in the summer? As Edna used to attend these brass band sessions, we invited her to listen to Bright Street Big Band.
Edna, her daughter Kay, son-in-law Steve and myself went to Sandhaven Amphitheatre in South Shields, yesterday afternoon. The music performance of BSBB was amazing and Edna enjoyed very much their music. Kay and her mother had a very intense connection as this music brought back memories.
Spending time in the garden
A seed grows with no sound, but a tree falls with a huge noise. Destruction has noise, but creation is quiet. This is the power of silence. Grow Silently” this saying is attributed to Confucius. We (re)discovered the truth of this over the last days and especially today when we had more time in the garden.
We were so happy to see our carrots ready to be harvested. We noticed that the beetroot is ready as well, but we kept a few for seeds as we did with the coriander. We enjoyed not only the sunny day, but also the work of our hands - a few months ago we planted some tiny seeds donated by Irene Berry's daughters, and now all were large plants. We still keep the leek and onions as the flowers are not transformed yet in mature seeds.
There, in our raised beds, it was a lot of joy for cabbage caterpillars as well- they still enjoy to eat on kale's leaves. We observed the ladybirds, they ate all the aphids on our willow and now the tree is thriving.
Upcoming events
