Activities at Hunters Care Home

Wow what an amazing day! On Saturday we held our annual summer fete at Hunters and it was enjoyed by all!
Apart from the sunshine we were so lucky to enjoy great music from Demugpugs - Devizes, Marlborough and Pewsey Ukulele Groups , brilliant performances from Ragged and Old Morris as well as the wonderful animals of The Good Day Farm - On tour and the beautiful classic cars from the Fairford Classic Car club. 
We had local stalls selling a range of homemade crafts and food and of course our own tombola. 
On top of all that our residents enjoyed a delicious BBQ delivered by chef Leo and his team , before cooling off with a delicious ice cream…or two!
Thank you to everyone who came along to support us, it was great to see you all, and our residents have not stopped talking about the day.

Lastly a huge thank you to all of our incredible staff. From the carers and nurses to the maintenance and housekeeping teams, the kitchen, admin and activities, everyone worked so hard to make sure the day went without a hitch and the passion and commitment to our residents really showed!

We were privileged to have the incredible Philip Heyman playing his viola and filling the room with beautiful music for our residents.
Philip is a former Principal viola with Welsh National Opera and this was his first visit to Hunters. It is safe to say that it will not be his last. Many residents are still talking about how much they enjoyed it days later. Philip's performance was heartfelt, uplifting and full of personality, a perfect way to brighten our day. 
Thank you, Philip, for sharing your talent with us, we hope to see you again soon.

Over the last few weeks we have been running trips to Studley Grange Butterfly World and Farm Park for our residents and each trip has been fantastic!
Walking through the amazing butterfly habitat was just the beginning as we got to meet otters, tortoises, peacocks, Meer cats, chickens, goats and many more amazing animals.
Trips like these mean so much to our residents and with more visits to the park planned over the summer, we should be making lots more magical memories.
A big thank you to Julia Stewart, the park manager and all the other staff for making us feel so welcome. We will be back soon.

Another magical afternoon as we welcomed back the amazing birds of prey from Walks With Hawks. We were introduced to "Buzz" an Aplomado Falcon, "Georgie" a ten week old Barn Owl, "Mowgli" a six week old Indian Scops Owl as well as the return of a favourite here at Hunters, a cheeky Burrowing Owl called "Pickle". 

A big thank you to Kellie, who was once again on hand to tell us all about these amazing birds and as usual was amazing with all of our residents. Animal sessions of any kind are always popular at Hunters and are so important to help keep our residents engaged and happy.

This week we held a summer party at Hunters and what a fun afternoon it was! With live music from the brilliant Earl Tee Music. Solo and delicious summer cocktails it was a brilliant celebration of everything summer. 

It wasn't long before residents were up dancing and singing along to some feel-good classics. Live music events are always the most popular at Hunters and this was no exception. The sun was shining on us all and everyone left with a huge smile, feeling good! 

Today we took our annual trip next door to enjoy some dressage at Hunters Equestrian. 

Such a popular session, we had over 20 residents queuing up for the minibus, eagerly waiting to see the beautiful horses and their riders. We got to see both the practising and some of the judging. It was a fantastic morning, even the sun made an appearance.     

This week we welcomed back Diane and Heather from Lane House Alpacas/ Alpaca Walking along with two of their amazing Alpacas, Heartbreaker and Renegade!

The sun was shining and our residents couldn't wait to get outside and meet these two fascinating creatures. Both Heartbreaker and Renegade were very well-behaved and enjoyed lots of attention from residents, family and staff.

Such a fun afternoon, topped off my an ice lolly in the sun!

Wow, what an amazing few days celebrating the 80th Anniversary of VE Day here at Hunters!
We have had historical talks, quizzes, and singalongs. The highlight was our brilliant street party-themed event, with live music from the always fantastic PianoHedgehog Rob! 

Everyone sang along to the old favourites before indulging in a delicious piece of traditional Victoria sponge cake baked especially by our head chef, Leo.

Lots of fun in what has been an emotional week full of reminiscing, laughter and even a few tears. It has been a wonderful experience to share with our residents.

Today we made the most of the beautiful sunshine and launched our new Gardening Club at Hunters. Several of our residents are very green-fingered and miss having their own gardens to look after. Many have requested the chance to help out on our grounds once the warmer weather arrived, so we duly obliged. 

Led by our brilliant gardener Chrissy, first on the agenda was to start work on our wonderful courtyard area with lots of weeding, potting and planting going on. Helping to transform what is a very popular spot for our residents to sit and relax during the summer. Lots of hard work, but lots of fun as we all got stuck in.

The plan is to run the club every couple of weeks, with the residents themselves choosing what they would like to do, what needs to be planted and which areas need the most attention.