Activities at Iris Court Care Home

Iris Court was filled with the sights, sounds, and flavours of Bavaria as residents, staff, and families came together to celebrate a joyful Oktoberfest Open Day.

Our home was transformed into a mini Munich, with colourful bunting, blue-and-white decorations, and tables laden with delicious German-inspired food. Staff really got into the spirit of the day, donning traditional Bavarian dress — lederhosen, dirndls, and all!

All Guests enjoyed sampling authentic Bavarian beer and hearty treats, from pretzels and bratwurst to apple strudel. The lively atmosphere continued throughout the afternoon with an accordion player providing wonderful traditional music that soon had everyone clapping, singing, and even dancing along.

It was a day full of laughter, community, and celebration — a true reminder of the vibrant spirit at Iris Court. Residents, staff, and families all agreed it was a fantastic success and a wonderful way to welcome autumn together.

Iris Court residents and staff dusted off their dancing shoes to boogie the evening away at their Nostalgia Nights Disco. 

Residents enjoyed an evening dancing to their favourite party hits throughout the decades, after enjoying a fashion show in the afternoon displaying their finest party wear and strutting down our very own red carpet. 

In typical disco fashion the home has been decorated with disco balls, glowsticks and a bar for those who enjoy a tipple or a cold drink in-between dances. 

The evening is a wonderful way to connect with each other, and guests that arrived. Its amazing to see the power of music bring wonderous joy and reminiscence for those who may be living with dementia, families or caregivers. 

Residents Celebrated there own Last Night of the Proms at Iris Court. 

Fiona Harrison visited us at Iris Court to perform her Happy and Glorious show in honour of the Last Night of the Proms. The performance was delivered wonderfully celebrating patriotic music throughout the United Kingdom and Celebrating our British traditions. 

With our residents singalong to there favourite songs, and many getting up to dance during the performance, or chatting with Fiona after she had finished, it was sure that a wonderful afternoon was had by all. 

One of the cornerstones of our life enrichment program at Iris Court is live musical entertainment. Resident involvement in choosing genres along with feedback after each performance means that we are able to constantly improve our activities calendar.

Why choose a takeaway when you can make your own!?. 

At Iris Court our residents have been stretching dough, and have been given the choice of many delicious different toppings to make their own pizzas!. 

Our residents chatted away whilst forming there most perfect pizza, whilst being able to customise this to taste, preferences and style.

Once our residents had created the perfect base, it was onto pouring on the tomato puree and adding on many delicious toppings of their choice, with many of our residents joining together to help others finish there pizza's or enjoy the last of the toppings. The comforting smell of freshly baked Pizza's filled the home whilst its safe to say the residents couldn't wait to tuck into there tasty pizza's for their tea.

Residents and staff from Iris Court Care Home recently enjoyed a wonderful trip to Letchworth Broadway Cinema to watch the much-anticipated finale of Downton Abbey. The outing was filled with laughter, nostalgia, and a touch of glamour—perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the beloved period drama.

For many of our residents, Downton Abbey has been a cherished part of their television lives, offering elegant escapism and captivating storytelling. Anne, in particular, was thrilled to attend. Having watched every episode from the very beginning, she was eager to see how the story of the Crawley family would finally conclude on the big screen. Sitting in the plush seats of the historic Broadway Cinema.

Letchworth Broadway Cinema was another special destination visit due to our residents reminiscing about their earlier visits to the very same cinema with their own families. With our residents fondly recalling memories of days gone by and shared stories of those outings over a cup of tea afterwards. “It’s lovely to be back,” residents said.. “The place still has that same charm—it brings back so many memories.”

The afternoon was not just about the film—it was about connection, memory, and joy. Residents chatted about their favourite characters, admired the period costumes, and shared their thoughts on the finale as they left the cinema. The trip perfectly captured the essence of Iris Court’s Life Enrichment Programme—creating meaningful moments that inspire conversation, evoke emotion, and celebrate the joy of shared experiences.

Residents at Iris Court were thrilled to welcome back Safari Stu's Animal party. 

Stu returned to entertain us for the morning by bringing in plenty of new visitors from us to meet such as hedgehogs, lizards, snakes and spiders as well as many different insects.  Residents had many questions to ask Stu about there new friends learning plenty of interesting facts. 

It was a lovely morning with the residents and families joining in, and challenging each other to hold the snake and spiders whilst posing for a perfectly timed Picture whilst creating many lasting memories together.

Residents at Iris Court Care Home love the animal therapy sessions that our dedicated Activities Team organises monthly. As one of the foundations of our Life Enrichment program, we know that animal therapy can help reduce blood pressure and improve overall cardiovascular health. 

Iris Court was full of animal mischief when this week when a group of Alpacas came to visit.

Our residents at Iris Court were pleasantly surprised to see their new furry friends roaming around their home as the Corn Hill Alpacas paid a visit.

Our residents have really enjoyed their unusual visitors today. We knew that having the Alpacas here would be a bit of fun for all our residents. At Iris Court we are always looking for new activities for the residents and today we have seen the seen the enjoyment and the therapeutic influence animals can have on people.”

Residents were thrilled by the Alpacas visiting today with many saying: “As a child I used to love all the animals on the nearby farm. Today was very enjoyable and it was wonderful that the animals were free to roam amongst us.” 

 At Iris Court animal therapy is one of the cornerstones of our life enrichment program and features regularly on our resident-led weekly activity planner.

At Iris Court as part of our life enrichment programme we hold a Knit & Natter club for our residents who love to Knit and welcome the wider community into join us. 

It was a wonderful morning for our ladies who joined with it being such a cheerful morning!.

The ladies knitted, sung along to some of their favourite music being played, whilst sharing many laughs over the morning and making friendships whilst doing so. The group discussed what project they could work towards together to accomplish. Whilst holding the Knit & Natter sessions we are aware it reduces social isolation but it also boosts a sense of accomplishment, cognitive stimulation, emotional well-being whilst sharing skills and continuing to add valuable learning experiences.

There’s nothing quite like a seasonal trip to lift the spirits and spark a little festive joy! This week, our residents enjoyed a delightful outing to Vanstone’s Garden Centre, where they explored a stunning array of autumn displays and caught their first glimpse of the magical Christmas decorations starting to appear.

The visit was filled with colour, laughter, and conversation as residents admired the rich tones of the autumn flowers, browsed through twinkling ornaments, and shared stories about their favourite holiday traditions. 

Our team loves organising these seasonal trips, which offer residents a chance to enjoy new experiences, socialise with friends, and connect with the changing seasons. With the festive season just around the corner, the visit to Vanstone’s has certainly set the mood for what promises to be a joyful and creative few months ahead.

Our lovely resident Iris had the treat of sitting down for a manicure this week. As you can see by Iris’s lovely smile this was truly enjoyed!. 

At Iris Court our care and activities team provide pampering manicures and sensory footbaths as part of our weekly life enrichment plan

We know that offering these treatments into our weekly schedule promotes a higher level of care but also provides a sense of relaxation and wellbeing whilst boosting our residents self-esteem.
 

Residents and Staff celebrated in style with there Las Vegas themed family fun day!. 

Our residents and guests enjoyed the day with the home decorated in true Vegas style, enjoying games such a poker and blackjack. The community along with families and friends where invited in to enjoy American themed lunch of American style burgers, hotdogs, Fries and all the sides and delicious doughnuts for the sweet treats. 

The afternoon continued with Brook William Charles performing a his hits from the 50's, 60's and 70's for us getting everyone up dancing and partying the afternoon away. Brook was wonderfully engaging with our residents at Iris Court informing us of his upcoming Britain's got talent auditions and the whole of Iris Court will be wishing Brook the best of luck, and hope to have him back with us again very soon. 

We have been getting creative this week at Iris Court. 

we have started a new green house project at Iris Court with the painting of our much loved green house here in the gardens of Iris Court!. Some of our residents at Iris Court who enjoy keeping there DIY and practical skills up to high standard have begun painting our green house together as a home project. 

Our residents have loved being able to get hands on with the painting of the green house, with many reminiscing of there time at home managing any DIY jobs, whilst feeling the reward of working together to finish this and enjoy the finished result whilst we can still enjoy the warm weather. 

This has gave many of our residents the chance to still be able to carry out tasks which would of been part of daily life before Iris Court, whilst maintaining there independence and boosting social wellbeing and sense of accomplishment.

We are very much looking forward to any finishing touches being completed to the green house for the whole home to enjoy this special space and share many special memories. 

We had a lovely trip down to our local Carers Café run by Portmill GP surgery. 

The morning was enjoyed by residents and staff as we spent the morning socialising with our community members , sharing stories, memories and sharing plenty of laughter, whilst enjoying a delicious cuppa and wonderful homemade savoury treats and cakes kindly donated by guests and volunteers of the café. 

At Iris Court regularly popping out for coffee, pub lunches, mini-bus trips, and other outings is an essential part of our weekly activity calendar