Activities at Kings Park Care Home
Activities are an integral part of life at our care home. We want to ensure that the people we support have as much fun as possible during their time with us, so it’s important that our activities programme is created with the interests of residents in mind. Our skilled Activities Coordinators bring a certain uniqueness to the home that can’t be found anywhere else, and which is reflected in the activities they organise.
Angela Cawsey
Hello, I am Angela the Activities Lead.
I am delighted to be part of the team at Kings Park after a transferring from a sister home in Salisbury, following my relocation to this area.
With experience in this role, my passion is bringing joy to our residents, whether on a one-to-one basis or in groups. I love getting to know each resident and incorporating their interests into engaging, meaningful activities and events that nurture the mind, body and spirit to enhance their well-being and life enrichment at our home. Making people smile is what I do best!
During lockdown, I ran daily Zoom sessions for well-being, including bingo and quizzes. When my children were young I volunteered as a helper at Boys Brigade and St John's Ambulance which was very rewarding. I love being a Grandma, music, crafts, the outdoors and animals - I have just started a new hobby of wild swimming with friends.
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 Kings Park Care Home
We had a lovely time with our first Easter-themed event with a game of Easter Bingo!
Dottie was a little star, helping us decorate and even turning the handle for our first round of bingo, to handing out chocolate prizes. She couldn’t resist joining in for the second game and wanted to cross off her own numbers!
Residents, staff, family and friends all joined the fun, hoping to win some sweet treats. A lovely Good Friday full of laughs, treats and community spirit.
A Dancer’s Wish Come True
We had the absolute pleasure recently of making a very special wish come true for our lovely resident Claire.
Claire has danced nearly her whole life, starting with ballet as a child, performing on stage, and later running her own dance school in Cockfosters for 30 years. Some students even went on to join the Royal Ballet! After moving to Dorset, Claire kept sharing her love of dance, teaching ballroom and sequence dancing for another 20 years. Her passion and poise have inspired so many over the decades. Her influence reached far and wide, so much so that her cousin recently bumped into his dentist, who fondly remembered “I always stood up straighter when Claire was around, she had such beautiful posture".
As part of our Resident’s Wish initiative, we surprised Claire with tickets to 'Inspirations' a wonderful local dance show featuring ballet, tap and modern performances. She had a front row seat and was absolutely mesmerised, especially by the youngest ballerinas (just 4 and 5 years old!) and said they were adorable.
We are so grateful to the organisers because after the show, Claire got to meet two of the young dancers, Fifi and Lydia-Rose and had a photo with them. This thoughtful gesture truly made her day!
Moments like these remind us just how powerful it is to honour someone’s past and celebrate what they love most. Thank you, Claire, for sharing your beautiful story and lifelong passion with us. It was wonderful to see how happy Claire was and the team loved being a part of it!
We tried something new today - Seated Yoga!
Stuart Robertson from Age Well Dorset Physio is a fantastic teacher, everyone really enjoyed the session, there have already been requests for him to return again soon!
Naomi and Bert had a lovely chat with him afterwards about his work as a physiotherapist. It was great to hear Stuart's story behind him starting seated yoga and to see his mastery at demonstrating a number of the yoga poses, this helped us understand them before trying ourselves!
A relaxed, gentle session to strengthen and relieve tension, boosting wellbeing.
The Creative Happiness Club Social
The Creative Happiness Club, is hosted weekly by Eleanor Green at Kings Park Care Home, although 1 week of the month they enjoy a monthly pub social, such a lovely way to catch up outside of their usual crafting sessions! Our residents Audrey and Eric love being part of the club and joined in the fun today with our Activities Lead, Angela at The White Heather, Ferndown.
The group has grown into such a lovely circle of friends and it’s wonderful to see the joy it brings each week. A big thank you to The White Heather for playing some classic tunes — there were definitely a few moves on the dance floor!
Swinging Sixties Celebration!
We had a blast stepping back into the 1960s this week and what a groovy day it was!
The morning kicked off with a fun, brain-teasing 60s quiz, followed by our Film Club featuring an iconic classic from the decade.
In the evening, Neil Wookey had us singing and dancing along to some of our favourite 60s hits with plenty of swaying, toe-tapping, and boogieing!
A special mention to our activities team, Angela and Vivian, who went all out in fabulous 60s fancy dress to really bring the day to life!
The 1960s, known as the Swinging Sixties, were all about bold fashion, cultural change and unforgettable music — and we loved every minute of bringing that spirit back for the day!
Sunshine, smiles and a splash of something refreshing!
With all this gorgeous weather, we treated our residents to an afternoon of beer tasting.
After sampling the selection the verdicts were mixed..
Eric enjoyed the Cornish one… but partial to the Japanese.
Gerry went full-on Zen with the Japanese.
Bert was Team Cornish.
Ann also enjoyed the Cornish, close second, Madrid!
Barcelona for Iris!
Marjorie was happy to try them all — though Barcelona came out on top!
As for Alan, he'd rather have a cider!
A lovely afternoon had by all. Cheers to good weather and even better company!
Upcoming events
You are invited to our Open Day! 21st June 10-4pm
Meet our Home Manager, Jenna and her fantastic team. Sample food, take a tour of our beautiful home, speak with residents and learn how we can support you or your loved one.
Vision Board Workshop with Michelle Vaughton 24th June 6.30pm
CREATE YOUR FUTURE VISION! Booking required: £20pp includes all materials, Drink and cake! Email: jane.shanahan@Barchester.com
CALL MY BLUFF! Charity Quiz Night 26th June 7pm
Join us for a night of curious objects, creative stories, and clever bluffs! Each round, a strange or unusual item is revealed, only one person is telling the truth £5pp Bkg Ess
Professionals' Breakfast ~ 2nd July 7.30am-9.30am
A chance to meet local professionals in the Ferndown and surrounding area, network with like minded people over a delicious breakfast selection. Free event ~ Booking required.
Lester Aldridge Legal Clinic - 4th Friday Bi-Monthly 2-4pm
Meet Olivia Singer at her monthly drop-in session, for a non-obligation, free conversation on Tax, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Wills & Probate and more! May/July/Sept
Community Café ~ 1st Thursday of Every Month 10.30am-12pm
Join us for a morning of conversation with delicious refreshments included. There is always a warm welcome to all, this is a free event.
Don't Dine Alone - Every Friday 12.30pm - 2pm
Call our friendly team for further information 01202 863630 - Booking required
The Creative Happiness Club with Eleanor Green
Every Monday* 2pm-4pm (*Excl the 2nd Mon of the month) A welcoming social group where you can enjoy all things creative, games, puzzles and more everyone is welcome!
