Activities at Lochduhar Care Home
Activities are the cornerstone of a wholesome home experience and our Activities Coordinators are always putting their creative minds to the test by organising new and exciting social events for residents to partake in. Of course, we take into account the likes and dislikes of those we support, so if someone doesn’t feel like trying something new, there will always be something on offer to reflect their personal interests. For the people who may just prefer some peace and quiet instead, we also offer one-to-one time that can be enjoyed with a nice cup of coffee or just a simple chat – whatever they desire.
Sally Gilder
Sally has been in the care sector since 1998. Sally joined the Lochduhar team in 2018 as a care assistant.
Sally is very passionate about the care she provides and the welfare of the residents. Working as a care assistant Sally was able to get to know the residents wants and needs to provide excellent person centred care to each individual. Then in 2020 Sally found the opportunity to become Head of Activities. Sally feels that she provides a different side to herself to promote an active and inclusive lifestyle through her role as Head of Activities.
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 Lochduhar Care Home
A blooming display!
Staff and residents at Lochduhar in Dumfries were treated to an interactive virtual floristry masterclass courtesy of Master Florist, Michal Kowalski, from Blooming Haus.
Blooming Haus started with a small pop-up shop in Chelsea. They have since blossomed spectacularly on to the floristry scene as ‘floral engineers’, carving themselves an outstanding reputation as one of the UK’s most innovative floral design studios. The company is the vision of Master Florist, Michal Kowalski and his business partner, Michael Dariane. The pair bring a completely fresh approach to floristry and their ambition to push the boundaries of traditional floristry has laid the foundations of Blooming Haus’ success to date.
World Bee Day
Residents and staff at Lochduhar celebrated World Bee day with the homes maintenance, Robbie
kindly showed residents the way he keeps his bees. He showed us his protective clothing, his smoke puffer, combs and other tools he uses. Robbie also made a short video so the residents could watch this. Robbie also brought us some honey in for the residents to taste. Our residents took a keen interest and thoroughly enjoyed the presentation.
V&A Dundee - Ocean Liners
Staff and residents at Barchester’s Lochduhar were treated to a photographic tour and talk about the era of ocean travel by V&A Dundee Curator, Charlotte Hale. The presentation forms part of a series of six talks and virtual tours that V&A Dundee is hosting for Barchester Healthcare’s care homes and private hospitals across the UK.
National Vegetarian Week
To celebrate National Vegetarian Week, staff and residents at Barchester’s Lochduhar were treated to an interactive virtual cookery demo courtesy of chef, Alex Connell, from Vegetarian for Life.
Chef Alex whipped up some tasty, healthy vegetarian snacks in a live, interactive cookery demo. Much to residents’ delight, Lochduhar head chef had prepared the same recipes so that residents could try all the dishes. Residents sampled delicious, light and summery veggie dishes including Borlotti bean and dill pate, Greek fritters with Tzatziki and Coronation 'chicken' pastries. All finished off with a sweet and simple but totally yummy banana bread.
Green Goddess joins Residents
Staff and residents at Barchester’s Lochduhar were treated to an armchair work out courtesy of the Green Goddess, Diana Moran, and Shackleton’s furniture company, followed by a mindfulness session led by Shackleton’s Emma Raybould.
Diana rose to fame as a glamorous fitness guru on BBC’s Breakfast Time in the 1980’s and has made an outstanding contribution to improving the health and wellbeing of people in the UK. She now brings that experience to Shackletons as their Health and Wellness Adviser.
VE anniversary celebrations
On 8th of May, staff members and residents at Lochduhar in Dumfries marked the anniversary of VE Day, also known as Victory in Europe Day, by organising a variety of special activities.
The home was specially decorated with flags and banners for the occasion, and at 11am everyone gathered together for a two minute silence as token of appreciation to the heroes of World War II.
In the afternoon, the residents got involved in a sing-along, themed talks and quizzes, and raised a glass to the nation, showing gratitude to “those who gave so much”.
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the end of World War II in Europe.
Upcoming events
