Activities at Moreton Hill Care Home

We were delighted to welcome our local MP, Siobhan Baillie, for a return visit to Moreton Hill to chat to the residents and families and see the changes that have been made around our home.  Roxana, our Senior Manager took Siobhan on a tour of the home and then coffee and cake were served in our May Hill Lounge where everyone had a chance to ask questions.  Among the topics discussed were the cost of care home fees and care home provision and also the state of the roads in the local area.

Chicks, kids and lambs have brought joy to our residents this spring.  The benefits of spending time with animals for older people are immense.  Research has shown that having sensory experiences through pet therapy can help lower blood pressure and reduced stress.  Animals of all shapes and sizes can have a wonderful calming influence and their presence can also spark interesting conversation and reminiscence.

As Moreton Hill is situated in a rural environment we are able to take advantage of all the beautiful countryside has to offer.  Many of our residents have farmed the land in the vicinity or have connections to the local rural community. Some of our staff also have small holdings or are from farming families.  Colin our Maintenance Manager has land where he keeps a variety of animals.  The kids he brought in to show everyone were remarkably calm and were happy to fall asleep on our residents’ laps.  Similarly, Caroline our Activities Assistant is married to local farmer, Adrian who brought in the lovely lambs for us to see.

The chicks we hatched ourselves from eggs and they have now gone to live at a local farm where we can keep track of their progress.  Of the seven eggs that hatched we are waiting to see how many cockerel are in the batch!!

It is always a pleasure to be involved in community projects and our residents were delighted to be asked to contribute to the annual Stonehouse in Bloom event this summer.  The theme is friendship and we have been tasked  to put together artwork depicting various aspects of the theme.  Our residents have brainstormed ideas and are now in the process of working with a local artist to put their thoughts onto paper and then on to the boards that will appear in the town centre from June onwards.

We enjoy finding out about our residents’ past lives and interests.  This month, however, the spotlight was on Colin one of our maintenance team who entertained us all with a talk about his hobbies of running a smallholding and helping out in the season at a local pheasant shoot.  Colin brought in a couple of his shotguns to show our residents as well as some toys used to train his gun dogs.  There were lots of questions from our residents who loved this very different event.  We have already booked Colin in to talk to us again and this time he has promised to bring in some baby kids (goats) to show us all!

Our residents enjoyed a talk and display of fine haute couture from dressmaker Sandra who brought along a selection of beautiful miniature mannequins to show everyone.  Sandra has made clothes from the 40s to the 80s showing all the different fashions throughout the decades.  It was great fun for the residents recalling their favourite outfits from each era.  On this occasion the focus was on the 1950s.  Sandra has also started a collection of wedding dresses from the 1920s to 2020s.  It is incredible to see how design and fashion has changed over the years.

It is great when different age groups get together – so many stories to share and things to learn.  We have loved the visits of the toddlers from Kiddibops and also the pupils from Cashes Green school.  Our residents have been teaching the older children some of their favourite songs and the children have been getting everyone to sing along with them.  ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’ always gets people laughing and having a go.  We also play games with our parachute and of course it is useful to have youngsters who can crawl underneath and retrieve all the ball.