Activities at North Park Care Home
Our home is always full of life, and we can thank our wonderful Activities Coordinators for this. Dedication to creating a unique and interesting activities programme is what sets us apart from other homes. We always take into consideration that some people would prefer to pursue their own interests, which is why our team strive to incorporative activities that cater to a wide range of tastes and hobbies. Our trips out are always fun and exciting as well, and residents are guaranteed to return with stories to tell their loved ones!
Claire Liddy
Hi, my name is Claire, and I am Lead Activities Coordinator at North Park. I have 15 years’ experience in the role, three years at North Park and absolutely love my job. I like to involve the local community in events within the home, so we have connections with local churches, schools and community groups. We have a PAT dog that visits weekly, so our residents can enjoy pet therapy, and lots of external entertainers, who come into the home regularly as well; in addition to fairs, monthly coffee morning and so much more.
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 North Park Care Home
A tour of Blenheim Place gardens
We had a lovely time exploring the amazing gardens of Blenheim Palace through a virtual talk, hosted by the Historian - Antonia Keaney.
We enjoyed a virtual look at how the gardens at Blenheim have developed over the past 300 years - from the formality of Henry Wise through to the ‘natural’ landscape created by Capability Brown and beyond.
Everyone was very impressed by the many jewels hidden within the 150 acres of beautiful gardens.
Vive la Revolution
Staff and residents at North Park care home in Darlington have been celebrating la fête nationale or Bastille Day on July 14, the most important date in the French calendar. Bastille Day marks the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789, which was a symbol of the monarchy and the freeing of the prisoners held there.
The home was decorated with French flags and residents took part in French-themed activities throughout the day including a French history session, quirky facts, practicing some French phrases, and having quizzes throughout the day. Residents enjoyed authentic French cuisine prepared by our head Chef Kyle Aylward as well as feasting on French pastries and other delicious titbits. Residents also enjoyed a French cheese and wine tasting afternoon where staff dressed in berets with strings of onions or garlic around their necks which everyone really enjoyed.
Lisa Frame General Manager at North Park care home said: “We’ve all had great fun celebrating Bastille Day, the home looks lovely decorated with French flags and we’ve been dancing to French music and tasting French wine and cheeses. It was lovely to watch videos of previous parades and fireworks on YouTube.”
A virtual event inside Dartmoor Zoo
We were able to virtually dive into the impressive wildlife of Dartmoor Zoo.
We explored its grounds and learnt about the unique history of the park from the zoo’s educational team. The culmination of the tour was the live tiger training demonstration, which was wonderful to see and enjoyed by all.
Our residents were delighted to see amazing photos and short videos of the animals and take a peek inside their home.
Three Lions on a shirt!
Residents and staff at North Park care home in Darlington have been cheering on their home sides throughout the Euros. The home has been decked out with flags and residents have been enjoying all the action over the past three weeks. Everyone at the home has been so excited that Gareth’s boys have been playing so well!
Fans of the beautiful game at North Park were delighted to be able to watch this year’s fixtures after the disappointment of last year’s tournament having to be postponed. Residents and staff have been getting together to watch the matches and celebrate with a cold beer and footie-inspired bar snacks whipped up by head chef, Karl Aylward.
Lisa Frame, General Manager at the home, said: “We have loved watching the Euros, we have watched pretty much all the matches – lots of our residents are footie fans. It has been fantastic to be able to cheer on all the home sides and England did really well to get so far in the tournament.”
Residents virtually meet Atlantic Puffins
We took a wonderful virtual trip to Iceland’s Puffin Rescue Centre at the Beluga Whale Sanctuary.
We were able to virtually meet some of the rescued Atlantic Puffins and to learn interesting facts about their care and unique lives. We took a peek into their lives in the wild, the Puffling rescue program in the Westman Islands, and how SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary’s team takes care of these charismatic little birds each day.
It was a very exciting experience, enjoyed by all.
Virtual talk with Blenheim Palace
Ahead of Armed Forces Day, we were transported back in time for a World War II themed talk and tour of Blenheim Palace, hosted by Antonia Keaney, the Palace’s social historian and author.
Entitled ‘Evacuees and Espionage,’ Antonia’s wartime themed talk focused on how the Marlborough family, estate staff and the Palace itself played a full and energetic part in the war effort.
The talk and tour told the story of how the Palace prepared for the worst, survived the onslaught of 400 boys being evacuated to Blenheim and kept the secrets of MI5.
It was a lovely experience, enjoyed by all.
Upcoming events
Meeting Room for Hire
Are you looking for a venue? Look no further! North Park is also close to local amenities and not far from the A1.
Could you be a Volunteer?
We recognise the impact a Volunteer can make on the lives of our residents, do you have any spare time? For more information we'd love to hear from you.
Emergency Services - Take a break on us!
Calling all emergency services personnel - police, ambulance and fire services, district nurses - come and take a break on us, there maybe a cake or two available....
