Activities at Overslade House Care Home

Overslade House commemorated the signing of the Armistice Day agreement on the day that the guns finally fell silent.  They joined the rest of the United Kingdom in holding a two-minute silence at the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, of the eleventh month.

As well as marking Armistice Day by wearing poppies and observing the national two minute silence, residents took part in a service conducted by Gift of Years.

Following the service residents were entertained by vintage entertainer Nick Golden.  Nick took us back in time to listen to sounds of Spitfires in battle and the taking off of a Lancaster bomber. Nick sings some lovely war time songs including Mr Hitler the theme tune from Dad’s Army.

Nathan, a resident at Overslade House, said: “It is very important that we keep the memories of those who fought alive and that we also think about those involved in conflicts around the world today.  I myself was in the army”

Many of our residents remember the war and wrote a poem to commemorate the fallen.

The residents at Overslade House, in recognition of the Scottish Celebration to mark St Andrew’s Day on Thursday 30th November, took a trip to St Andrew’s Church to decorate our Christmas tree and to honour Jesus’ first disciple who promoted kindness and is laid to rest in Edinburgh.  The main purpose of this event is to raise funds for charities that support the local community. This year we shall be supporting Rugby Myton Hospice who are raising funds to create a new sensory area. Residents at Overslade House have been busy over the last few weeks making decorations out of Toilet Rolls, Tin Lids, Plastic Bottles, milk cartons and old cd's.

This year the theme is ‘Green Christmas - reduce, reuse, and recycle’. The idea behind this is recycling items from home so that costs can be kept to a minimum by those entering a tree. This theme fits with the cost of living issues together with the Church’s Eco Values.

Residents had a wonderful time creating all the decorations from recycled materials in their Arts and Crafts sessions within the home.  Everything on our tree is handmade and from recyclable materials the balloons are also biodegradable.

Eve, a resident at Overslade House Care Home, said: “It was so lovely to celebrate St Andrew’s Day and be in such a beautiful church in Rugby that I used to visit regularly.  I have learnt so much about Scotland today, I had no idea St Andrew wasn’t actually Scottish!”

The Trees will be on view to the public until the 2nd January so please call into the Church and donate to a worthy cause

Residents at Overslade House had a brilliant day on Sunday 12th November as they marked the start of the Hindu festival of Diwali, popularly known as the ‘festival of lights’.

Residents helped with making colourful patterned rangoli and lighting ‘diyas’, small oil lamps which are lit to signify the triumph of good over evil. Diwali honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, the lamps help Lakshmi find her way into people’s homes. Volunteers Mithan and Mithra, conducted a talk about Diwali and performed some Indian Classical dancing for us.

Head chef Joanne Kolat-Furca prepared traditional Indian dishes including a range of warming curries, spicy samosas, crispy bhajis and papadums with lime pickle and chutneys followed by traditional Indian sweets such as laddoo and barfi for the residents to enjoy.

John resident at Overslade House Care Home commented: “I love all of the different cultural events that we celebrate here, there’s always something going on.  I especially like the religious festivals from other cultures and sampling the wonderful food.  It makes me feel like I am travelling abroad!”

Overslade House, was a den of ghoulish activity as the home’s spooky Halloween Celebrations got in to full swing.

Residents and staff got in to the spirit of things by decorating the home and creating Halloween decorations, we also had a welcome visit from Creative Mojo who helped residents create a Halloween masterpiece, congratulations to Jean for being Artist of the Day. Residents also joined in various spooky games and  enjoyed guessing the weight of our pumpkin.  Congratulations to our lucky winner Wayna who won a bottle of wine.  Residents also enjoyed a virtual event supplied through Barchester Healthcare from Zoolab who introduced us to some interesting spooky but friendly creatures, including tarantulas and large cockroaches.

Eve, a resident at Overslade House said: “It has been such a fun day. It was wonderful to see everyone go to so much effort to get into the Halloween spirit. I really enjoyed the games especially the Halloween pairs game and also guessing the weight of the pumpkin Activities Coordinator Lead Julie Bateman told us it was at least the weight of a new born baby and my gosh it was, apparently it weighed  9lbs!!!”

Staff and residents Overslade House celebrated Bonfire Night with a bang this November 5th when they wrapped up warm to gather around and watch a fantastic virtual firework display and enjoy lots of seasonal treats and hot dogs, washed down with some Hot Chocolate.

The residents enjoyed traditional bonfire night treats, including hot dogs, and hot chocolate with marshmallows, beautifully prepared by the head chef Joanne Kolat-Furca.

Maureen said: “I have always loved Bonfire Night, and having a virtual display is new to me and so clever, it’s so lovely to celebrate these traditions all together.  The fireworks bring back so many memories of Bonfire Nights through the years, these times are so special.”

To mark International Men’s Day,we were treated to the fourth instalment in a series of live talks and tours hosted by Holly and Catherine from The Wallace Collection.

The Wallace Collection is a national museum which displays the art collections brought together by the first four marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the likely illegitimate son of the 4th Marquess. It was bequeathed to the British nation by Lady Wallace, Sir Richard’s widow, in 1897.  Displayed at Hertford House, formerly the principal London residence of the marquesses of Hertford, the Collection was first opened to the public in 1900.

Residents joined Holly and Catherine for an interactive exploration of seventeenth and sixteenth century art looking at two different marvellous men from our history.  First residents looked at a painting of The Laughing Cavalier by Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals which has been described as one of the most brilliant of all Baroque portraits. Then residents were shown a full piece of armour from the Collection, made for Sir Thomas Sackville. Although from similar eras, the objects portray very different styles and circumstances.