Activities at Plas-Y-Dderwen Care Home

Who doesn’t love the sound of a Welsh Male Voice Choir?

Carmarthen Male voice choir took time out this week, from their busy schedule to visit our care home.

Some members of the choir were delighted to spend a good part of their evening singing for our wonderful residents and staff.

It was great to hear popular carols, and the choir were appreciated by all, bringing so many happy smiling faces.

After the show, everyone enjoyed tea and the first mince pie of the season, whilst enjoying the sparkle around the home of our Christmas lights, we had switched on earlier in the evening.

We supported Children in Need with Pudsey crafts and non-uniform day. Residents enjoyed painting pictures of Pudsey bear and it was a great chance for us to get together and talk about the charity. The staff enjoyed wearing their Pudsey t-shirts and it brought a smile to everyone’s faces.

The talented Carl Bryant came along to our home with his high energy and enthusiasm. The residents were treated to a lively and engaging session. What started as a quiet and rainy morning, soon became an energetic morning full of singing, dancing and percussion instruments. The playful pink pom-poms created a colourful atmosphere and the joy on the residents faces was clear to see. Carl’s musical magic brought smiles to everyone and family members were also keen to join in with the upbeat session. These memories will be cherished for a long time.

Music is a huge part of our activities programme and is great for mind, body and soul. Carl will be joining us on a monthly basis and we look forward to enjoying many more of these wonderful workshops.

We dedicated an afternoon of Namaste sessions, to our Memory Lane community. With meditation music playing through the community, the diffuser filling the air with the scent of lemongrass, some of our residents enjoyed relaxing hand massages. We then had an interactive learning session about crystals. The residents were drawn to the beauty of these wonderful gemstones, and they picked out which ones they liked the most. They also took their time in arranging them around the table in different patterns. The session enhanced the mood of each resident, and it was beneficial to their well-being.

It has always been important to us, at Plas y Dderwen, to establish and maintain connections with local churches and the community. Every month, within our home, we hold a church service, where residents can receive communion and join in prayer. These sessions nurture our spirits and bring us closer together. This month we held a Harvest service, delivered by Beti Wyn James. The service was delivered in both Welsh and English and residents really enjoyed learning about Harvest time and the symbolism of carving a pumpkin from a religious point of view. As a token of gratitude, one of our residents, June, provided a beautiful basket of flowers for the table, which came from her daughters garden. All residents enjoyed singing along to hymns, and the tea and cake afterwards was delicious! It was an uplifting and joyful afternoon!

Our Head of Towy Community, Andy Whitmarsh, recently took on the challenge to shave his head and beard and also allowed us to wax his legs! We not too sure he knew what he was letting himself in for and when the day came it was wonderful to see his eyes water as we pulled those wax strips across his legs! His family and the residents came to support Andy and were shocked at the transformation. Andy went through this challenge to raise money towards our Residents’ fund, which will eventually go towards work on our Dementia Garden. Andy raised £400 towards the fund and he absolutely smashed the challenge. Well done Andy!