Meet our Activities Coordinator, Claire Garrod

Hello, my name is Claire and I am the Activities Co-ordinator here at Ritson Lodge.

I have been working with the care industry since 2015 and as an Activities Co-ordinator since 2017. I love being an activities co-ordinator as it allows me to bring joy into the residents day, build relationships with them and ultimately try to make them smile!! Before starting work I completed a degree in Dance and Drama so I try to include my knowledge of this in my activities. I am also particularly passionate about activities for those living with dementia.

Activities at our 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!

Life at Ritson Lodge Care Home

Visit From Norwich City FC!!

A big thank you to Norwich City FC for dropping off a signed football shirt and a cake made by Delia Smith herself! It was so very much appreciated by the residents and the staff and really brought a smile to everyone's faces! Some of our staff and residents are big fan's of Norwich City FC so this was a real treat. What a surprise!! Thank you!

VE Day Celebrations

VE day at Ritson Lodge was a lovely day of remembrance and celebrations! We had originally planned to use our front gardens and space to celebrate outside whilst being able to socially distance, however unfortunately the weather let us down so we ended up carrying on celebrations indoors in our lovely café lounge areas. The home was decorated in red, white and blue and we ate some lovely cakes and a war-time themed lunch made by our brilliant chef, Andy. Overall everybody had a great day celebrating such an important event.

Keeping Fit!

Keeping fit is extra fun when it is to music! We have regular movement to music classes here at Ritson Lodge to make sure that residents keep their mobility and strength improving. It involves armchair exercises and sometimes just a good old dance!

Thank you from the Residents at Ritson Lodge

The residents at Ritson Lodge wrote a poem to say thank you to all of the Key Workers and NHS staff who are continuing to support everybody. To view the video of our residents reading the poem, please head over to Ritson Lodge's facebook page. The words are below -

'Keeping us safe as we try not to dwell, each of you trying to also stay well.

You work so hard all doing your best, we feel support and very blessed.

Respecting each other and all that we do, showing our support as we Thank You!'

Gardening Club

Gardening club is in full flow here at Ritson, with the residents planting seeds for different types of lettuce and some sweet peas to add to the garden. It was lovely to be out and making the most of the sunshine.

Ritson is Supporting its Local Foodbank

During this difficult time, Ritson Lodge are trying to help support their local community by donating some food parcels to their local food bank.

Food donations were gifted to the Great Yarmouth Food Bank, which were very well-received. The Great Yarmouth Food Bank said ‘Thank you so much for the donation from Ritson Lodge. We were so pleased to receive the cereals in particular as we had completely run out.’

Jo Head, General Manager at Ritson Lodge, said: “Staff, residents and friends of the home all donated very generously to the hamper and it really is heart-warming to see how much people care about helping others who are less fortunate, especially with these difficult times. Thanks to everyone who contributed. It will all be distributed to where it is needed most within our community by the great team at the Gorleston Baptist Church and Great Yarmouth Food Bank."