Activities at Strachan House Care Home

Across our services we had a lovely time joining Mark Piesing for an exciting virtual event to discuss his book ‘N-4 Down: The Hunt for The Arctic Airship Italia’.

Our residents were thrilled to find out more about the book and the fascinating story of the world-famous exploring airship Italia, returning from the North Pole on May 24, 1928. The airship was struck by a terrible storm and crashed somewhere over the Arctic ice, triggering the largest polar rescue mission in history.

The virtual book club experience was truly enjoyed by all.

Residents had a fantastic time celebrating Cornish Pasty Week. Their secret was their Head of Activities Mandy who is actually Cornish, was in her element with ensuring the right history and techniques were shared in creating her heritage dish. Residents loved hearing the history of the pasty and how it had changed over the years . But of course, with so many foodies here at Strachan House we just had to have a go at crimping our way to pasty heaven.

With spring just around the corner what better way than to experience what our beautiful countryside has to offer than by hopping on board our minibus and taking a trip down memory lane.

Residents had a wonderful time breathing in the coastline of Fife yesterday and strolling along the beach whilst chatting about their childhood days at the beach. Bus tickets at the ready for next week’s mystery trip.

Our 'Gone Fishing 23' project saw our beautiful Anne achieve her dream as the staff ensured her meaningful moment was a rock star explosion of excitement. Anne is a big fan of Queen and of the rock legend Freddie Mercury. Through her one to ones, Anne said she had always wanted to go to a rock concert and see him live. So staff combined both things that meant a lot to Anne and raised the roof with a night at the Queen extravaganza set in the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. It was a total surprise to Anne, and the sheer delight on her face was what makes our Gone Fishing 23 project so special. The team jumped into action and raced to ensure the tickets were booked to make Anne’s dream come true.

Anne got to rock the night away like a rock star. She danced all night to her idol and his music. The lights, noise, and music totally hit all the rights notes. Anne, you totally rocked! For the team, it was a privilege to make her moment happen. We are so excited to see what, and who is surprised next for residents at Strachan House .

The staff and residents at Strachan House care home in Edinburgh have been flipping and turning pancakes all morning for their Shrove Tuesday celebrations.

Strachan House has marked this year’s Pancake Day with making their own pancakes and seeing who could toss them the highest. To which got all a little competitive but saw a lot of fun and laughter. Stevie one of the chef’s at the home, flipped more than 60 pancakes, serving them up to the residents with their sweet and savoury fillings.

Betty Notman, a resident at Strachan House said “I’ve never laughed so much, I wouldn’t like to be cleaning up all the missed pancaked we didn’t catch“

Louise, a resident here at Strachan House, had always dreamed of being back in the saddle and riding a horse, so, staff at the home made her wish a reality with their Gone Fishing 23 project. Louise was an avid rider and owned her own horse. A passion she dearly misses along with her horse.

Louise has lived at Strachan House for 2 years and is loved by staff and residents alike. She has a role within the home as the Resident Ambassador so staff really wanted to make her meaningful moment come true for her. Mandy Burgen Head of Activities said “we really knew how much it meant to her to have this opportunity to take up the reins again so we jumped into action and made a few calls to Tower Farm Riding School.

Tower Farm is a local riding school that caters for levels of riding. Debbie, the owner, was more than happy to help lend a helping hand. They provided all the safety wear and a beautiful grey horse called Monarch. “The staff were wonderful and assisted on the day with ensuring Louise had the most incredible experience. We are very grateful for their help and support in our project”.

Staff first found out about Louise’s dream last year through chats and her collections of photos of her with her horses and, ever since then, they have been dedicated to helping her achieve her dream. Louise was also accompanied by staff from Strachan House who were there in support of this momentous occasion.

In response to this wonderful surprise, Louise said: “I was on the verge of tears. It is such an amazing feeling to be with horses and the smell and touch of a horse just brought everything flooding back.Im so humbled that group of people care so much about me that they helped me to live out a dream. What an amazing surprise“