Activities at Strachan House Care Home

Our activities team are great at building the activities programme around the likes and interests of the people we care for. Ensuring that our social events offer fun and adventure is part of the ethos of our home; it’s important that those we support can enjoy an active and social lifestyle. Of course, there will always be those who prefer peace and quiet, and in these instances, a cup of tea and a chat are always welcomed.

Enriching life
Watch our video on life enrichment in our homes.

Natasha Rubin

Activities Coordinator

G’day! My name is Natasha and I am the activities lead here at Strachan House. I am Australian born and bred, braving the dark and the cold here in Edinburgh to enjoy the beautiful nature and wonderful people! I have a background in team management and design. I have always loved working with people and have a strong interest in mental health and well-being, recently embarking on a psychology degree with an interest in specialising in Art Therapy. I am working with the team to create a vibrant, engaging and person-centred home.

Life-encriching activities booklet

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 Strachan House Care Home

Love Is All Around Us

Strachan House truly shared the love this Valentine’s day.

We had a rather emotional day as we shared what love meant to us. We spoke shared stories of love had, love lost, and love found.

There were tears, hugs and laughter throughout the home, as we reminisced and contemplated what valentines meant to us. The home was beautifully decorated, full of flowers and the staff wore pink and red for the occasion. We hope to continue to share deep connections with those around us, to show support and care for all and spread the love, always.

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Floral workshop with Kathryn Delve

Staff and residents at the home were treated to an interactive virtual Valentine’s table decorating masterclass, courtesy of talented master florist, Kathryn Delve. 

Kathryn is an independent florist based in Somerset, she specialises in creating unique wedding and event flowers, all sourced from her local flower farm. She takes much of her inspiration for her displays from the beautiful scenery that surrounds her home and the changing seasons and colours.

During the workshop, residents were invited to join Kathryn to make beautiful Valentine’s-themed table decorations. The home went for a traditional colour palette of pink, red and white flowers and the displays will be used to decorate the home ready for Valentine’s Day celebrations. 

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Pet therapy

Strachan House care home, in Blackhall was full of animal mischief on Monday when a dynamic guinea pig duo came to visit the home.

Residents at Strachan House were delighted to meet their new furry friends Elvis and Frank, as Craig from Therapypets Edinburgh paid a visit with the two talkative boys. Residents were able to Brush, stroke and feed the well behaved duo who lapped up all the attention!

Medical Detection Dogs

Across our services residents had a fantastic time during a special live virtual event, led by Emilia from Medical Detection Dogs. Emilia took us on a journey to discover how the organisation began training dogs to support people with complex health conditions, saving their lives on a daily basis.

Using their amazing sense of smell, these dogs can identify odour changes emitted prior an episode and alert the person to take preventative action.

We were introduced to the wonderful dogs and the science behind the sniff.  It was a delightful experience for everyone, especially our canine-loving residents.

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Memory Lane afternoon tea back in full swing!

On the second Saturday of each month we invite the family and friends of our Memory Lane community, (as well as those who may struggling with, or caring for someone with dementia) along for a delightful afternoon of music, games, arts & crafts, warm drinks and delicious snacks! This month our talented chef baked delicious biscuits and scones for all to enjoy! Corrine our music therapist joined us in song, as we ate and sang along to some golden oldies, reminiscing on times gone by and getting to know each other’s favourite music! Each table had puzzles to put together, we worked as teams to complete them and felt a great sense of accomplishment putting in that final piece! It was a joyous afternoon socialising and we can’t wait to see everyone again.

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A BIG climb…

WE DID IT! A big congratulations to our residents who participated in the Mount Everest Walking challenge during December. We walked a total of 273, 260 steps over a 4 week period - that's almost 11 times up mount Everest from base camp! Four residents climbed over the height of Mount Everest, totalling an average of 25,000 steps each! A big Hip hip hooray to Alex Laird, Alec Morris, Lily Taylor and Lorna Ferguson. What an achievement. Our winning floor this year goes to our 1st floor residents who cumulatively covered the most ground - Alec accepted the floors certificate on everyone's behalf. All should be very proud of their achievements and we look forward to staying active in the coming months. A special thank you to our amazing physios and their encouragement and support during this time!

Upcoming events

Open Day

We warmly welcome you into our home for our open day on Saturday 20th April.

Short Hole Golf

Join us on our community trip to Brunsfield Links Golf Course for a round of short hole golf.

Earth Day

Join us on Monday 22nd April for Earth Day with a themed tea party, team community litter pick and a virtual quiz with our friends from Goodson Lodge Care Home in Wiltshire

Wine Tasting

Join us for an afternoon of decadence as we sample a variety of wines from around the world at this special community event.

Newsletter

Hot off the press! Download our latest newsletter right here.

April

Step into April and see what is in store with our Life Enrichment and Community Events.

Knit and Natter

Join us for our weekly Knit and Natter group and make new friends over a selection of tasty snacks and refreshments.

Afternoon tea - Memory Lane

Join us for Afternoon Tea, 2nd Saturday of each month from 2.30-4.30pm in our Memory Lane communtiy

Community Cafe

Join us for our monthly Community Cafe - Last Friday of the month from 2.30 pm. All welcome.

Respite - Are you looking for a little care break?

If you are looking for a little care break for yourself or a little care break pop in and see what we have to offer.

Volunteers - Could you make a difference?

We recognise the special impact that volunteers can make on the day to day lives of our residents. If you would like more information we'd love to hear from you.

Emergency Services - Take a break on us!

We offer a warm welcome and a hot drink any time you need one - to all emergency services personnel, police, ambulance, district nurses - pop in any time!

Gentleman's Club

Join us every Wednesday from 2-4pm for our Gentlemen's Club.