Activities at Strachan House Care Home

Our residents came together to enjoy an exciting virtual talk courtesy of the team at National Trust Talks Service.  The illustrated talk took us closer to one of Cliveden’s most famous families, the Astors. Our residents were able to discover what motivated William Waldorf Astor, America’s richest man, to purchase Cliveden in 1893 and how the estate became the centre of high society in the 1920 s and 30 s thanks to his son Waldorf and daughter in law Nancy Astor.

We had a lovely time joining Holly and Marie-Therese from the Wallace Collection, for a virtual introduction to the Collection, followed by a sensory exploratory walk through one of the museum’s most famous landscape paintings.  The Collection ranges from Old Master paintings to 18th century French furniture, arms and armour.   We all had a wonderful time and cannot wait to put our creative skills to a test and paint some landscapes in the upcoming days.

We had a lovely time joining Angela Cobbin for a theatre-inspired virtual talk about her book ‘My Name is Not Wigs’.  ‘My Name Is Not Wigs’ is the ultimate read for fans of witty behind-the-curtains memoirs, especially those with a penchant for the bright lights of stage and screen: tears and accolades aplenty!                                                                                                   

Angela shared interesting facts with our residents about her book, her life and her experiences as a wig creator in London’s West End in celebration of World Theatre Day.

Residents and staff at Strachan House Care Home celebrated all things Irish for St Patrick’s Day this week. The home was decorated with shamrocks and everyone dressed in green to mark the day.

Held on March 17th, Saint Patrick's Day actually observes the death of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, but the day has come to be a huge celebration of Irish heritage and culture.

Staff and residents at the home marked the day by making Rainbow decorations, learning some Irish words and phrases, learning Irish dances, going on a virtual tour of Ireland, listening to Irish music. We also had an Irish quiz. In the evening we held our own Irish ceilidh with music from Jack High our fabulous entertainer . We made special themed cocktails with our shamrock surprise and a leprechaun delight went down a treat. Our Head chef Paul Dows prepared a fantastic Irish spread with his famous Irish stew with soda bread

Our gentlemen here at Strachan House enjoyed a morning of song and reminiscing when the singing barber put in an appearance, the gentlemen enjoyed their pamper as hair was cut, beards and moustaches tamed before sitting back to enjoy a cup of tea and a slice of home-made cake.

The first day of March was busy as we marked not only St David’s Fay but also Pancake Day. Pancake Day or Shove Tuesday is the traditional feast day before the Lent on Ash Wednesday.   Our residents had a wonderful day, filled with pancake-inspired activities, they prepared homemade pancakes and decorated them with fresh fruit, berries, syrup and chocolate.  We watched some hilarious pancake races and some of our residents took part in our very own pancake flipping competition.   It was a fun day, enjoyed by all.