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.
Natasha Rubin
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.
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
Remember, Remember the 5th of November
Staff and residents at Strachan House Care Home in Edinburgh celebrated Bonfire Night with a bang this November 5th when they wrapped up warm to gather around the bonfire to watch a fantastic firework display and enjoy lots of seasonal treats washed down with some boozy Hot chocolate.
Home shines bright
Residents at Strachan House Care Home in Edinburgh had a brilliant day on Thursday 4th November as they marked the start of the Hindu festival of Diwali, popularly known as the ‘festival of lights’.
Residents helped with making colourful patterned rangoli and lighting ‘diyas’, small oil lamps which are lit to signify the triumph of good over evil. Diwali honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, the lamps help Lakshmi find her way into people’s homes.
Head chef Paul Dows prepared traditional Indian dishes including a range of warming curries, spicy samosas, crispy bhajis and papadums with lime pickle and chutneys followed by traditional Indian sweets such as laddoo and barfi for the residents to enjoy.
Residents enjoy cooking demo
We had a lovely time joining Chef Alex Connell from Vegetarian for Life for a Halloween-inspired virtual cooking demo.
Alex demonstrated how to prepare a few themed dishes, such as root vegetable tagine, roasted butternut squash mac-n-cheese, chocolate pots with piped biscuits and flapjacks.
Our residents were delighted to be a part of this lovely virtual culinary session by tasting the vegetarian dishes from the comfort of our home.
Hospitality Champion
Marie Christie has beaten all the competition to be crowned Hospitality Champion in the Barchester Care Awards 2021.
The Barchester Care Awards celebrate the staff who go the extra mile for the benefit of the 12,000 residents living in Barchester’s 248 care homes and private hospitals across the country. Categories range from ‘Registered Nurse of the Year’ and ‘Carer of the Year’ to ‘Dementia Care Champion’ and ‘Activities Coordinator of the Year’.
More than 2,900 nominations were received from homes and hospitals across the UK. All entries were a very high standard and Marie is over the moon to have been named the national winner in this category.
Creative writing with Mike Gayle
We had a great time joining journalist and novelist, Mike Gayle, for an intriguing virtual interview, during which he shared top tips for creative writing with our residents and read passages from his latest book, All the Lonely People.
We were thrilled to find out about Mike’s background, to understand what led him to become a writer and his creative process.
It was a lovely talk, enjoyed by all, especially by our keen writers at the home.
Virtual cruise experience
We had a lovely time joining Paul Hawkins and Lisa Richards from Unilever for an exciting Virtual Cruise experience.
Our residents were welcomed with mocktails as Lisa and Paul took them on a magical journey to 3 mystery destinations, which were uncovered after a few clues.
Paul demonstrated how to create a few of the local traditional dishes, which our residents had the opportunity to try too.
The event evoked lots of great memories and it was truly enjoyed by all.
Upcoming events
International Nurses Day
Calling all Nurses. Join us for a delicious free breakfast as we celebrate international nurses day on the Sunday 12th May.
May
Join us in May and take a look at our upcoming Life Enrichment and Community Events.
Professional Open Evening
Calling all professional's. Join us on Tuesday 18th June for our homes open evening event.
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!
