Activities at Strachan House Care Home

To celebrate National Vegetarian Week, staff and residents at Barchester’s Strachan House care home in Edinburgh were treated to an interactive virtual cookery demo courtesy of chef, Alex Connell, from Vegetarian for Life.

Chef Alex whipped up some tasty, healthy vegetarian snacks in a live, interactive cookery demo.  Much to residents’ delight, Strachan House head chef had prepared the same recipes so that residents could try all the dishes. Residents sampled delicious, light and summery veggie dishes including Borlotti bean and dill pate, Greek fritters with Tzatziki and Coronation 'chicken' pastries. All finished off with a sweet and simple but totally yummy banana bread.

Coinciding with the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, International Nurses Day, held on Wednesday 12th May, is a day to celebrate nurses and care staff around the world. Residents and staff at Strachan House care home in Edinburgh, were happy to get involved by hosting a much deserved certificate of appreciation and a nice afternoon tea.

In 2021, the World Health Organisation is seeking to highlight the ways in which nurses are innovating and to explore what the future of nursing could look like. This year, more than ever, we are hugely indebted to all our care staff, and we are incredibly proud to applaud their extraordinary efforts and commitment, on this special day of recognition.  International Nurses’ Day is a day to give thanks for the dedication of care givers everywhere, who go above and beyond the call of duty to deliver extraordinary care and support.

Strachan House Care Home in Edinburgh marked the anniversary of VE Day in style by throwing a 1940s afternoon tea party to remember.  The home was decorated in red, white and blue and residents and staff dressed up in their 1940s-inspired glad rags and enjoyed an afternoon of big band music and dancing.

Head chef Mark Murray whipped up a delicious selection of freshly-baked biscuits, sandwiches, cakes and pastries for the occasion, all washed down with pots of tea and a celebratory glass of fizz to mark the occasion. 

Residents observed the national two minute silence and listened again to Churchill’s iconic speech and an address from the Queen.  They reminisced about their memories of VE Day and watched clips of the celebrations that took place outside Buckingham Palace and all across London.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Strachan House and Queens Manor care home in Edinburgh were treated to an exciting virtual tour of Five Sisters Zoo, hosted by Head of Education, Adam Welsh.

Five Sisters Zoo is a family run zoo with over 160 different animal species from around the world.  Originally a garden centre that helped to rehome unwanted pets, the animal collection grew and grew until the zoo was officially founded in 2005.  Now Five Sisters Zoo is the most visited wildlife attraction in West Lothian.

Gone are the days when a visit to the zoo was merely a fun day out.  Adam’s presentation showed all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes at the zoo and explored the vital conservation, rescue and education work carried out at FSZ, and at most modern zoos.

There were happy scenes at Strachan House care home in Edinburgh as our first Entertainer was allowed back to perform in our gardens.

Just like the rest of the country, residents had been waiting patiently for months to get their concerts back happening.

Daniella Zampieri, Deputy General Manager at Strachan House care home commented: “It really has felt like Christmas today, our residents are just so delighted to be able to get out in the garden and have a bit of normality back and to be themselves again.  It is wonderful to see them all so happy, we have really missed our live music – it is fantastic to be able to welcome them back again.”

Residents of Strachan House in Edinburgh were delighted to receive sunflowers tor residents to plant as part of the stores ‘Seeds of Hope’ initiative.  Morrisons is giving away 25 million sunflower seeds to customers this week in an effort to spread hope and lift the spirits of the nation. Residents are looking forward to watching them grow and to see who has the tallest!