Activities at The Cedars Bourne Care Home

Blessed with the weather and armed with a picnic, residents of Cedars Bourne had a fantastic day at Sacrewell Farm. “So much to see and enjoy” – said resident Arthur Combridge. Arthur was a farmer and really enjoyed the Farm Machinery through the years. Arthur explained to the rest of the group what each piece of equipment was for and how they worked, and everybody admired the beautiful old waggons that had been restored in the barn.   

The spot down by the mill pond, resident Doreen Robinson said, was "just a picture postcard!" It was the first time the Cedars had taken a trip to Sacrewell Farm, but everyone agreed it was such a wonderfully stimulating, memory-making experience that they will certainly visit again.

During our African-themed Armchair Travel event, we showcased our new Meta Quest VR headset to take residents on a virtual safari adventure. One resident called the device a "remarkable gadget!"

Residents also enjoyed a themed quiz and activity books courtesy of our friends at OOMPH! 

Finally, our home community team visited a local veterans event and had the pleasure of meeting with local veterans and community champions, including Amanda from Home Straight and Emma from Tesco Superstore.            

There was plenty of laughter, friendly competition, and lots of fun as our residents enjoyed a game of balloon tennis. Using balloons instead of tennis balls makes the game accessible for everyone, while encouraging gentle exercise, improving hand-eye coordination, and keeping everyone active in a fun and engaging way.   

Residents cheered each other on, shared plenty of laughs, and showed off some impressive tennis skills. It was wonderful to see everyone getting involved and enjoying a little healthy competition.

At Cedars, we believe staying active should always be enjoyable, and activities like balloon tennis are a fantastic way to promote physical wellbeing while creating smiles and making memories together.

How could we resist that beautiful breeze today! Plans were put on hold in favour of an impromptu Ice Cream Social, with an opportunity to cool off in the pool. 
Residents loved sitting in the shade of our majestic trees talking and listening to the chatter of our resident jackdaws. Ann said "we really do live in privilege!"

Staff, residents, relatives and the local community came together to enjoy their annual Summer Fete that was held in the home’s grounds on 27^sthJune; in order to raise money for Re-Engage, a charity that combats social isolation in the over 65’s by providing free volunteer led services including telephone calls, activity groups and tea parties. 

The Cedars hosted a variety of artisan craft stalls, tombola and raffle for everyone to enjoy, including handmade jewellery, local honey and pet accessories. We were also joined by ‘The Little Filly’ Catering who provided delicious burgers and pizzas to the guests. All this fun framed the main event: the rubber duck races on the river.

Residents celebrated in style last night as they listened to classical pieces and songs from the musicals.
Alan Jackson - Vintage Singer did The Cedars proud, with a set including “Bring Him Home” from Les Misérables and “Some Enchanted Evening” from South Pacific, before a rousing finale of “Jerusalem” and “Land of Hope and Glory." Everybody in the room joined in with the singing and in true Prom tradition waved flags, wore hats and sipped Prosecco.

A heart-warming and joyous time was had by all the residents, their families and friends, staff and some of the local community.  

In August The Cedars was filled with magic moments, the fondest of memories and of inspiration for new chapters.

From individual visits to large group activities, these special moments, that often start with reminiscence, allow us to spend quality time together, finding out little nuggets of life experiences and then focusing on each residents interests, hobbies and person centred wellbeing.

Whether its sharing a conversation about what they did for a job, looking at photographs of holidays, family, our most famous moment, our most infamous moment.... 

We believe every resident deserves their moment.      

This month we hosted our very own Mad Hatters Tea Party to celebrate Alice in Wonderland Day. It was mad, fun and curious; and everyone was late except for the White Rabbit! Delicious treats and plenty of tea kept everyone 
entertained all afternoon!

Our team lead and amazing carer, Frances Campy, joined us in her role as lay minister to lead a Church of England Service for a very full room of over 20 people this month. 

Fran shared a story about belief and healing before surprising us all with her hidden musical talent: leading hymns that filled the room with song, expertly conducted by Peter!  Fran supports our Church of England residents with spiritual guidance and Holy Communion; and we would like to thank her for giving her time and skills so freely.

In addition, we have regular visits from the Catholic Priest for Holy Communion, links with the Jewish Liberal Church, Kingdom Hall and local Mosque to support all of our residents and staff with their own personal faiths.   

A fantastic day out in the sunshine on Bourne Family Fun Day, and it made resident Ann Spratt’s birthday even more special . . ." I shouldn't forget this birthday in a hurry."  

Residents met friends and family along the way, including Leo the Lion, two of the dogs, Kupo and Dolly, who won 1st and 3rd in the pet competition, watched local children performing their dance routines and enjoyed listening to a singer. 

Residents had refreshments from a pop-up bar, and were thrilled to see two very familiar faces smiling back at them, as they were two of the Cedars' wonderful volunteers. And resident Barbara Coleman said, "Isn’t it so lovely to see so many families here enjoying themselves? Just lovely! I remember going on a carousel when I was a little girl." Stopping on the way home at The Shake Vault for delicious artisan ice cream, watching the cricket sat on the Abbey Lawns.        

We were thrilled to be invited to watch Bourne Abbey C of E Primary Academy production of Ali Baba and the Bongo Bandits yesterday.

The children were incredible, performing with confidence and skill; the music was superb and the vocal skills of both the soloists and group songs were perfect. Margaret, Bert, Sheila and Doreen were clapping, laughing and singing along with genuine enjoyment.

Doreen said 'I wouldn't have missed it, it was great!'

We were so grateful for the kindness shown to us from the beginning to the end- thank you Mrs Seymour and Mrs Thomas for inviting us, and to all of the children and staff for a truly magical afternoon.

What a fantastic afternoon with the talented Alison Jay!

After enjoying the Eurovision Song Contest, we decided to hold a Eurovision Disco of our own. Megan, Anne and Dorothy had the mics and were singing all the words to the classic winners, from Puppet On A String to Jack In A Box, All Kinds Of Everything and of course Waterloo by ABBA. 

The music caught everyone’s imagination and the room was full of singing and dancing all afternoon.