Activities at Thistle Hill Care Home

The Thistle Hill Care Centre in Knaresborough prepared a traditional Burns Night Supper to the tune of bagpipes as the fun continued throughout the day.

Staff and residents at the home were involved in a number of activities including a stellar bagpipe performance courtesy of Mhairi from the Leeds Piping Band, sampling Scottish snacks and beverages, to poem readings and finally toasting the haggis, including giving the time-honoured address to the ‘Great chieftain O’ the pudding race’ to mark this great Scottish institution.

Ahead of National Storytelling Week which starts on January 30, staff and residents at Barchester’s Thistle Hill Care Centre in Knaresborough were treated to a fascinating session of sensory storytelling by Art Historian, Jon Sleigh, and the Historic Royal Palaces community team.

The Historic Royal Palaces are a charity who love and look after six of the most wonderful palaces in the world so that we can all enjoy them.  They tell the stories of monarchs we know, and the lives we don’t.  They let us explore these wonderful properties and set our minds racing.

Across our services our residents have enjoyed a wonderful live virtual talk about starlings, one of the UK’s most gregarious birds, hosted by Rachel Dowse from The Royal Parks London.

Rachel examined our long history with this bird and the importance of common species to our lives. Our residents had the opportunity to find out more about the great murmuration and why we need to pay special attention to these beauties before it's too late.

The virtual experience was truly enjoyed by all.

The Thistle Hill Care Centre in Knaresborough was transformed into an American Diner to mark what would have been Elvis Presley’s 87th birthday on 8 January.  It is estimated that Elvis has sold over one billion records worldwide so to honour the undisputed King of rock & roll, the staff and residents enjoyed a fantastic day of music, fun and dancing.

General Manager, Mandy Scott, said: “Lots of our residents are big Elvis fans and love his music.  We’ve had a fantastic day listening to all his hits, finding out about his early life and what influenced him and watching old Elvis movies, he was such an incredible talent.  This afternoon we had an Elvis Singer performing a selection of Elvis’s greatest hit and our activities team treated our residents to an American themed takeaway and diner experience!”

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Thistle Hill Care Centre in Knaresborough, celebrated bringing in the New Year in style when Big Ben struck midnight this New Year’s Eve. The Thistle Hill Care Centre’s New Year’s Eve party was in full swing with festive foods, open bar, dancing and games.  Residents enjoyed cocktails and a selection of sweet and savoury treats.  General Manager, Mandy Scott said: “Our residents love a party and New Year’s Eve has to be the best reason to stay up late and see in the New Year.  We’re all really excited to see what 2023 has to offer us all.”

There was huge excitement at the Thistle Hill Care Centre as the Alpacas came by to visit the residents and visiting children.  Staff, residents and visiting nursery children at Barchester’s Thistle Hill Care Centre, in Knaresborough, had a wonderful time learning about the very friendly Alpacas from Joe’s exotic animal zoo. Finding out about their habits and what they like to eat.  Several of the residents got to feed the reindeers some of their favourite treats.  Reindeers are natural foragers and would normally eat moss, ferns, grasses and leaves so a carrot is a rare treat for reindeer in the wild.