Activities at Thistle Hill Care Home

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Thistle Hill were treated to a talk about nightclub culture by V&A Dundee Curator, Kirsty Hassard.  The presentation forms part of a series of six talks and virtual tours that V&A Dundee is hosting for Barchester Healthcare’s care homes and private hospitals across the UK.

V&A Dundee is Scotland’s design museum, it showcases Scotland’s outstanding design achievements and features world-class exhibitions alongside the permanent Scottish Design Galleries, and a changing programme of commissions, events and activities.  

Kirsty’s talk looked at the history and design of night clubs, and examined club culture from the 1960s to the present day.  She explored their evolution and development around the world, from Italy to America, and closer to home, looking at their importance as cultural venues and designed spaces.

We enjoyed a wonderful virtual introduction to the world of robots with V&A Dundee Curator, Kirsty Hassard.

Kirsty talked us through the history of robots and their early beginnings, the presentation traced the fascination of all things wired and wonderful and considered what the future might hold for our relationship with a multitude of mechanical machines.

It was absolutely thrilling to learn what robots can do now and what they might be able to do in the future.

We had a lovely time exploring the amazing gardens of Blenheim Palace through a virtual talk, hosted by the Historian - Antonia Keaney.

We enjoyed a virtual look at how the gardens at Blenheim have developed over the past 300 years - from the formality of Henry Wise through to the ‘natural’ landscape created by Capability Brown and beyond.

Everyone was very impressed by the many jewels hidden within the 150 acres of beautiful gardens.

We were able to virtually dive into the impressive wildlife of Dartmoor Zoo.

We explored its grounds and learnt about the unique history of the park from the zoo’s educational team. The culmination of the tour was the live tiger training demonstration, which was wonderful to see and enjoyed by all.

Our residents were delighted to see amazing photos and short videos of the animals and take a peek inside their home.

We took a wonderful virtual trip to Iceland’s Puffin Rescue Centre at the Beluga Whale Sanctuary.

We were able to virtually meet some of the rescued Atlantic Puffins and to learn interesting facts about their care and unique lives. We took a peek into their lives in the wild, the Puffling rescue program in the Westman Islands, and how SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary’s team takes care of these charismatic little birds each day.

It was a very exciting experience, enjoyed by all.

Ahead of Armed Forces Day, we were transported back in time for a World War II themed talk and tour of Blenheim Palace, hosted by Antonia Keaney, the Palace’s social historian and author.

Entitled ‘Evacuees and Espionage,’ Antonia’s wartime themed talk focused on how the Marlborough family, estate staff and the Palace itself played a full and energetic part in the war effort.

The talk and tour told the story of how the Palace prepared for the worst, survived the onslaught of 400 boys being evacuated to Blenheim and kept the secrets of MI5.  

It was a lovely experience, enjoyed by all.