Activities at Tyspane Care Home

Today, on this beautiful January morning the Gardening Club joined the Floral Designers Club to create a spectacular array of flower arrangements for the residents of Tyspane Care Home.  Fresh foliage was picked from the stunning grounds of Tyspane Care Home and woven with beautiful freshly cut flowers of the season to create personalised masterpieces. 

Residents, families, friends and staff thoroughly enjoyed the morning and the air was filled with laughter as well as beautiful floral scents.

Margaret stated, “The experience was so much fun and such a lovely way to get to know other residents.”

What is the difference between a poem and poetry? Although they both refer to a literary genre, they cannot be used interchangeably because ‘poetry’ refers to ‘poems’ as a whole, whereas, a ‘poem’ refers to one single work in this genre.

A good poem, whether narrated by a character or by the poet her/himself, uses words wonderfully, and it uses them to capture specific moments in fresh way, a way that makes the reader exclaim with delight. A good poem may also ask philosophical questions.

With these thoughts in our mind, Tyspane Care Home Activities Team organised its first Poetry Circle meeting for residents, families, friends and staff. It was a truly wonderful experience to sit around the table and discuss a variety of poetry, we reflected on the value of language used as well as how it impacts our views on the world and ourselves.  We discussed, “I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth  and through analyse we developed a better understanding of the pieces’ significance, and the context the piece was written in, as well as revealing major themes, images and ideas.

Resident Gillian Nutbeem an established in her own right stated, “Poetry is personal and is a fusion of thoughts of mind and heart.”

Resident Lee stated, “His love of poetry developed as he got older, and agrees it is personal and based on one’s own experiences.”

Today, Tyspany Care Home welcomed Jaimee (PAT volunteer) and her Pet Therapy dog the amazing Dino. Dino is a four year old black Labrador with a warm temperament and friendly nature. He certainly wanted to play and socialise.

The residents, family, friends and staff simply adored him and welcomed him with open arms, he was definitely a conversation starter not to mention increasing everyone’s energy levels and self-esteem. A wonderful start to a beautiful Saturday morning.

Jenny said, “How lovely, I had two black Labradors just like Dino.”

Geoffrey loved to see Dino and was astounded to find out that his owner Jaimee had moved to Braunton from the Midlands not far from where he used to live.  It’s a small world.

Lorna said, “I would love to see you both again, I like visitors.”

Patrick asked if he could walk Dino outside as he used to be a Police dog handler and it would be wonderful to spend time with a dog again.

Hopefully, Jaimee and Dino will be regulars at Tyspane Care Home offering companionship to our residents.

Spring is a fantastic season in the gardening calendar with its bright displays of flowers and fragrance. This is the prime time to put you green fingers back to work, ready for the bedding season.

Today, at Tyspane Care Home the Gardening Club gathered together on the resident’s patio with Kelvin (Tyspane Care Home Gardener) and brainstormed ideas for the next twelve months. As part of the discussions the residents decided that they wanted to design a garden that could be both beautiful and practical and one of their key aims being to donate freshly grown produce such as potatoes, runner beans, salads and tomatoes to local causes in the Braunton and Barnstaple area.

Luckily for Tyspane Care Home, Patrick Wright was able to assist John White (Maintenance Assistant) in constructing four new cold frames which will be placed on the residents patio in order to utilise the sun for warmth and provide a safe space for our new plants to transition to the garden and shelter from early frosts.

Patrick stated, “This is really exciting as I know the benefits of the using cold frames, I have used them many times over the years as I used to spend hours in my garden, so I am really glad I can do this now for and with my friends here at Tyspane.”

There have been celebrations to mark the beginning of a new year for thousands of years. Sometimes these were simply an opportunity for people to eat, drink and have fun, but in some places the festivities were connected to the land or astronomical events. In modern society, New Year’s Day is when people remember their past years, achievements and failures. People often also look forward to the New Year to come, setting resolutions to work towards personal development. A new year is seen as the start of a new beginning.

Here at Tyspane Care Home New Year celebrations allow residents to socialise with staff, friends and families. You can’t help feeling all warm and fuzzy, thinking about loved ones and friends at this special time of year.

So to get the party started Tyspane Care Home welcomed back Jonathan who played a medley of classics including Auld Lang Syne on the saxophone. This should get everyone in a festive mood for tomorrows BIG New Year’s Party.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

Early celebrations of Christmas are thought to have derived from Roman and other European festivals that marked the end of the harvest, and the winter solstice. Some customs from those celebrations that have endured include decorating homes with greenery, giving gifts, singing songs and eating special foods.

At Tyspane Care Home we really needed no excuse to celebrate with residents, families, friends and staff at this beautiful time of year. Our Christmas Party started with ROUGH Justice who are an experienced piano/electro acoustic guitar and vocal duo. They entertained everyone with a mix of pop, rock, rock n roll, indie, new wave and dance classics. They certainly warmed our hearts and souls and got the party started.

The afternoon was full of dancing, singing and merriment and to close the event the beautiful Tamsin Ball blended classic music with other genres such as folk, jazz and musical theatre. The performance was bewitching and captivating and left everyone with goose bumps.

Feedback from families and friends was amazing, Ms Hanks said, “ We have just come back from your fabulous Christmas party-can we just say a huge thank you to everyone who put so much work and effort into making it such a lovely evening for the residents and families, we felt so wanted. Every single staff member had the biggest smile on their face and put a million percent into this evening.”

With these king words ringing in our ears, Tyspane Care Home would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!