Activities at Upton Bay Care Home

Upton Bay was thrilled to welcome and his dance student Sue to our home for a very special Argentine Tango performance and lesson.

Vito and Sue wowed residents with their fancy footwork and impressive coordination, showcasing routines to a mix of music styles, from traditional to ‘Nuevo’, which introduces modern music into the dance.

The team joined with residents to recreate the smooth moves on the dancefloor, with Vito’s expertise to lead the way.

“I was a keen dancer in my day, it was lovely to watch and have a go myself,” said Margaret, resident, who proved she certainly still had the rhythm as she perfected the steps!

Our ladies and gents simply loved the fast paced routines, which Vito and Sue had truly mastered.

At Upton Bay, we keep life moving! With an exciting array of activities and experiences to enjoy, call today on 01202 679529 to book your loved one’s respite break.  

This week, our residents were thrilled to lead a group of nursery children, from Upton Methodist Church Preschool, around Upton Bay via video link, on an exciting ‘Pumpkin Hunt’.

Our ladies and gents carefully hid the pumpkin themes goodie bags around the home: under beds, in flowerpots, and behind the manager’s desk!

Milo, Upton Bay’s companion puppy, led the way, helping to sniff out the treats as the children called out directions through the camera. And the bubbly bunch of tots hugely enjoyed having their goodie bags delivered afterwards by our Activity Lead, Karen!

“I loved seeing the kiddies on the screen! Like my great grandchildren! I hope they remembered to brush their teeth after the sweeties…” Barbara – resident at Upton Bay.

Our Residents were delighted to welcome Reverend Tess Nesbit to Upton Bay this Autumn, who kindly led our first 'outdoor' service at the Home to celebrate Harvest Festival.

Accompanying Tess were some of the wonderful members of the St Michael's Church Choir, who led us in a joyful selection of hymns, many of which our residents recalled from their youth.

Reverend Tess gave us much 'food for thought', quite literally, as we reflected on the importance of the harvest, and what it can bring both physically and spiritually.

Residents also enjoyed hand crafting the autumnal decorations this week, which decorated the terrace for the service.

We look forward to having the Reverend Tess and the beautiful voices of the Choir back again soon, as we look towards the winter months.

With Halloween just around the corner, and the gardens filling with crackly golden leaves, Residents at Upton Bay have been getting into the seasonal spirit today, with an exciting live cooking demo from chef, Alex Connell, from Vegetarian for Life.

Vegetarian for Life promotes veggie and vegan living older people’s lifestyles, and carefully curated a pumpkin filled menu for us to cook along with, and try at the end.

Chef Mark transformed our freshly picked pumpkins into a deliciously warming Spiced Pumpkin Soup, with an oh-so-sweet traditional pumpkin pie to finish, dusted in cinnamon.

“I haven’t tried pumpkin soup before – it’s charmed me, and I like a bit of spice!” commented Muriel, resident at Upton Bay.

To talk to our team about care packages, or to find out more about our exciting range of activities and life enrichment, call Upton Bay today on 01202 679529.

This week, our residents tried something new - a creative writing masterclass courtesy of best-selling author, Mike Gayle.

After a career in journalism working as a features editor and agony uncle, Mike has written 16 novels. The talk explained how he came to be a writer, his influences and his creative process.  Drawing on his 20 years’ experience putting pen to paper, Mike shared his top tips and his writing do’s and don’ts. Our residents loved most Mike’s reading from All The Lonely People, his latest novel.

Mike said: “I know how much I love to write – it is such a positive creative outlet.  It has been an absolute pleasure to share some of my experience with the residents today.”

Last week, our residents at Upton Bay enjoyed a virtual cruise and interactive cookery demo, courtesy of chef, Paul Hawkins, and Lisa Richards from Unilever’s Away from Home team which supports the care sector.

As they pulled into each port on the cruise, residents were given clues to identify where they were visiting and then Paul created a typical dish from that country using authentic, local ingredients.

Residents started off in Hamburg where the chosen dish was Labskaus, a hearty dish of mashed potatoes, corned beef and beetroot served with a fried egg and pickles.  Next it was off to Rotterdam to try delicious Bittenballen, or crispy Dutch Meatballs.  Finally the residents docked in Zeebrugge where the spotlight was on Mattentaart, a traditional sweet puff pastry almond-flavoured tart.

This virtual cruise has got us planning our dream holidays! Where in the world are you looking forward to travelling to next?