Activities at Vecta House Care Home

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Vecta House care home in Newport were treated to an afternoon of nostalgia and delicious memories when they were joined by Cadbury archivist Sarah Foden and Brand Manager Connor Gould for a talk from the nation’s favourite chocolate brand.

Sarah and Connor walked the Barchester residents through the story of the brand’s great success from the very first shop to how Cadbury is celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2024.  They shared photos from down the years, examples of old packaging and ad campaigns from the Cadbury archive in Bournville.  The carefully selected archive material tells the story of an iconic British brand, this year celebrating its 200th anniversary, which has been part of people’s lives through generations, in moments big and small. The brand’s rich history evoked all kinds of nostalgic memories for the residents who all have their own Cadbury memories.

Dementia action week is from the 13th-19th May, Vecta House held a Time for a Cuppa event along with the rest of the nation to help raise money for Dementia Uk.

The afternoon events was full of fun and joy with live entertainment from HunnyBz Due who performed a ABBA concert singing their greatest hits. Residents, families and staff danced the afternoon away while enjoying a slice of scrumptious cakes.

At the event there was a cake stall filled with delicious cakes all made by staff along with handmade forget-me-not broches made by a local group the wraxall wollies with the home raising an impressive £100 for Dementia UK.

Residents at Vecta House celebrated in honour of St George patron saint of England by singing along to live music with Tony from Independent arts. The home was decorated throughout giving a patriotic atmosphere with residents waving their flags along to their favourite tunes. Later in the afternoon residents in their rooms  were visited by the activities team who read St Georges Day poems with some taking the opportunity to create some St Georges Day art work to display around the home.

There was lots of joy and happiness amongst residents and their family’s during the celebrations.

Spare tyre theatre group visited residents at Vecta House to deliver an interactive, sensory experience specially created for people living with Dementia.

Residents were immersed in a magical sensory experience with “ON The Beach” show. Residents, families and staff got a performance they would never forget with interactions exploring the senses of sight, sound, touch and smells as they watched the story of on the beach unfold before their eyes. The show told the story of the working  life on the beach along with magic and myths. The show was for most non-verbal with performers including residents in the show with such things as mending the nets and fishing.

The benefits to our residents at Vecta House was outstanding, we saw great response to interacting throughout the hours long show with residents engaging and participating. The show brought a sense of calmness but also happiness to residents and had a powerful impact on the mind, body and soul.

St Patricks Day was celebrated at Vecta House amongst residents, family members, friends and staff with a day full of various events.

To kick the Shenanigans off residents who are nursed in bed enjoyed engaging through one to one book club reading of the history of St Patrick.

For lunch everyone gathered in the dining areas for a traditional Scottish menu washed down with a tipple of Irish Whiskey.

The day’s events continued through the afternoon as the home was decorated with Irish themed decorations ready to welcome Shamrock and Thistles Irish dance group. The home was electric with excitement as family members joined their loved ones for a fun filled afternoon. Everyone enjoyed an outstanding show performed by the Irish dance group singing and clapping along throughout. After the show everyone enjoyed a slice of cake washed down with a pint of Guinness and spoke about the afternoon events. But that wasn’t the end of our celebrations! We continued to party the afternoon away as we were joined by Verity Bird who sang a selection of Irish inspired songs while playing her Ukulele. Everyone had a wonderful time creating beautiful memories.

At Vecta house we have a variety of activities running 7 days a week, some of the activities are classes that are on offer for residents to attend on a regular basis. This week the residents enjoyed the ever so popular Flower arranging class. This class is a great way for residents to socialize chatting about their  favourite colours and favourite flowers throughout creating beautiful displays. Staff for all departments like to join residents in engaging and we are proud of this whole home approach. Each week residents create fresh flower displays to be placed in the dining rooms helping to create an even more pleasant environment for their dining experience.