Activities at Arbour Court Care Home

We had a jam-packed Easter filled with activities such as baking carrot cake cupcakes, animal therapy with our hatching chicks, and of course, eating lots of chocolate! 

Residents also enjoyed some bank holiday fun at our annual Easter fair, playing games for prizes such as tombola and hook a duck as well as looking through all the small business stalls that came along. We are delighted to announce that we raised £360 at our fair. 

In honour of the Grand Masters Tour, our residents enjoyed a pitch and putt set up in our home. Residents look in turns to compete against one other to win Arbour Court’s golf trophy. 

Later on, we sat back and relaxed, reminiscing with residents about their favourite sport and competitions they had competed in whilst we watched past Masters tournaments on our smart TV.     

We celebrated Nutrition and Hydration Week by hosting our own smoothie bar as well as creating delicious mocktails and fruit salads. Residents enjoyed concocting their own signature mocktails as well as trying one another’s drinks to see. 

Residents also enjoyed a talk from the head chef about the importance of nutritious foods for our bodies and hydration.     

The residents enjoyed a dog day celebrating the infamous dog show Crufts. So many of our residents are dog lovers and enjoyed reminiscing about memories with their beloved canine companion. Residents started the day off by watching this year’s show, reading about the history of how it started and then chatting about our own dogs and the experiences as dog owners. 

Residents also enjoyed some animal therapy with Billy the Shih Tzu.  

Residents, staff and loved ones definitely felt the love in the air this Valentine’s Day as we celebrated Valentine’s crafting, writing and exchanging cards with our loved ones and then parting with the best love songs with singer, Sam Jones.      

For the third consecutive year, our residents loved taking part in our hatching eggs, unlike last year when we hatched ducklings. This year we hatched chicks. Our hatching chicks made it really feel like Easter as they hatched on Good Friday. 

Our residents loved looking after and caring for our chicks for 3 weeks. Our chicks are now at home with our senior career until they are old enough to live outside with the rest of her chickens and ducks. We are all looking forward to regular updates on how the chicks are and how they are developing into chickens.

Everybody at Arbour Court celebrated with Shelia and Roy on their 49th Wedding Anniversary. Residents enjoyed a toasting the happy couple to many more years and of course eating some delicious cake made by a local bakery. 

Our staff decorated the home with balloons and banners and hosted a party with music to congratulate them both.       

Arbour Court friends and family came together to celebrate Mother’s Day. Our Activities team hosted a Mother’s Day afternoon tea with a variety of sweet and savoury treats, drinks and music for all to enjoy.     

Arbour Court held a pancake parlour where residents had a choice of traditional toppings, such as Lemon and Sugar, Golden Syrup, Chocolate topping and raspberries.

Afterwards, we played 2 games, a pancake-flipping competition as well as using our online platform Oomph to play the game ‘Flippin’ Pancakes’–a memory recall game in which the aim of the game is to match two numbered pancakes correctly.           

We celebrated pizza day in style. What a delight to see everyone rolling their sleeves up and crafting their own pizza and, of course, with Valentine’s Day coming up, we had to make it heart-shaped! 

After crafting their own pizzas and waiting patiently for them to cook. Residents enjoyed tucking into their marvellous creations.       

In April, we welcomed our local MP Lisa Smart into our home. Lisa was welcomed into the home by lots of hugs and handshakes from residents, with an afternoon tea with cakes and sweet treats. 

Lisa spoke with residents about their life at Arbour Court, discussing wishes, activities and general life at Arbour Court.      

Residents came together to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in true Irish style. Residents listened to traditional Irish music, tried out some Irish dances and watched the parade virtually from Dublin. 

Everyone enjoyed a fantastic feast of delicious dishes, along with crackers and cheese, all washed down with Guinness. Our head chef also prepared an Irish Stew with braised beef, carrots and peas with a Guinness-infused sauce.    

Residents enjoyed joining Barchester live virtual make-along hosted by Holly and Rafin from the V&A as part of London Fashion Week. We explored the world of dessert-inspired fashion and learnt about Marie Antoinette’s favourite sweet treats, before putting our creativity to the test with our own sweet still life paintings.  

We had a fantastic time. A big thank you to everyone from the V&A!     

Residents enjoyed marking this Chinese New Year with crafts - colouring dragon face masks as well as learning their Chinese Zodiac animal, learning about this year’s animals of 2026 the Horse, known for its energetic and dynamic nature. 

It symbolises vitality, speed, and perseverance. Ending the day watching Chinese New Year parades and celebrations around the world.           

We celebrated Australia Day it in style with Australian-themed activities including a virtual tour down under of Sydney Opera House and went deep down exploring the Great Barrier Reef! But the biggest hit was the Australian themed I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of here!” 

The aim of the game was to find hidden starts within the box of soggy Weetabix! Of course, no celebration is complete without some Australian tunes and a quiz.