Wednesday 2nd June was Italian National Day and at Ashby House we enjoyed a virtual cultural lesson with Rahel Nigussie. She taught us how to say some simple greetings in Italian which Glennis, David and everyone else had fun practising. Rahel also told us about some iconic Italian landmarks and explained the origin of the traditional menu we were looking forward to later in the day. At dinner time we enjoyed Tuscan Bean Soup and Antipasto for our starters. For our main dishes we had traditional Beef Lasagne and Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Calzone. We rounded off our meal with a deliciously rich and creamy Tiramisu. We all had a great day!

At Ashby House we held a Tropical Tea Party in our sensory garden to make the most of the lovely sunshine. We put up bright decorations and our Chef made fruit smoothies and fresh juice for us. He also made a delicious pineapple upside down cake and a fruit platter for the occasion. Ashby House residents love to spend time outside on sunny days like today. Mary, Rose and everyone else enjoyed the fresh air, food, drink and socialising with friends. Here’s to lots more sunny days over the next few months!

We enjoyed painting some original pots to encourage bees into our garden. We are going to plant some bee-friendly seeds and put our lovely creations on the Ashby House patio.

This is the first time for more than a year that Ashby House residents have been able to go out in our minibus. We went on a little trip to Furzton Lake where we stopped to look at the swans, geese, ducks and more wildlife. David, Glennis and other residents enjoyed a little walk and we could tell from their smiles that they were excited and happy to be out in the fresh air, in a wide open space, with some lovely sunshine. We bought some chips and enjoyed them on the minibus before we came home. We are planning to go on a minibus trip every week now, weather permitting.

Lillian celebrated her birthday this week and the Ashby House Chef made her a lovely sticky cake which was presented to her by Nurse Diana as we all sang Happy Birthday. We held an afternoon tea party in her honour which she loved. Later she had a birthday visit from her husband, which really made her day, and her room was filled with flowers, cards, balloons and gifts from family and friends.

Residents at Ashby House welcomed Bill Griffiths by Zoom from Milton Keynes Museum. He explained that it is at Stacey Hill Farm, is 50 years old and began with a collection of farm machinery. It now has lots of different displays including telephones from the GPO training centre at Bletchley Park, a reconstructed Victorian High Street, a school classroom and parlour games. We hope to take residents on a real visit to MK Museum soon, to see the exhibits and enjoy the outdoor space, nature trails and ponds. Bill has been involved with MK Museum for over 30 years and explained it is a charity which relies on 100 volunteers. He showed us a film of the Museum which inspired us to look through some of the history books in our library. Ashby House resident, David, was fascinated by the history of MK as he moved here with his work as a Civil Engineer and was involved in planning and building the roads and roundabouts in the new town.