Ashby House residents brightened up our home on International Flower Day and filled it with gorgeous scents by making their own beautiful arrangements of roses, carnations, tulips and Chrysanthemums. Anne, Mary, David, Glennis, Angie and Jean chatted about their own gardens and favourite flowers. Jean said, “I used to love being in my garden with my Husband Walter - he was such a good gardener". Mary told us that she used to show flowers in local events. We all enjoyed a lovely creative, sensory and reminiscent afternoon with friends.

January 20th was Penguin Day and Ashby House linked with Whipsnade Zoo for a live online zoom session with Zoo Keeper, Kathy. Residents watched the penguins swim around their outdoor pool and then come out for feeding time with Kathy, followed by a waddle around on dry land. After seeing the penguins, Kathy, who has worked at Whipsnade for 18 years, kindly showed us a few more of the animals at Whipsnade. We saw Wolverines in their grassy enclosure and Chimpanzees playing in their outdoor Jungle Gym area, including Coco who is the oldest Chimpanzee at the zoo, aged 47 years! Residents at Ashby House really enjoyed seeing the penguins and other animals. Thank you, Kathy, for telling us all about Whipsnade Zoo and its animals.

Morrison's has kindly donated some 'settling in' treat packs for new residents at Ashby House. We always make sure people receive special attention when they first arrive, so they get to know the care team, enjoy some activities, and speak to the Chef about their food preferences. These goodies are a lovely extra treat to enjoy in those first few days.

We like to stay active at Ashby House and have a weekly fitness session every Thursday afternoon. This includes gentle stretches and games to keep us moving, such as quoits, bowls and throwing and catching games. David, Glennis and Rose loved the session this week.

Ashby House welcomed in 2021 with a New Year’s Eve party where everyone enjoyed games, music, a party buffet including freshly made mini quiches, sausage rolls, cakes and a choice of festive drinks. We smashed a Piñata full of sweets, sang along to some disco music and played games including quoits and skittles. It was a lovely way to round off Ashby House’s year of activities - residents and staff had a great time together.

On January 1st we celebrated the start of the New Year with a treat trolley full of cheese, crackers, grapes, a fancy box of chocolates and a selection of sparkling drinks.

Happy New Year everyone!

Merry Christmas from everyone at Ashby House! We hope you are enjoying your Christmas as much as you can this year. We are having a great day with a delicious, freshly cooked Christmas dinner, thanks to our in-house Chef and catering team. And we are enjoying lots of treats including mulled wine and mince pies. This morning residents have opened their presents from Ashby House and from their families. After dinner we'll be watching some Christmas movies. Have a lovely day!