Activities at Austen House Care Home

Austen House residents and staff had a lovely surprise as Gemini Fashion visited the home with their mobile clothes shop. They came with a huge range of clothing, tops, cardigans, underwear, jewellery, scarves all in wonderful fabrics, lots of sizes and colours for everyone to browse and purchase items that they have liked.

Residents love having the independence of choosing what they like, without having to go into a busy town for shopping. So they found it fantastic to have the convenience of a clothes and accessories shop immediately available to them.

With the help of mobile shops like Gemini's coming to the home, it encourages residents to browse in a relaxed, non-pressured shopping environment.

Austen House residents are given the chance to browse the shop however they like, but there are also people on hand to present clothing for those who might prefer to be seated. 

This was a great activity for our residents as it brings the shopping experience to the home for everyone. 

We marked Father’s Day in style with a very special Cheese & Wine afternoon. 

Residents enjoyed a delicious English wine tasting  and we paired our wines with different tasty treats. Some of our residents met their loved ones, others enjoyed taking part in various activities, such as playing themed games and quizzes or spending time reminiscing about their earlier lives and talking about their fathers and children.

 It was a fabulous afternoon!

Here at Austen House we celebrated National Carer’s Week with an afternoon party and our Head chef Ainsworth Brown had put together a wonderful spread of party food for everyone to enjoy.  Family and friends arrived throughout the afternoon to join in the fun with staff and residents. Residents also gave thanks by  giving handmade cards and handwritten letters to carers with a small gift of thanks for all that they do.

Alan, a resident at Austen House commented: “We’ve all had such a lovely time today, it really is a joy to be able to thank our wonderful carers for all that they do.  They really are heaven sent.”

To mark Dementia Action Week, staff and residents at Austen House were delighted to be gifted beautiful branded memory boxes filled with retro Cadbury chocolate bars. 

Also, we were treated to an afternoon of nostalgia and delicious memories when we were joined by Cadbury archivist Sarah Foden and Brand Manager Connor Gould for a talk from the nation’s favourite chocolate brand.

Our residents and teams came together for a heart-warming reminiscing activity to share memories and lovely stories. 

Thanks to the generous support of Cadbury, we received a delightful surprise – memory bar boxes filled with Dairy Milk bars wrapped in designs reflecting Cadbury rich 200-year history.

We all had a great time while enjoyed some delicious sweet treats.

Residents and team members from Austen House were delighted to take a trip out to visit Henry Street Garden Centre. A family-owned and run, independent garden centre with a fabulous selection of plants and gardening products, there was so much to see and choose from. We selected some beauties to add to our gardens  and after all that hard work residents relaxed in the cafeteria and enjoyed a lovely cup of tea/coffee and a delicious piece of cake. 

Austen House organise regular minibus trips and our residents really enjoy finding new places to visit.

Residents, family and team members at Austen House went loco celebrating Cinco de Mayo, a national day which celebrates freedom and liberty in Mexico and takes place on 5th May every year.

We watched videos of parades and celebrations in Mexico, travelled virtually to different historic sites in Mexico, including the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and Tulum, the beautiful coastline of Cancun and Mexico City itself. 

We all enjoyed a brilliant Mexican party with Mariachi music and buffet of traditional Mexican food and drinks.

What a fun and colourful afternoon!