Activities at Balclutha Court Care Home

To celebrate National Vegetarian Week, staff and residents at Barchester’s Balclutha Court care home in Greenock were treated to an interactive virtual cookery demo courtesy of chef, Alex Connell, from Vegetarian for Life.

Chef Alex whipped up some tasty, healthy vegetarian snacks in a live, interactive cookery demo.  Much to residents’ delight, Balclutha Court head chef had prepared the same recipes so that residents could try all the dishes. Residents sampled delicious, light and summery veggie dishes including Borlotti bean and dill pate, Greek fritters with Tzatziki and Coronation 'chicken' pastries. All finished off with a sweet and simple but totally yummy banana bread.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Balclutha Court home in Greenock were treated to an armchair work out courtesy of the Green Goddess, Diana Moran, and Shackleton’s furniture company, followed by a mindfulness session led by Shackleton’s Emma Raybould.

Diana rose to fame as a glamorous fitness guru on BBC’s Breakfast Time in the 1980’s and has made an outstanding contribution to improving the health and wellbeing of people in the UK. She now brings that experience to Shackletons as their Health and Wellness Adviser.

Residents and colleagues at Balclutha Court celebrated ‘World Laughter Day’ which is celebrated on the 1st Sunday of May by sharing jokes with each other which brought much amusement and entertainment to the home. The first celebration was on January 11, 1998, in Mumbai, India, and was arranged by Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement.

Residents at Balclutha went loco celebrating Cinco de Mayo which takes place on 5th May every year.

Cinco de Mayo is a national day which celebrates freedom & liberty in Mexico. It marks the date in 1862 when President Benito Juarez sent troops to face the invading French army who were marching towards Mexico City. The day is hugely important in Mexico & is celebrated with parades, battle re-enactments, fireworks and parties around the country.

Residents celebrated the festival with Mariachi music, games, traditional Mexican dishes & learned the meaning of the festival through a quiz dedicated to the festival.  

As part of Barchester’s Life Enrichment Programme, team members and residents at Balclutha Court enjoyed an exciting virtual talk, generously hosted by Five Sisters Zoo.

The residents had the opportunity to explore and learn more about the animal life at the zoo and the important conservation, rescue and education work carried out at the grounds of the zoo.

Five Sisters Zoo was officially established in 2005 with just a small collection of rabbits, guinea pigs, goats, and pigs. Since then the zoo has grown into an exciting collection of over 160 different animal species from all around the world.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Balclutha Court care home in Greenock were treated to a virtual tour of the wonderful underwater world of SEA LIFE London Aquarium, hosted by Senior Curator, James Wright and his expert team.

SEA LIFE London Aquarium is home to more than 300 species and 4,000 creatures, including Gentoo Penguins, Sea Turtles and Seahorses, which are cared for by its dedicated team of 15 Aquarists. The shark tank alone is one million litres in volume and six metres deep and is home to five species of sharks – Sand Tigers called Bungle and Zippy, a Grey Reef Shark, Nurse Sharks, Tawny Nurse Shark and a shiver of Black Tip Reef Sharks as well as a Bowmouth Guitarfish called Betty.