Activities at Beaufort Grange Care Home

Residents painted some beautiful hearts for Valentine's Day.

We have been enjoying one of the simplest yet most stimulating and social games in our activities schedule, the time-honoured Scrabble. S

Settled comfortably in the lounge, residents have exercised their minds and derived satisfaction from their word creations, while enjoying each other's company and chatting as they went.

But, of course, no one was giving anything away when it came to the words they were thinking up!

A very traditional game has become a popular part of our morning activities – table tennis. A few of our ladies have really taken to it, knocking the ball back and forth while either standing or seated.

It brings fun, laughs and, if anyone wants it, a bit of competitive action. The enjoyment extends to audiences, too. Whenever the ping pong table is set up in the lounge, there are always some onlookers to enjoy the heroics of the lady players!

A few residents were clear in wanting to play the map game. With their mind focused on a map of the United Kingdom put up on the board, they were invited to draw on the map to show where they were born, along with other places that prompted memories, which they then described to the others.

Residents and staff at Beaufort Grange have received protection from the coronavirus with their first vaccination jabs.

They received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which was rolled out by the government recently following its authorisation for use by the Medicines & Healthcare products Regularity Agency (MHRA) at the end of December.

The vaccinations were administered at the home on 11th January, with a date for everyone’s second booster jab yet to be confirmed. Care home residents and staff, along with others who work in social care, are amongst the government’s stated priority groups for the vaccination.

There were no obvious anti-needle phobias on display, as residents and staff waited to receive the vaccine. If anyone did feel a bit squeamish, it was kept private and under control, with everyone understanding how worthwhile the vaccinations are.

Receiving the jabs indeed represents an important development for everyone at the home. It marks the beginning of a healthier, safer, happier future – and hopefully protection will be administered soon throughout the UK and around the world as vaccination programmes get fully under way.

Our first activity after the Christmas festivities was painting. Using many colours they could express feelings conjured by Christmas which, of course, had been very colourful in its own right. It was as though, subconsciously, they wished to continue with colourful thoughts to counteract the dullness of winter!