Activities at Bluebell Park Care Home

As part of Dog Appreciation Month, we celebrated in the best way and welcomed Pause with Paws, who brought along their wonderful dogs, who were adorable Pomeranian’s and chihuahua’s. Our residents absolutely loved spending time with them, giving them treats, playing games with them and, of course, lots of cuddles, as the dogs happily curled up on their laps.

This visit brought so much joy, laughter and comfort to everyone. Animal interaction like this can have such a positive impact – helping to reduce stress, spark conversation and create meaningful moments of connection.     

We Celebrated St Patricks Day in style. Residents enjoyed a fun day of Irish themed activities. In the morning we had traditional Irish Music and dancing. We enjoyed a delicious Irish themed lunch, made by our wonderful Chef. 

In the afternoon, the residents participated in some Irish taste testing, which included some Irish snacks, Guinness and Baileys. It was nice end to a great day, which everyone had enjoyed.    

Our local library delivers a variety of books to suit our residents every six weeks. Some of our residents have enjoyed reading and looking through some of the books which have been delivered this month. 

One of the gentlemen enjoyed looking at the pictures in a wartime book and sharing his personal stories with staff and others, while another, who worked on the railway, chose to read one about British trains. This local resource is great for our residents to continue hobbies or learn something new about themselves or one another.    

Today we reflect on and remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and to those who return but never the same, together as a nation. This morning our residents watched the live coverage of Remembrance Sunday, at The Cenotaph in Whitehall, London. We marked this very special day by holding a two-minute silence as we observed the wreath laying ceremony, and looked on at the march of nearly 10,000 veterans.

This afternoon we had our special remembrance service, held by our local Chaplain, Alison. All three communities at Bluebell joined together in our reception area, wearing their poppies with pride.

Today we remembered, 
We remembered those who served before
We remembered those who are no more 
We remember those who serve today 
We remember them all on Remembrance Day.
Lest we forget. 

Today, residents from our communities joined together to start making some pictures for our autumn display. Residents used leaves from the garden and a variety of coloured paint in autumnal tones to leaf print, stencil or glue to their paper. 

We had fun discussing the changes in leaf colour and the weather in Autumn. Residents were able to name which trees the leaves were from, and some remember having the same trees in their gardens.  

We had a very special couple of visitors to Bluebell Park in April. Two adorable Lambs, 2-week old Fifi and 3-week-old Tiny Tim, who completely stole the show. Our residents were delighted to meet and cuddle them, with so many smiles, laughter and lovely moments that were shared throughout the visit. 

The 2 adorable lambs also visited our residents in their bedrooms, which surprised them and made their day. It was a truly special morning that brought joy, happiness and a little bit of the countryside to our home.     

We had a lovely day celebrating Mother’s Day. We started the day off by delivering roses and chocolates to our wonderful ladies. We shared stories with each other, about our children and our mothers and reminisced through our lovely photo display. 

At lunchtime, we enjoyed a special Mother’s Day Lunch, prepared by our talented chef. In the afternoon, we gathered together for a Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea. They requested their favourite songs, so they could have a sing-a-long. At the end of the day, the ladies commented on what a lovely day it had been.  

On New Year’s Eve, our residents spent time reflecting on 2025 and all the great times we have shared together. 

In the afternoon, our Memory Lane community enjoyed a hand, jive, twist dancing session to the rocking 50s, and to end the day, we came together with a glass of fizz and some lovely singing.

New Year’s Day saw our residents following some of their own traditions. One is to go for a walk. In the morning, some of our residents braved the cold for a stroll around the garden. It was lovely to stretch our legs, get some fresh air and listen to the birds chirping. 

Residents who missed the fireworks on New Year's Eve have enjoyed watching the London highlights on the TV today and discussing New Year’s resolutions and wishes for 2026.   
 

Tonight, our residents celebrated bonfire night. We gathered in the garden with hot chocolates and sweet treats and enjoyed some sparklers. Our talented kitchen team put together a lovely bonfire-themed menu, including sausages, jacket potatoes and mushy peas.

For those who didn’t wish to come into the garden, we had some virtual firework displays in each of our communities for all to enjoy.   

Whilst some residents enjoyed looking out the windows and balconies at the pretty firework displays, we could see. We had music playing in the garden and lots of us were up dancing and singing.  

To celebrate World Animal Day, residents at Bluebell have had the pleasure of meeting some friendly pets from the Mobile Mini Zoo. Sam brought five different animals for our residents to get to know and hold if they wished to. All the animals were super friendly and were used to being handled and Sam was so knowledgeable about all of them, she quickly answered all the resident’s questions, and we have learnt so much during this activity. 

Bob the snake was the first to be held and, to the activity’s teams surprise, most of the residents were happy to participate. Second was Ruby the bearded dragon and third was a 3-year-old tortoise. The last two were a bit furrier and residents braved holding a fancy rat called Bandit and a pregnant guinea pig. Residents at Bluebell have had a lovely afternoon getting to know more about the animals and sharing some stories of the pets they owned growing up.  

In April, our residents made some beautiful and unique flower displays during a flower arranging activity. Instead of using vases, residents used China Cups and Saucers. We added some oasis to the bottom of each cup and then residents put in their chosen flowers. This made the experience a little bit different, and it makes the flowers last longer.  

This flower arranging activity sparked reminiscing conversations about flower arranging at home and what flowers everyone had in their gardens and, of course, what our favourite flowers are.                    

We welcomed Kevin and Marie to Bluebell Park. They performed their wonderful and very entertaining Rock ‘n’ Roll Show. Residents enjoyed their many costume changes, impressions, singing and comedy. 

Residents sang and clapped along, and enjoyed plenty of laughs throughout the show. Residents said they enjoyed the show and are looking forward to seeing them again very soon.   

During December, we hosted Christmas parties in all of our individual communities. Residents enjoyed singing, dancing, playing games and some delicious party food prepared by our kitchen team, and let’s not forget a glass of fizz or two. 

Residents have said it was lovely to spend time with their neighbours and most enjoyed dressing up and getting in the Christmas spirit. Singing and laughter filled the home, and we cannot wait to make next year's parties even better.          

Today, residents at Bluebell Park enjoyed working together to make a Guy Fawkes for bonfire night. They worked in pairs to stuff the arms and legs with newspaper and straw and worked together to fill the body.

Residents were very pleased with the finished guy and posed for a picture before he was situated in our reception area for all visitors to see.      

What a fantastic morning we had raising money for Macmillan today. Residents, staff, families and people from the local community came together to support those living with cancer. Our talented kitchen team, staff and their families baked some absolutely beautiful cakes and treats for us to enjoy. We were all spoilt for choice! Residents enjoyed having a go in the raffle and games to win prizes. 

We would like to thank everyone involved and let you know we have raised £155.00 plus online donations.