Activities at Bluebell Park Care Home

We had a visit last month from the Chaplin, Alison from our local Church for a multifaith Church service. Together we sang hymn, shared prayers, quiet moments of reflection and finished with Holy Communion for those who wished to take part.

A regular Church service is important to life in our home because it provides residents with the opportunity to maintain their connection with their faith and beliefs, while also finding comfort, familiarity, and a sense of community.

To celebrate Father’s Day, some of our residents come together to do some tie crafting for our Father’s Day Display. 

The residents were each given a tie to decorate however they liked, with different stickers and letters for them to put their names on, and they also had their photos added on, so everyone could see whose designs they were. The session sparked some brilliant conversations between the gentlemen, who enjoyed sharing stories from their childhood as well as when their children were young.

After all the Ties were finished, we made a display at our reception for everyone to admire the display.

In May, we celebrated VE Day in style, starting off with entertainments from ‘The Lahdidah’s, who came to Bluebell Park for a special VE Day show. Residents from all communities came together, and we sang, we danced, and we waved our flags to classic wartime tunes. Even the staff joined in with the props! The residents absolutely loved it.

We ended the celebrations with a garden party. Our home was filled with joy, music, and memories as we celebrated with residents, relatives, and staff. We sang, danced, and waved flags with pride, followed by a delicious afternoon tea of scones and lemon sponge cake. A perfect day for reflection and celebration.

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.  

Residents from all three of our communities gathered in our beautiful garden along with relatives and staff and enjoyed a Seaside-themed day.

The day was filled with plenty of refreshments, a variety of games, singing and dancing and plenty of laughter. We had sandpits to build sandcastles and paddling pools to dip our feet into, while we sat out in the warm sun.

The residents thoroughly enjoyed it, with one resident saying ‘It was a lovely day and so very well-organised, with plenty of things to enjoy and sitting in the sun’.

In honour of National Cheese Day, residents made some delicious cheese scones together. Residents took the lead by carefully following the recipe. They took it in turns adding the ingredients and mixing it all together.

While we were baking, the residents enjoyed sharing their baking knowledge, and reminisced about their favourite recipes and the things they used to bake at home. The activity sparked wonderful conversations and memories. Afterwards, residents enjoyed the scones they had made with a nice hot drink and continued to share stories.  

Residents, relatives and staff were all smiles when we had a visit from Pet a Pony. We were all delighted to meet Cupcake a beautiful Shetland Pony when she came for a special visit to Bluebell Park.

Residents from all communities gathered out in the garden and enjoyed spending some time stoking and cuddling Cupcake, bringing lots of smiles, comfort and lots of happiness to everyone who saw her.          

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.   

In July, we welcomed Julie to Bluebell Park for an afternoon concert. Julie put on a wonderful performance for our residents, relatives and staff, as she performed songs from the 60s and 70s.

As we gathered in our Bramble Way lounge, we wasted no time getting out of our seats and having a dance or tapping our feet as we sat in our seats singalong to the songs that were being sung. It was an afternoon having fun, music, singing and dancing.

In June, some of our residents took a trip on the Mini bus and had a fantastic day at the Great Northern Classics, in Derby. They spent time looking at all the different Vintage Vehicles and Machinery that they had on display. They were fascinated with all the different exhibits, while sharing memories and discussing the history behind some of the vehicles and equipment.

The visit was especially meaningful for one of our residents, who was once a mechanic and owned his own Garage. He enjoyed reminiscing and sharing his knowledge with the other residents and staff. We ended the trip by enjoying a lovely Lunch in the Café together and even enjoyed some Ice Cream.          

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.