Activities at Camellia House Care Home
We understand that the people we support have passions and interests that could be difficult to pursue after moving into a care home – but that doesn’t mean we don’t encourage them to try! Some hobbies can define a person, so our Activities Coordinators are dedicated to ensuring that everyone we support is able to do what makes them happy to the best of their abilities. Social events are organised with individual tastes in mind and with the idea that residents have the opportunity to try new and exciting things.
Linda Wilkie
I have worked in this home for nearly 30 years, so it is very much part of my life. I started as a part-time Domestic when my children were small and, as time has gone by, I have become a Senior Carer and the Activities Coordinator.
I have NAPA and OOMPH qualifications, as well as an NVQ Level 3 Health and Social Care.
I am very passionate about my role, as it is very important to us as a team that every individual is able to live the life they wish, feeling fulfilled in their mind, body and soul, maintaining past hobbies, yet have the opportunity to try new experiences.
I have built up a very good rapport with our team, our residents, family and friends, and I have built many links with the local community, which all help the residents get the most out of life at Camellia House.
I enjoy every day; the smiles on the faces I see are reward for doing a job I love.
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at Camellia House Care Home
St George's Day
The residents and staff enjoyed traditional music, quizzes, art and a delicious Afternoon Tea after that we all reminisced of England's past.
The Wallace Collection
Staff and residents were treated to the first in a series of live talks and tours hosted by Holly and Marie-Therese from The Wallace Collection. Residents joined Holly and Marie-Therese for an introduction to the Collection, followed by a sensory exploratory walk through one of the Collection’s most famous landscape paintings; The Rainbow Landscape by Peter Paul Rubens.
Afternoon Tea
Our residents at Camellia House had a wonderful time at the afternoon tea party. The food was delicious a particular favourite were the scones, we all enjoyed sitting and relaxing with a nice cup of tea.
Live Talk and Tour of Cliveden
Staff and residents at Camellia House were treated to the first in a series of live talks and tours of Cliveden, hosted by the house and chapel guides from the National Trust Talks Service.
The volunteers gave Barchester residents a tour around the famous house taking an in-depth look at Cliveden’s many stories from its 350 year history, from devilish dukes to scandalous headlines and boundary-breaking garden designs to political notoriety. Starting with the Duke of Buckingham who built the first house in 1666, residents met the key owners who helped shape the house and its gardens including the Orkney, Sutherland and Astor families. The talk was accompanied by an illustrated presentation which brought to life these individuals and showed how their influence at Cliveden still continues today.
Jennifer, a volunteer from the Talks Service, said: “Cliveden is one of the most fascinating of all the National Trust properties, it has so many interesting stories to tell – I almost feel like the walls are trying to whisper secrets to me when I walk along the corridors!.”
General Manager, Brighton Nyagomo, said: “We have all learnt so much this afternoon, it has been so interesting to hear about all of the escapades that have taken place at Cliveden over the centuries. Our residents loved finding out about the different families that have been associated with the house and how they each contributed to its past and shaped its future.”
Take Your Child to Work Day
Camellia House enjoyed the company of year 8 student, Wade Hemingway for a day. The Take Your Child to Work project involves students joining a parent or family member to shadow them at work, gaining an insight into the world of work.
The aims of the day include helping students to understand the role and responsibilities of different employees within an organisation reflect on their strengths, communicate effectively with adults and relate future job opportunities to their personal qualifications and skills.
Wade enjoyed helping students make the now famous Camellia Fat Balls for the birds, played games, helped with the serving of lunch and chatted with residents.
Manager, Brighton Nyagomo said “We have a well established link with Chauncy School and think that this is a great scheme, where students can come to see how a care home works and how special Camellia House is”
Shanti, a resident at Camellia House said: “Wade is a very nice young man and I have enjoyed his company”
Big Garden Birdwatch
Staff and residents got out their binoculars and bird books to support this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch initiative.
The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch is an annual event to try to understand what is happening to our native birds. The idea is to log all the birds you see in your garden, from your window or in your local park in a one hour period any time between January 28th and 30th. Last year over 1 million people took part and between them they counted 17 million birds. Sadly we have lost over 38 million birds from the UK skies in the last 50 years so it is vital we do all we can to protect our birdlife.
Residents had a brilliant time filling up birdfeeders, making fat balls to attract the birds before they got started and then looking up the different species in their bird books to make sure they were logging them correctly. They saw House Sparrows, Blackbirds, Wagtails, Crows, a Red Kite and Robins.
General Manager, Brighton Nyagomo, said: “Our residents love to watch all the birds in the garden so the Big Garden Birdwatch is right up their street. It’s important to look after our wildlife and help to conserve all the different species. We have really enjoyed taking part, it’s amazing how many birds we saw in just an hour!”
Bernard, a resident said: “We have a beautiful garden here and we’re very lucky that we see so many different types of birds. It was great fun to have a couple of Bird related quizzes during the morning whist looking out for the birds”
