Activities at Cepen Lodge Care Home

On Saturday staff, residents; past and present joined together with the local community at Cepen Lodge to enjoy an open day full of music and memories.

We hosted a variety of activities throughout the day, including entertainment courtesy of a traditional Pearly Queen!  With a repertoire of East-End songs we all knew and love, everyone had a good old singalong before enjoying strawberries dipped in a chocolate fountain and fizz!

At Cepen Lodge we’re dedicated to making sure that our home is a hub of the local community and open days allow us to showcase the friendly family values we hold close at heart, it’s wonderful to spend time quality with friends old and new.”

Cepen Lodge are firm believers that all animals bring joy and happiness. Animal therapy doesn’t come much better than which the ponies from Happy Hooves Equine Ltd - Equine Assisted Therapy & Transport trot in to say hello to all our residents.

Vino is so gentle and affectionate, the residents love interacting with him, from stroking to kissing, it’s smiling from ear to ear and room to room when this little chap makes a guest appearance!

Ponies are known to offer therapeutic benefits to the vulnerable, elderly and very young. They are intuitive and respond to the emotions of the people around them. You can see from the photos below that Vino brings delight to all who meet him.

Life is full of fun and wellbeing at Cepen Lodge, to find out more on how we tailor our activities to the needs and preferences of our residents, please join us on Saturday 25th October when we host our next Open Day for all those considering later life care.

At Cepen Lodge we are passionate about residents being able to continue enjoying lifelong hobbies, as well as exploring new adventures whilst living at our home. 

Today our wonderful gardening group gathered together in the autumn sun to repot all our hanging baskets to ensure the home is draped in colour throughout the coming wintery months.

This week we transported our residents to 'Mexico - Ariba! Ariba!’

These monthly armchair travel sessions immerse our residents in the food, sounds and history of each country we virtually visit.
Using all our senses, we made dishes of the region, including Tacos and Enchiladas with spicy salsa, cool guacamole, melted cheese and scrumptious sour cream dressing! 

Antia showcased videos of all the sights and sounds to behold across Mexico, from colourful music festivals to ancient historical sites and beautiful beaches. 

Our staff and residents took time to 'face their fears' courtesy of Kris 'The Bug Man' from Tropical Discovery Workshops who visited our home bringing many different mini-beasts and small creatures; full of legs, scales and slime.

We had a wonderful time learning about all different kinds of animals and insects, their preferred food and their habitats. The snake, cockroaches and breaded dragons were our residents’ favourites.  Even the tarantula with its hairy legs was (apparently) a delight to hold. Life is never boring at Cepen Lodge!

This week the wonderful Sophie joined our residents for a gentle Sound Healing Session. 

Using Tibetan singing bowls she creates powerful sounds, vibrations and musical notes that resonate long after having been played, they are used for meditation and relaxation, as well as for personal spirituality.

Our residents enjoy every aspect of her sessions and leave feeling totally relaxed.

What a fantastic afternoon we had at our Daytime 'dancing through the decades' Disco! The room was full of smiles, laughter, and plenty of dancing!

Our residents, guests and team members came together to celebrate the power of music and movement, and the joy was absolutely contagious. From classic hits to feel-good favourites, everyone joined in and waved their glow sticks.

Events like these are so important in supporting those living with dementia, and today truly reminded us of the magic that music can bring. We can’t wait to do it again.

Look out for next month's poster - this is a community event ... all seniors welcome!

Today's breakfast was well attended by members of the Chippenham Royal British Legion and veterans from Calne and local to the home alongside our veteran residents and friends.

The conversation flowed as the smiles widened, we really do love these monthly get together.

If you or anyone in your family has served in the British Armed Forces why not join us for a FREE cooked breakfast where you can meet with like-minded comrades, in a relaxed and welcoming environment.

On Saturday 20th September we took a couple of our resident Sci-Fi enthusiasts (Philip and Fred) for an 'out of this world' day at The REME Museum!

To celebrate Sci-Fi Day the museum materialised celebrities, memorabilia, characters and stage props from films such as Star Wars, Dr Who, Red Dwarf, Farscape and many more. Fred who loves the museum as it holds so many memories from his army days within the 30 Signal Regiment although today the visit created a very happy memory when he bought a piece of Dr Who artwork and got to meet the artist who signed it for him.

It was a truly fabulous day full of exciting experiences that took us all back to our childhoods, the characters we met certainly brough moments from our favourite films to life.

We’d like to send a big thank you to our wonderful volunteer Kevin for driving us.
This is what life enrichment means to us - turning wishes into reality and creating new and special memories

What a fantastic afternoon we had when Tickled Pink Productions joined us for a lively and memorable performance of their pantomime "Musical Wonderland."

Our residents absolutely loved the music and dancing filling the room with smiles and laughter. It was wonderful to see so many of our residents engaged and enjoying the show.

Pantomime is a great way to use our imaginations and bring back happy memories. The performance was packed full of songs everyone knew, it was clear everyone had a wonderful time.

At Cepen Lodge we understand the importance of social interactions, this week we took a trip to Chippenham Community Hub to attend the Seniors Support group.

The hub not only provides vital advice and support for the older generation living in, and around Chippenham but offers people a welcoming place to meet and converse with others over coffee and biscuits. Today the group held a quiz which our residents; Tony and Jane excelled at! 

The room was full of laughter and togetherness, it’s a wonderful place to take our residents, where they can make new friends, or reacquaint themselves with friends from the past.

As they sat comfortably enjoying a relaxing hand massage and a luxurious manicure from the comfort of our beauty salon, both our ladies chose natural colours to brighten their nails.

Regular manicures can help prevent nails from splitting or peeling, and can help keep them clean and trimmed to reduce the risk of infection they're a great way of relaxing and can help boost self-confidence and self-esteem.

To celebrate National Day of Arts in Care Homes we were treated to an exhibition from local artist Kathryn Peters-Smith. 

Kathryn is a former architect who turned her passion for art into a business based right here in Wiltshire. Her proud father Gerry resides at Cepen Lodge which made the gallery viewing even more special to him and the home.

After rediscovering her love for painting at a local art group, Kathryn decided to start selling her artwork. Our residents, staff and guests viewing the collection all agreed, it’s so eye-catching and certainly worth taking a look at! 

Our residents love exploring new experiences and having a pop-up Art Gallery to view was something very special. Thank you; Kathryn for showcasing your stunning artworks.

This months Boogie Beats Intergenerational Play group was full of fun and frolics for the visiting parents, their little ones and our residents. 

At Cepen Lodge we know that intergenerational activity is hugely beneficial to all involved as it encourages communication and social skills. Intergenerational contact also helps to develop language and reading confidence through shared activities, as well as increasing confidence and self-esteem. 

Lastly it helps children to develop empathy, care and kindness, helping them to understand and talk more positively about ageing and older people.