Activities at Cookridge Court Care Home

There were smiles all round at Cookridge Court care home in Leeds as live entertainers were allowed to perform once again. Emma James performed for staff and residents who really enjoyed the show.

Just like the rest of the country, Government guidelines for care homes are starting to relax and performers can now entertain residents again safely.

Karen Francis General Manager at Cookridge Court Care Home, commented: “It is great to be able to open up our home again and have some live entertainment for our residents.  We have really missed being able to welcome performers into our home during lockdown, although we’ve had lots of virtual concerts, quizzes and talks. It’s lovely to be able to host events again now that lockdown is easing.”

Staff at Cookridge Court care home in Leeds have spent the day visiting local key workers such as Fire fighters, local supermarkets, community café OPAL and the Local GP surgery, Ireland Wood.

Head Activity Coordinator, Laura Marshall at Cookridge Court decided to work with the team to provide a gesture to other keyworkers who have worked hard throughout this pandemic. Working alongside head Chef, Sinead Ruddock, the team baked and decorated some delicious biscuits as a thank you.

To celebrate National Vegetarian Week, staff and residents at Barchester’s Cookridge Court Care Home in Leeds were treated to an interactive virtual cookery demo courtesy of chef, Alex Connell, from Vegetarian for Life.

Chef Alex whipped up some tasty, healthy vegetarian snacks in a live, interactive cookery demo.  Much to residents’ delight, Cookridge Court Care Home’s head chef Sinead Ruddock had prepared the same recipes so that residents could try all the dishes. Residents sampled delicious, light and summery veggie dishes including Borlotti bean and dill pate, Greek fritters with Tzatziki and Coronation 'chicken' pastries. All finished off with a sweet and simple but totally yummy banana bread.

The residents at Cookridge Court in Leeds have been treated to a virtual talk, kindly provided by Five Sisters Zoo.   Adam Welsh from Five Sisters Zoo brought the residents an exciting insight into what goes on at the zoo. The virtual presentation explored the vital conservation, rescue and education work carried out at the zoo and at most of the modern zoos.

Five Sisters Zoo is a family run zoo with over 160 different animal species from all around the world. The zoo offers daily keeper talks that coincide with feeding times of a range of animals, large indoor reptile house with over 40 species and a big outdoor play area for the children.

These virtual activities are specially designed and tailored to the interests of our residents, who had a fantastic afternoon.

Staff, residents and their guests at Barchester’s Cookridge Court care home, in Leeds were celebrating the birth of baby chicks this week at the home.

There was a lot of egg-citement at the home as 9 chicks hatched throughout the week. Residents were able to pet and feed the chicks as they found their footing in their new home.

General Manager Karen said: “It was an eggs-cellent day when the eggs finally hatched! Residents at Cookridge Court as well as our team were all very excited about the new-borns, we’ve named the chicks George, Charlotte and Louis after the royal princes and princess. For anyone who would like to come for a visit of our chicken coop and have a tour of our home our doors are always open.”

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Cookridge Court care home in Leeds were treated to an armchair work out courtesy of the Green Goddess, Diana Moran, and Shackleton’s furniture company, followed by a mindfulness session led by Shackleton’s Emma Raybould.

Diana rose to fame as a glamorous fitness guru on BBC’s Breakfast Time in the 1980’s and has made an outstanding contribution to improving the health and wellbeing of people in the UK. She now brings that experience to Shackletons as their Health and Wellness Adviser.