Activities at Cookridge Court Care Home

For some residents at Cookridge Court the long awaited reunion with family and friends became a reality recently, as garden visits have now been allowed to commence at the home. There has been much careful planning and preparation for this moment behind the scenes at Barchester Healthcare, who run Cookridge Court care home. Social distancing was still in place, and homes that are able to take part must have a large accessible garden.

It was such welcoming news to our relatives to hear that we were finally opening the gardens for them to have a visit. The moments the families reunited with the resident’s was very  heart warming, happy and joyful.  

Resident Jean Corcoran enjoyed celebrating her birthday by reuniting with her son and daughter in law. The  home had worked with the family to arrange this very special birthday surprise to the delight of Jean. Jean said “I am so very grateful and thank you for arranging this surprise, it really made my day. Those tears you saw were happy tears as I’ve missed them very much.” 

On Saturday June 13th, the Queen celebrated her second, and official birthday. But there was an extra incentive to join in the festivities at Cookridge Court as residents were asked to design a birthday cake in honour of Her Majesty’s birthday.  The cake design was whipped into reality by the homes’ chef to be enjoyed by residents and staff on the Queen’s special day.

We celebrated Father’s Day by remembering all Father’s and surprised our residents with a box of chocolates and invited them to their very own gentleman’s club where they all enjoyed a quiz and played dominoes, it was a fun-filled session for all.

Activities assistant, Tom Potter said “Surprising them with their boxes of chocolates was so special, seeing their faces light up. It was lovely to be able to host a Gentleman’s club and all get together (social distancing adhered to) to play a good few games of dominoes. It was also made extra special as they shared stories about their own fathers and for those who are fathers themselves, it was a lovely moment to be involved in”

Resident, John Crawford added “I was taken back when I received  box of chocolates, it was such a lovely gesture – thank you for making the day special for me”

We all joined together for the ‘Nation’s Toast to the Heroes of WW2’ and two minute silence to say thank you to fellow veterans who were also their friends and family.

We also marked the day by creating our very own ‘Street Party’! The grounds were decorated with bunting and the kitchen team provided a delicious barbeque and we even installed our very own drinks bar where the residents could choose from mocktails and cocktails aplenty! All came together to then enjoy singing along to some war time classics including the very poigniant ‘We’ll Meet Again’ by Vera Lynn.

It was so lovely to see the residents enjoying the sunshine and having fun together whilst making sure to adhere to social distancing rules. Many of our residents have very clear memories of the Second World War and it is important for us to learn about and understand their experiences, this is why we organised a day where people could relax and share memories together so their stories could be shared.  it is a privilege to remember and also celebrate with them.

Domino’s Pizza kindly delivered 15 large pizza’s free of charge to say a big thankyou to us all and for all the hard work we are doing. It was such a lovely gift to receive and put a smile on all the team’s faces. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed tucking into them and we are so grateful, they really did brighten up our day. Thank you.

To spread some hope, happiness and positivity throughout our home and community, Amanda in our activities team came up with the idea of creating a rainbow from love hearts. With social distancing measures in place, our activities team helped the residents paint the hearts with the colours of the rainbow, cut them out and then display them on our front door for all to see. We’ve had lots of lovely compliments from team members and health care professionals coming in to the home and our Head Housekeeper, Anna Hanlon said: “The rainbow really lifts moods as you enter the building, helping you prepare for a pleasant day ahead.”