Activities at Cubbington Mill Care Home

Residents recently received personalised handmade Christmas cards from the children of Caterpillar Nursery. Faces lit up as they read the warm messages written by the children, and they cannot wait to send some back.

Thank you so much for thinking of us here at Cubbington Mill; the special intergenerational connection between our residents and the young children at Caterpillar Nursery is so special and we look forward to continuing these projects throughout 2021, with the hope that we will see everyone in person someday soon.

Residents got in the Halloween spirit by painting their very own pumpkins for the Cubbington Mill Pumpkin Competition.

All of our pumpkins were kindly donated by Morrisons Leamington Community at our local Morrison’s, Leamington Spa.

Members of the community placed their pumpkins outside the home and residents judged their favourite. With no trick or treating this year, a member of the ‘Cubbington and surrounding villages’ Facebook group thought it would a great idea to hold a Cubbington scarecrow event, and we here at Cubbington Mill just had to get involved!

Residents spent all afternoon up to their eyeballs in hay stuffing their very own scarecrow, which had pride of place next to the pumpkin patch outside the front of the home on Halloween weekend.

Our handy maintenance man, Waldemar, created a large wooden body that residents used to tie an old Barchester uniform to and stuff with hay.

Listening to Halloween songs, everyone laughed as they tried to manoeuvre the huge scarecrow and bring it to life. Residents are really pleased with the results! 

Cubbington Mill celebrated Remembrance Day with a service thanks to resident ambassador, Gerald. Due to the current restrictions, we have been very lucky to already have our own reader, licenced by the Bishop of Lichfield. Gerald gave an amazing Remembrance Day service to staff and residents, who were truly moved by his words.

This was followed by the 2-minute-silence to remember those of the armed forces who died in the line of duty. This is a very important day to many, if not all of our residents, as they either know someone or have connections to those that fought in the war. 

Handmade Remembrance Day booklets were made for staff and residents attending the service to follow along with prayers. Gerald’s lectern was decorated with the beautiful poppy wreath that was made by the children of Oakdene Nursery, Cubbington.

The home has been adorned with poppies since the beginning of November thanks to the children at Caterpillar Nursery, Leamington Spa, sending in beautiful apple stamped poppy paintings. This is also when we began our own Poppy appeal, placing a donation box on our reception desk alongside a box of poppies for staff and residents to wear. This has been a great success and we have raised money for the Royal British Legion.

Residents at Cubbington Mill have expressed their gratitude to Gerald for holding such a wonderful service giving them time to reflect on the current situation as well as on the past. Well done, Gerald!

Residents came together to mark International Men’s Day, which aims to appreciate and celebrate men and the contribution they make to society.

Male residents love going to the pub (our ladies too!), so we thought we would bring the pub to them. Lager, wine, stout, bitter, cider, and mocktails… you name it, the Cubbington Arms Pub has it, along with pork scratchings, salt and vinegar crisps, onion rings and more!

Residents listened to classic pub songs like 'Lambeth Walk' and 'Side by Side' as they drank their drinks and said “Cheers to us!” as they reminisced on their youth.

Deputy Manager, Cat, showed residents some party tricks he had been hiding up his sleeve, and they were very impressed by the way he could open a bottle without a bottle opener.

We finished the afternoon with a good ol’ pub quiz, which questioned their general knowledge; and a special round of obscure questions that produced lots of laughter.

World Food Day is a worldwide day of action against hunger, with the theme for this year being ‘Grow, Nourish, Sustain, Together.’ To celebrate this special day, residents joined together to pot coriander seeds which they will help water and grow to eventually use in the meals at the home. This activity has been a great conversation starter about the importance of food and growing it yourself. We have many keen gardeners at Cubbington Mill Care Home so getting their hands dirty has been a lot of fun!

In October 1945, 42 countries assembled in Quebec, Canada, to create the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). Their goal was to free humanity from hunger and malnutrition, and to effectively manage the global food system. On 16th October, every year since 1979, World Food Day commemorates the founding of the organisation and events are organised in over 150 countries across the world, making it one of the most celebrated days of the UN calendar. These events promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and the need to ensure nutritious diets for all.

Residents had great fun playing a game of bingo in the dining room virtually with the pupils from Princethorpe College. Using Zoom, the sixth from students called out numbers and played alongside our residents, kindly donating prizes to the winners of the bingo game also! Residents wanted to say a big thank you to all the pupils who made them laugh with their silly hats!

The pupils of Princethorpe College would regularly visit the home before restrictions so this has been a brilliant way for residents to keep their connections and sense of community with the local school.