Activities at Fordmill Care Home

Fordmill celebrated World Music Day in style as the residents chose to listen to music that unites them as both a generation and a country, the accordion.  Gordon Reid was colourful and entertained residents, as he came dressed in the Robertson tartan.  Residents are very much embracing their patriotic side given the home has been a fever pitch of Scottish flags with hopes and dreams pinned on the home team winning the Euros 2024 Championship, so they continued the Scottish trend by celebrating their favourite music in style with jigs and reels and everyone joining in with some singing. 

Several of the residents at Fordmill Care Home were delighted to be reacquainted with old friends at the Montrose Baptiste Church coffee morning.  Some residents have lived or worked in Montrose all their life and weren’t expecting to see so many people that they knew in their community.  Staff are mindful of how we can take for granted, talking to our friends and keeping in touch with those that bring us happiness or that we have shared experiences with, so relish opportunities to be able to allow the residents to keep their friendships or hobbies alive.  The importance of doing this is shown in the faces of our residents who radiate happiness and appreciate the opportunities of staying connected to their community.

Residents at Fordmill were overjoyed to be visited by Alpacas Annie and Syrup.  No room was left unvisited as the alpacas had a good old sniff about and enjoyed pats and cuddles from everyone.  Syrup was a little too relaxed about the visit and spent some time just sitting in the Reception area so all the visitors could be entertained when they came in.  Not exactly what you expect to see when you come in to visit your loved one, a guard alpaca that just loves a big squishy cuddle.  And not only was Annie on top visiting form, but she is expecting a baby in September, much to the delight of everyone.  Residents were delighted to share the experience with St Margaret’s Primary School and Beehive Nursery.  Seeing the different generations be entertained by these loveable alpacas was quite something.

Staff at Fordmill  have taken part in the Aberdeen Kiltwalk to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK. The walk involved walking 18.5 miles from Duthie Park to Banchory.  Luckily, the sun was shining bright for the ladies as they marched on.   

The whole home approach spilled into the fundraiser with residents and their relatives all keen to encourage the 9 participating staff members and offer their support.  On their return, residents were keen to hear the stories, look at the photographs from the day and see those medals.

Residents across our services enjoyed a fantastic virtual tour of The Deep, an award-winning aquarium in Hull.

Our residents dived into the underwater world of some fascinating creatures such as sharks, turtles and stingrays.

It was a truly immersive and educational experience that brought the wonders of the ocean right to our screens.

Spreading happiness is our number one goal at Fordmill, so to celebrate World Bee Day, we bumbled around and spread the love and happiness to not only our residents, but our staff who we are very appreciative of.  This got lots of laughs from the residents and they were happy to sing a little to us.  Staff were offered a gift of thanks and some pancakes and honey.  Later in the day, we thanked the residents personally by all going outdoors to our garden area and buzzing around them with all the fuss they deserve.  This was very fitting too, as our residents love the Chelsea Flower Show which will start this week, and they have been busy in the greenhouse, planting lots of beautiful flowers for our bees to feed on.  And of course, they could feast on the pancakes and honey also.  To bring the outdoors in then the indoors out, is great for our residents, so they never miss out!