Activities at Glebefields Care Home

Resident, Kathleen, celebrated her 83rd birthday in an unconventional but happy way this year, with all of her friends gathered at a distance to share cake and presents. Lockdown restrictions didn’t stop us from sharing the day with Kath’s daughter, who joined us over FaceTime at various points in the day to sing 'Happy Birthday' and open presents together.

At Glebefields, we always try and make our residents' birthdays as special as possible and as close to how they would celebrate at home. This year, despite the lockdown restrictions, is no different. We will always make things work in whichever way possible and its lovely to see how much of a difference it makes.

Residents at Glebefields were surprised by a ration pick and mix sweet trolley this year for VE Day. Activities Coordinator, Emily, and staff danced along the corridors with a musical trolley filled with all the old classics, and visited residents in their rooms for a special pick and mix treat, alongside some scones and jam for afternoon tea time.

Complete with Aniseed balls, liquorice wheels, cola cubes and black jacks, the residents were thrilled to be transported back to their youth and really became kids in a candy shop again.

It really was a welcome light relief that brought some well-needed sunshine to both staff and residents. The hallways were decorated with VE Day bunting and the sound of Vera Lyn filled the corridors. We may not have been together as a group, but we were united in spirit to remember those who fought for us and to celebrate the victory.

Activities assistant, Nicola, gave the residents a good old giggle this April fools' day, visiting residents in their rooms and sharing many April fool jokes with them before helping them to pick their favourite joke to share with others.

The residents could be heard laughing all along the corridor, the best sound to be heard during this time! 'you will have a job stopping us from smiling and making each other laugh through all this' said resident, Bert. The residents have been cheering us all up with their jokes whenever we need it!

Activities co-ordinator, Emily, wanted to do something special for Mother's day this year so created these little gifts for each lovely lady at Glebefields. 'I knew that the residents would not be able to have face to face visits from loved ones this year so I made little posies of tulips for each lady with some chocolates and love heart sweets.'

The residents were also able to FaceTime their loved ones and were so thrilled to be able to see them over the phone. 'It was so thoughtful to have a little personal gift especially as we couldn't see our family. I have been so grateful for a FaceTime with my son who is stuck in Australia, so Emily has continued to FaceTime him for me each week which has been wonderful.' said resident Pauline.

Despite the current circumstances, we thought that we would bring the outdoors inside with an indoor gardening afternoon with Emily. Our flowerpots outside the home were looking a little bare so we decided to plant some bright spring flowers in them to keep everyone smiling.

Residents Jean and Myrtle had a wonderful afternoon helping each other chose which colours went well with each other and choosing their position for the pots. 'We were all very proud of our work and cannot wait to see them outside in pride of place' says Jean. All of the residents worked incredibly well together as a team to create these beautiful pots for the home.

For Valentine’s day this year, we decided to do something a little different. Many of our residents unfortunately no longer have their loved ones, so we decided to do a memorial balloon release at our valentines tea party. Entertainer – Amie-Louise Knight, performed a wonderful array of love songs with her partner for us, as we enjoyed afternoon tea, and Activities Coordinator, Emily visited the residents during the performance to help them to write notes and memories for their loved ones, which were put into balloons and released into the sky after the party.

Despite the bad weather, family members came outside for the balloon release and helped Emily to release the balloons whilst the residents watched in awe from the window. “It was a very emotional afternoon but so lovely to do something different and honour those no longer with us”, said Emily. Sheila, 98 said “It was a great idea to still be able to celebrate Valentine’s Day and remember those that we love dearly, family, friends and partners”