Activities at Harton Grange Care Home

Residents across our homes had a fantastic time during a special live virtual event, led by Jennifer and Emily from Dogs Trust, the UK's largest dog welfare charity. Jennifer and Emily took us on a journey to discover the rich history of Dogs Trust and their facilities.

Using captivating video and photo footage, our residents were able to explore rehoming centres and learn more about the highest level of welfare offered there. It was a delightful experience for everyone, especially our dog lovers.

As somebody said, recently, "what's a portion of fish and chips without being followed by a very nice portion of ice cream? Not much, really." So, Judith did everything to have the ice cream van today, after we finished a very tasty pack of fish and chips. Joan, the ice cream lady, was happy to visit us again.

To be honest, I never saw so many happy white moustaches around... I think I had one too. When I went to take some pictures of our residents who preferred to remain in their rooms, they said: "Oh, too late, all gone, it was very tasty." And it was a matter of a very few minutes...

It was so great to see all the teams from our home (including the management one, our seniors in charge, and from the kitchen) helping to deliver the ice creams.

We had two special visitors today Mr. Maurice, a 16 year-old larger donkey and Mr. Teddy, a 6 year-old miniature Mediterranean donkey. We enjoyed their company as they are docile and were just inviting us to touch them. Marie from Blackberry donkeys therapy explained to us their habits, their communication, what's a healthy diet for them and how they live in a hierarchical group. Even Kitty and Edna enjoyed seeing them and Gladys, Joan, Hilda and Moira were over the moon to see and touch them. Noel was visited by Teddy and Maurice in the garden.

We had a wonderful time today with our friends from year 8 class from Park View School, who came to visit us at Harton Grange. They brought some beautiful butterflies that they had raised from caterpillars, and we helped them release them into our garden.

It was such a joy to see the colourful wings fluttering in the air, and to hear the children's laughter. Sarah and Abby, their teachers, were very kind and helpful. Joseph, one of the students, read a lovely poem about peace. We are so grateful for this opportunity to connect with the younger generation and share our stories and experiences. Thank you for brightening our day!

P.S. I spotted some Painted Lady Butterflies in our garden this morning... maybe they liked it here and decided to stay...
 

Across our services we had a lovely time joining Rhiannon Watkinson from the RAF Museum London for an interactive talk exploring the exciting and innovative aviation history of Hendon.

Our residents were able to learn about the first flights from the fields at Hendon, the creation of the London Aerodrome and Battle of Britain pilots who flew from RAF Hendon.

The talk also included photographic and film material from the Museum’s archive. Residents across our homes had a fantastic time and we truly enjoyed the virtual experience.

Residents across our services had a delightful time during a special virtual sensory storytelling event, led by Art Historian Jon Sleigh from the Historic Royal Palaces.

Jon took us on a journey to discover some of the more unusual and unexpected inhabitants of the palaces and the Tower of London, sharing fascinating stories about the pets at the palaces.

Whilst enjoying the virtual experience, our residents were treated to hot beverages, delicious biscuits, berries and cakes.  It was a truly lovely time for all.