Activities at Hethersett Hall Care Home

Last month we had an introduction to our new club which we have set up especially for our lovely gentlemen with Tony our Bank Chef and volunteer John. This gives them the chance to get together each month for a chat about cars, sports or to enjoy a game of Chess, Draughts, Pool, Ping-Pong or even darts! We hope to host special events too, to include Beer or Whiskey tasting and even a trip out in the minibus. Hurrah!

After long last, we were delighted to welcome back our little friends from Friend in Deed this month. Residents from Main Hall and Garden House were overjoyed to spend the morning chatting, playing games and having cuddles. One lady was thrilled to meet her pen pal in person – finally! We look forward to our next Little Visitor session. Later that day, we enjoyed lovely walk to Hethersett Village in what was National Walking Month. One of our residents enjoyed telling us all about Hethersett and its history having lived there most of their lives. The sun was shining as we found a great spot to sit for a while and watch the world go by.

We had the best of the weekend weather for our afternoon tea to celebrate Her Majesty’s 70 year reign, we had authentic bone china tea cups and saucers. Delicious pastries and finger sandwiches were served on tier plates along with delicately prepared desserts and scones with jam and clotted cream. We were treated to a live performance from 1940s sweetheart Liz Monroe singing well known songs from the 40s, 50s and 60s, even taking a break to play the saxophone!
A fabulous afternoon enjoyed by all our residents and family members. More tea anyone?

In the days leading up to VE Day, we spent time reminiscing and reflecting on the Second World War. Residents enjoyed hearing poems of victory and watching videos of epic street parties. One lady shared that she was actually in London for the celebrations, “it was wonderful, everyone was so relieved, everyone hugged – didn’t matter if you knew them or not. We were all so happy!”. Our residents celebrated VE Day in style with a fabulous afternoon of decorated cupcakes and a refreshing glass of Pimms and lemonade. Our celebrations were topped off with the wonderful Miss Kitty Collins performing wartime favourites accompanied by everyone waving flags and singing along!

We are delighted to be able to take our residents on trips out again. So we’ve been going out as much as we can; parks, garden centres and Hethersett Forget Me Not Dementia Café. Earlier this month, we took a trip to Taverham Garden Centre with a couple of our lovely residents. We spent time walking around looking at a variety of different plants taking on board their suggestions for our new sensory garden. We also had a look around the aquarium seeing lots of colourful and unique fish. Our trip finished with a visit to the café where residents enjoyed a drink and snack of their choice. These two lovely ladies were smiling and giggling all afternoon, happy days! Last week, our residents were treated to a tea tasting sensory session recently, lots of different fruity and delicious aromas filled the lounge. Our residents were tea connoisseurs and afternoon tea professionals for the duration of the session. All enjoying the exquisite, tasty and sometimes unusual tastes of different teas including Earl Grey, lemon with ginger, and peppermint tea, sweetened up with a dash of sugar. Perfect! I think the smiles speak for themselves!

In April, we welcomed three new additions to the family; Nugget, Tikka and Chow Mein. The three Cream Legbar chickens arrived at 10 weeks old, we kept them safe and warm in a cage in reception with a heater which is essential for young chicks. Residents have loved watching them grow over the past few weeks and it’s brought back many memories to residents who once owned chickens themselves. Recently, our three friends moved into a new little hut in our Memory Lane Garden where residents can sit and watch them. One lady in particularly loves checking on them each day and helping us to feed them. They’ll be having an extension on their house soon – watch this space!