Activites at Juniper House Care Home

In a one-to-one individual chat, May said how she would like to go down to St James' Lake as she likes it down there. So a trip was arranged to go for a picnic down at the lake. The wonderful kitchen staff made us a little picnic to take down with us. The weather was glorious. The sun was shining bright. We decided to go at lunchtime. We sat on a little picnic bench and enjoyed the views and sound of wildlife down at the lake. We had ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit and a delicious selection of cakes and a lovely cold drink.

Everyone had a wonderful time at St James' lake watching the geese getting fed and the ducks swimming around the lake. Being able to enjoy the views of our local lake, and talking to some of the local community when we were down at the lake.

Hazel said how she could hear all the birds singing, and it was lovely to go out. Rita said how nice it was to hear all the birds. Rita asked Naomi to give the birds the rest of the bread she had left. Rita really enjoyed herself and said how lovely it was at the lake. May was very happy she got to go down to St James' lake. This was a wish for an outing fulfilled and May said she had a lovely time. 

Juniper House was very lucky to have wonderful weather on the 1st of May to be able to all gather in the garden to enjoy a traditional English folk dance performance with music playing and bells ringing by the local Morris Dancers.

The Morris Dances have been performing for over 400 years in our town of Brackley. 

Residents and staff enjoyed a morning in the sun watching the Morris dancers perform. Residents were clapping their hands along to music and lots of smiles were seen. The Morris Dancers got Natalia involved for the last dance.

Cheers to our healthcare heroes!

Today Residents, staff and family members came together to raise a toast to all our amazing nurses on International Nurses Day.

Drinks were flowing as we enjoyed fruity cocktails and donned colourful accessories in honour of the dedication, compassion and amazing work of our wonderful healthcare professionals.

Hazel, one of our lovely Residents was at the heart of the celebrations having served as a nurse in the NHS for many years. A HUGE THANK YOU to Hazel and all Nurses from everyone at Juniper House!

Lily Pad Day Nursery offered us an afternoon with them. After lunch, we took the mini-bus and made our way to Lily Pad. Greeted by a lovely gentleman who had biscuits waiting for us. We headed to the main hall where the children were waiting. The residents all sat at a table, then the children picked a table for which activity they wanted to do. The interaction was amazing between the children and residents. Making shapes out of playdough, making beautiful colourings and the children reading stories to us. 

One little boy brought a handful of drawings in for us and said we could take them back to put up on our wall. Carroll enjoyed listening to one little boy read her a story. Cherry said "Naomi, I want to take these two home with us and laugh."

Reg said seeing children is good for your heart. This was a wonderful connection we had with the local nursery and brought so much joy and happiness to everyone that came along. 

All three residents said what a lovely afternoon they had. We are now looking forward to July to invite Lily Pad to Juniper House for a teddy bear picnic.

We had a lovely walk in the sunshine to our local pub this afternoon to enjoy a nice cold beer for National Beer Day.

Janet said how lovely it was to have a nice cold beer.

Bob was happy to be able to go enjoy a pint in the pub.

Three of our residents enjoyed a pub lunch at one of our local pubs. We got to the pub for lunchtime and had a warm welcome from the staff at Paisley Pear. We were shown to our table. Everyone made their own choices of the drinks they wanted. All the gentlemen wanted a pint of beer. 

They all said how nice it was. Everyone took time to look over the menu and decide what they all wanted. Conversation was soon underway once everyone had ordered a trip down memory lane. Andrew talked about how he used to enjoy shooting and racing and everyone engaged in the conversation. Keith said how he used to like going out for meals with his wife. Everyone's food came. Keith had seabass and said how nice it was. Keith said how much he enjoys seafood. Albert had scampi and chips and said this was one of his favourite things to have. Andrew had a lamb pie and said how nice it tasted. 

This activity gave us a chance to go out in the community and brought happiness and enjoyment to the gentleman.

Morning out to Buckingham Nurseries and Garden Centre lovely sunny morning as we made our way to the garden centre. Ladies on the trip were interested in what was going on with the roads as we went past the work being done for the new HS2 project so I explained what it was they were doing. 

On arrival at the garden centre we enjoyed a lovely walk round the garden centre and took time to look for more seeds we could plant in our gardening club. We took some suggestions back home to see what everyone thought. One big hit was smelling the candles and everyone saying which one they liked the best. Think it's safe to say we all loved the one that smelt like baby powder. 

One lady stopped us and wanted to say to Cherry how much she loved the colour of her hair this brought a big smile to Cherry's face. 

After a lovely walk around we walked to the cafe and the ladies enjoyed a hot drink and a cake of their choice. Everyone enjoyed the morning out. Barbie said “thank you for taking me. I really enjoyed it.”

The home was in high spirits as they celebrated the National Day of Wales with a baking session making Welsh cakes in honour of the traditional feast day and the country’s patron saint. Residents and staff were treated to a baking session by our home manager, Karen, who is from Wales.

Before we got started, Karen explained the significance of these little griddle-baked treats. She told us how Welsh cakes have been a staple in Welsh households for generations. Traditionally, they were made on a flat cast-iron griddle heated over an open fire. These were a practical and delicious way to use up leftover ingredients, particularly during times of economic hardship. 

Then the real fun began! Karen guided us through each step of the recipe. We mixed flour, sugar, butter, raisins and spices, filling the kitchen with a warm and inviting aroma. Everyone who was at the baking sessions participated. The real magic happened as the cakes began to puff up and turn golden-brown. Karen flipped the cakes, ensuring they were evenly cooked. Finally, the moment of truth arrived. We all sampled our creations. Warm from the pan, everyone was amazed by the outcome. The Welsh cakes were perfectly textured - slightly crisp on the outside and wonderfully soft and crumbly on the inside.

General Manager, Karen, said: “We love celebrating St David’s Day here at Juniper House. I felt honoured to be able to take the baking session and explain the background of Welsh cakes to residents and staff. It took me right back to my days in Wales. I enjoyed every moment with the residents. From start to the end, we all enjoyed tasting our homemade cakes.”

Carroll, a resident at Juniper House, said: “It has been a lovely day. It was wonderful to see everyone go to so much effort to get involved with the day’s celebrations. I really liked this baking session and I loved tasting the Welsh cakes. They tasted amazing.”   

What a wonderful afternoon we had yesterday singing along to some love songs. Having a dance and overall a wonderful time. 

Jinto gave us a exercise class to one song, followed by family and staff coming together to sing two songs with Val and Rob.