Activities at Kingfisher Lodge Care Home

What a fun day we had celebrating World Radio Day by creating our very own radio show! We used our homes 'Tanoy' system to live stream our broadcasts.  Residents and staff all joined in to make it a really fun day. 

Kingfisher FM presented weather forecast, news, advice on various subject and we even shared delicious recipes. We also had 'Joke Time' segment and, of course, music. One of our residents made up his own jingle for the weather section “Whether the weather be wet or fine, we’re hanging the washing on the Kingfisher line!” 

The activity was very well received by everyone so we decided to make this a more regular event. Watch out BBC Radio1, you have a strong competition from our very own Kingfisher FM!

A truly poetic Burns' Night!
What a fantastic night we had celebrating the birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns. 

We sank our teeth into a traditional feast of haggis, neeps and tatties followed by a delicious cranachan and a dram of whiskey all the while having fun and jokes and laughs with each other. 

The second part of our evening was a poetry reading. Staff, residents and members of the community all joined in reading a mixture of poems. We even had a prize for the best original poem! The lucky winner, local community member Tom read out his heartfelt poem about  dementia and how it can effect relationships. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room!

We would like to give a special thanks to The Keynsham Poet who provided the night with many fantastic poems for us to read. They also made us up a wonderful folder of poems to keep for our residents. 

We are so privileged to have a wonderful staff and we celebrate their achievements at any given opportunity. One of our Senior Care Assistants- Lyn Fry, has been with us for quarter of the century! And, rightfully so, she deserved to receive her 25 year service award for Barchester Healthcare.

For the past 12 years, Lyn has worked at Kingfisher Lodge mainly as a Care Assistant. Before that, Lyn had also worked providing activities in another Barchester care home. Lyn, who currently works on our Memory Lane, is a Senior Care Assistant and is respected throughout the home by staff, residents and families. She’s well known for her dedication to the job and her dry sense of humour. 

Over the years Lyn has made many friends and many happy memories at Kingfisher Lodge. To make the celebrations extra special, we prepared a surprise party for Lyn which was attended by other staff members and some of our Residents.

When asked if she would make it to 30 years, Lyn jokingly said she would use her Barchester service gift voucher to buy a lawnmower and retire!!  Well done and big THANK YOU Lyn for a fantastic 25 years service. We are truly lucky to have you in our team!

We had a wonderful present arrive from Barchester Healthcare HQ, We have been gifted a Digital table for our Residents. This giant sized tablet style gadget will be used for several activities around the home. The tablet could be accessed by anyone just wanting to play on it. We can also wheel it into individual bedrooms so Residents who prefer to stay in their own rooms, don't miss out. 

Just like an ordinary tablet, you can play games such as: Connect 4, Dominoes, Jigsaw puzzles, Crosswords or even game shows like “Who wants to be a millionaire”. It can connect to the internet and can even take photos/videos. 

We have been using it from playing musical instruments, word puzzles, quizzing and brain training exercises to recording ourselves reading scripts on the camera. One of our Residents,  who initially wasn’t really keen to use the tablet, got to play the word search game and was so engaged in the game she ended up at level 23 and trying to beat her own time!! The "oooh’s" and "ahhh’s" when we announced the results went all around the room.

We are still learning how all the applications work but we are already loving having this fantastic equipment that enriches our lives on daily basis.

Christmas at Kingfisher Lodge was magical! It was even more special for our Residents and their Families when we were surprised by a special visit by, none other than, Santa Clause!

Santa joined us for breakfast where we savoured delicious pastries, crumpets, and, of course, mince pies, as Santa sat by the beautifully decorated Christmas tree, chatting with Residents and their families while handing our thoughtful gifts.

After his visit we all agreed that there's something truly enchanting about Santa- he brings out the inner child in everyone and fills the room with the spirit of Christmas.

A heartful thank you to Santa for stopping by and making our day so special!

On December the 12th we all came together for a special coffee morning in our reception area where we ate mince pies and drank hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows all the while wearing our festive and sparkling Christmas jumpers.

Music was playing and everyone was conversing and reminiscing of Christmases gone by.

Coming together like this is so important to prevent isolation and makes the whole home feel connected.

Many staff working wore a festive jumper bringing Christmas cheer all around the home and some members of our local community visited and decorated some biscuits with residents also.

Residents and staff wearing a jumper donated to Save the children UK the official charity for national Christmas jumper day 2024.