Activities at Latimer Court Care Home

Knit and Natter. (If you can add the poster for knit and natter please with photos).

Each week on a Friday afternoon we have knit and natter for the residents, and they enjoy knitting different things. At the moment, the residents are working on poppies for Remembrance Day in November and making pom poms for VJ Day on the 15th August, which will be red, white and blue. 

We welcome the community to join us and knit with the residents and chat with them. We have a volunteer, Christine, who joins each week to help and assist our residents, and she enjoys coming each week. 

Exercise is important to the residents that live with us. They like to do Seated Band Exercises, Balloon Badminton, Pom Pom dance exercise, Seated Zumba with Yana. 

Each week there is always an exercise activity taking place in the home as we listen to our residents, and it is their choice to take part in exercises for Mind, Body and Soul.

Our family, friends and Open day was a great day for our residents, friends and families and others who came and visited us for our Open Day. 

We had a BBQ for everyone and lots of entertainment throughout the day. We started off with the Worcester Ukulele Band. The Phoenix Choir performed, dancers from Worcester Dance Club performed for all at the family day and to close our event, we had Ruby Ann to sing. It was a great day and fun for all families, residents and visitors, and I am looking forward to organising another day.   

Some of the residents that live with us like to go on outings on our mini-bus that we have and often choose to go to the pub restaurant, The March Hare. Here they have a great deal: two courses for £10, starter and main or main and dessert. 

The residents had a wonderful time dining out at the March Hare, where they had a carvery lunch and lovely desserts from the counter. Residents sat chatting, enjoying their lunch and seeing the countryside when driving to and from the March Hare.   

On the 15th August we celebrated VJ Day by having mini-concerts. Two ladies joined us to sing old wartime songs from 11:30am onwards. At 12 Midday, we held a two-minute silence to honour those that fought in the war and then carried on with the ladies singing to commemorate Victory over Japan Day's 80th Anniversary, which residents enjoyed singing along to too. 

After lunch every Friday, we had Knit and Natter and watched the proceedings from the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, which the residents enjoyed and chatting about their families, which was nice to reminisce about.  

Through the month of August we have been celebrating World Animal Days. Learning interesting facts about owls, lions and elephants, having quizzes to see if the residents knew about the animals, mindful colouring and then producing a poster of the different animal days. To celebrate animal days, we had an Owl display from Wren-Birds of Prey. Jenny came along as she is from Gloucester and gave a talk all about the Owls and Kestrels that she has at home which she looks after fifteen of them. 

Jenny allowed the residents to hold them and stroke under their front. The feathers on their wings have oils which protect against the rain. One resident said she was scared at the start, but when Jenny explained about them, she gained courage to hold one of the owls and this helped to overcome her nerves and she was really happy. The residents were thrilled with the afternoon talk and seeing the birds.  

All the male residents had a fab time celebrating Father’s Day with loved ones and friends. Some male residents went out for lunch with their families. 

Activities played games, dominoes and cards together and had refreshments and sat chatting together and enjoying the day.

All the residents had a lovely time watching the summer show by the North East producers, “ Mothers Know best” which the residents really enjoyed, joining in with the songs and clapping along. 

The residents had a laugh sitting altogether watching the show and looking forward to the Panto at Christmas from North east Producers.

A resident living with us is a lifetime member of the National Trust and can also take a guest, and we fulfil his wishes by taking him on trips out to the National Trust Sites. Chris has visited Hanbury Hall and only last week, on the 10th June visited Croome Court. We all had a lovely day at Croome seeing the House and The Church, countryside on the grounds. 

The facilities are great at Croome as they have a buggy to take wheelchairs to the house and Church and once at the house they have a lift suitable to take wheelchair users into the house up the steps which is really good. We went back to the entrance and had lite bites and drinks and sat outside enjoying  the nice weather and chatting together. Next visit is back to Hanbury Hall with his guest in July.

Today's activity session included different exercises for mind, body and soul.

We started with pom pom dance exercises, band/ball exercises and balloon badminton, which the residents really enjoy for social inclusion and enjoyment for their own health.

Residents got to go out on a trip for a pub lunch at the March Hare Inn where they do a two-course carvery and either starter or dessert. 

The residents enjoyed the journey to the pub, seeing the countryside, enjoyed chatting at the table over lunch and enjoying the ambience and surroundings of the countryside. Definitely a return visit for the residents and other residents as they gave good feedback about the March Hare and really enjoyed themselves.

Some of our residents took a trip out to The Valley at Evesham, where there are outlet shops, Salt Rock, card factory, coffee shops, a big garden centre that sells lovely gifts and plants, a children’s play area and fountains for the children to enjoy playing in. There is a train ride to go on as well. 

The residents had lunch in the garden centre restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed their day out looking around the shops. They asked to go back to The Valley. 

Some of our residents got to go on a nice trip out to the Garden Centre to have a look around, and we went to the café for coffee, tea and cakes and had lovely chats about all the nice plants and lovely items they sell that you don’t see in the shops, from gifts to children’s items to deli counter. 

The residents had a lovely time. 

Revd Rob from Ronkswood Parish, who has been coming to Latimer Court for many years, retired at the end of April. Rob has enjoyed his church services at Latimer with the residents who live with us, for their own faith and beliefs and liked having Revd Rob to hold the church services.

We would like to say a big thank you and wish him all the best in his retirement and for the future and like to welcome the New Revd Richard Wood, Revd Andy Stand and Revd Peter Hart who will take over every two weeks and host the church service for our residents that live with us at Latimer court. 

St Georges' Day celebrations. All the residents had fun today celebrating St Georges' Day with Afternoon Tea which was a sell-out in the dining room with every table taken enjoying the lovely vintage crockery for Tea and service.

The afternoon tea food was produced for our residents by the chefs and the activities staff served the afternoon Tea. All the residents had a lovely afternoon listening to jazz music to create ambience and a wonderful time.