Activities at Lochduhar Care Home
Activities are the cornerstone of a wholesome home experience and our Activities Coordinators are always putting their creative minds to the test by organising new and exciting social events for residents to partake in. Of course, we take into account the likes and dislikes of those we support, so if someone doesn’t feel like trying something new, there will always be something on offer to reflect their personal interests. For the people who may just prefer some peace and quiet instead, we also offer one-to-one time that can be enjoyed with a nice cup of coffee or just a simple chat – whatever they desire.
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Sally Gilder
Sally has been in the care sector since 1998. Sally joined the Lochduhar team in 2018 as a care assistant.
Sally is very passionate about the care she provides and the welfare of the residents. Working as a care assistant Sally was able to get to know the residents wants and needs to provide excellent person centred care to each individual. Then in 2020 Sally found the opportunity to become Head of Activities. Sally feels that she provides a different side to herself to promote an active and inclusive lifestyle through her role as Head of Activities.
![Life-encriching activities booklet](/themes/etype/images/life-enriching-activities.jpg)
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at Lochduhar Care Home
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Minibus Trip
We recently took a mini bus trip to the Palmerston Arena Café, which is situated next to Palmerston Park, Queen of The South football stadium. It was a very chilly day, so some of us decided to warm ourselves up with a hot chocolate. We each chose a chocolate tray bake and we sat and reminisced about passed football players and games.
On the last Thursday of every month there is a community football memories support group that meet up at Palmerston Park and we are very much looking forward to that this month.
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Visiting the Garden Centre
The residents chose to take a visit to the garden centre this week. The weather was a little chilly, so we
headed straight to the café. We enjoyed a cup of coffee and there was a good selection of cakes to choose from, we all chose a different one and they were delicious. We then took a walk around the garden centre. We took a look at the new Spring flowers and chose some for our gardens. We looked at the clothes as there was a sale on, we also took a look at the different designed bird boxes.
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Burns celebrations
Our Robert Burns Day celebrations started with the address to the haggis at lunch time.
Residents around the home enjoyed listening to the bagpipes pipe in the haggis. Once the address to the haggis was complete, we tucked into our haggis, neeps and tatties!
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Belated Christmas Together
We recently hosted a belated Christmas dinner for one of our residents and her husband. Her husband had been due to join us on Christmas Day, however due to being unwell on the day, he was unable to attend.
We didn't want them to miss out on spending some quality time together, so we invited her husband to a special private dining experience. Our kitchen team recreated our Christmas dinner for them to enjoy together, complete with Christmas crackers!
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Senior Carer celebrates 20-years service
A Senior Carer at Lochduhar Care Home in Dumfries has received a prestigious Long Service Award in celebration of working at Barchester Healthcare for 20 years. Allison Henderson, Senior Carer, started at Barchester in January 2004 and has worked with residents and their relatives to ensure that their needs have been met over the years.
Gillian Ward, General Manager of Lochduhar Care Home said: “We’re delighted to be celebrating 20 years of loyal service with Allison. She has demonstrated her dedication and loyalty to this home and its residents year after year. I speak for all of us here at Lochduhar when I say that I’m looking forward to many more years of working with Allison!”
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Festive Baking
This week we did some festive baking in our Memory Lane Community.
The residents, with guidance from the Activity Team, rolled out the pastry with the rolling pin, ready to make shapes for a mince pie.
They then put the bottom layer of pastry in the tin, filled the pie with festive mincemeat and popped the pastry on top, they then put it in the oven. When they were cooked, they put some caster sugar on top, they looked scrumptious. The residents then laid the table, made a cup of tea and sat together for afternoon tea. Safe to say they all made a good job and they were delicious.