Activities at Lochduhar Care Home

We took a wonderful virtual trip to Iceland and visited the SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary to have an inside look into the daily care of their two resident beluga whales: Little White and Little Grey.

Our residents were introduced to the history of the Beluga Whale Sanctuary and learnt more about its mission to provide a more natural home for belugas in human care with a first-hand look at how the dedicated team are not only caring for the whales, but preparing for their future in the sea sanctuary!

It was an enjoyable event for everyone, learning more about the amazing beluga whales and how they are cared for at the sanctuary.

The residents of Lochduhar had a wonderful afternoon at the opening of their very own highlands games. Local piper, Owen from the Corberry Pipe Band performed at the very special opening ceremony with Residents walking behind with the Scottish flag.  It was a fun-filled afternoon with a variety of games, activities and a little friendly competition with ‘tossing the haggis’, welly and bean bag challenge, with residents –v- staff.   The homes hospitality team whipped up a selection of Scottish nibbles from mouth-watering shortbread and no afternoon tea without firm favourite, Tunnocks tea cakes washed down by a cold ‘Iron Brew’.  Residents are looking forward to their next themed event

To mark World Photography Day, staff and residents were treated to a live streaming photography masterclass courtesy of top professional photographer, Damian Bailey.

A professional photographer since 2003, Damian has won Wedding Photographer of the Year and is listed as one of London’s top wedding photographers, having photographed over 700 weddings.  Damian travels all over the country shooting weddings, events and families and loves to help people create memories by capturing wonderful images that will be passed on from generation to generation.

Damian’s talk explained how he goes about capturing special moments and what makes a great photo in terms of technique and composition.  From landscapes to portrait photos, Damian shared his hints and tips for getting the best shots whatever the subject matter.

Residents of Lochduhar were delighted to see fruits of their labour as they picked their potatoes planted in March as part of National Allotment week.  They are very happy with their harvest and gardening and planting seeds, plants and vegetables is a popular activity as part of the homes gardening club and busy life enrichment programme.

We celebrated International Youth Day virtually with English National Ballet’s youth dance company, ENBYouthCo and their Creative Director, Richard Bermange.

We had the opportunity to watch A Comedy in Long-shot, participate in a chair-based creative dance workshop and observe an open rehearsal where Richard and the young dancers created a performance inspired by our childhood memories.

They took part and we didn’t realise Ballet was so meaningful, with all the different movements, and afterwards spoke of this and created their own movements and what it had meant to them.

It was a wonderful experience, enjoyed by all.

We had a lovely time joining V&A Dundee curator, Kirsty Hassard, as she introduced us virtually to the history and design of night clubs and the club culture from the 1960s to present day.

We explored the evolution and development of night clubs around the world, from Italy to America, and closer to home, looked at their importance as cultural venues and designed spaces.

This current exhibition celebrates night clubs at a very important moment, as we all look to a brighter future where everyone can come back together, to dance and to enjoy nights out once again.

We all enjoyed the virtual talk.