Activities at Melbourn Springs Care Home

Yesterday 19th January was international flower day so we spent the afternoon making beautiful flower posies for our amazing team here at Melbourn Springs these were made by and presented by our residents who really enjoyed both the scent and beauty of the flowers and the lovely hugs and praise received from the team.

It is amazing how flowers can brighten a cold January day.

We love being part of our lovely local community and wanted to give something back, so today we went along to our local Tesco store. They have a community book stall where shoppers can make use of second hand books, we donated our own used books it is so good to be able to help in any way we can.

Two of our residents helped fill the shelves and put them in a tidy order and whilst we were there had a coffee and cake treat.

Melbourn Springs  was full of animal adoration on Wednesday the 2nd November when a Shetland pony called Charlie came to visit the home. Shetland ponies are generally gentle, good tempered and intelligent by nature and Charlie certainly lived up to that reputation.

Our residents were pleasantly surprised to see lovely their new furry friend roaming around their home as Pixie and Pickles Therapy Ponies paid a visit.

We really enjoyed their unusual visitor. We knew that having the Pony here would be a bit of fun and we are always looking for new activities  and today we saw the enjoyment and the therapeutic influence animals can have on people.

All of the residents were very excited by the visit one commenting: “As a younger man I used to own and ride horses a lot therefore today was very enjoyable and it was wonderful that he came to visit us.”

We took our lovely residents on an outing to see a pantomime put on by Melbourn Amateur Dramatics Society. The home's residents were accompanied by relatives and staff to see the panto of Dick Whittington, which was performed in Meldreth.

One resident commented: "It was the best pantomime production I have seen in years - the actors really made me laugh!"

General Manager Maria Anghelide added: "Our residents and staff had a wonderful time at the show - truly brilliant!"

Staff, residents, relatives and the local community came together at Melbourn Springs to enjoy a community Christmas Fayre that was held in the home on 4th December
The hospitality team at Melbourn Springs served a selection of home made minced pies and mulled wine including which were enjoyed by everyone who came to the event. They also produced a lovely Christmas cake which everyone attending was asked to try and guess the weight and this was won by one of the residents Barbara who got it spot on and won the cake which she shared with her friends at Melbourn Springs. Guests included friends and family to the residents and staff at the home, and some of our local crafting community who came along and held stalls at the event for some unique handmade Christmas gifts. 
Residents, said, “They thoroughly enjoyed the day surrounded by lots of great people. Staff did a great job, not just on the day, but organising the event and getting everyone together.”

Maria Anghelide General Manager at the home, said: “Staff at Melbourn Springs are dedicated to making sure that the home is a hub of the local community, and this event, along with all their hard work, has definitely paid off. It was a resounding success!”

We do our best at Melbourn Springs to offer the residents activities that will bring a smile to their faces and make their wishes comes true.

Our resident Vera hadn't been swimming for years but felt sure that being in the water would bring back lots of lovely memories. And so, Siobhan in our Activities Team volunteered to go in too - they both bobbed about until Vera felt confident enough to float with Siobhan supporting her as she twirled around.

A special thank you to Dean at Letchworth Leisure Centre for all your help too!

We won’t disclose Vera’s age but just to say she has seen her 90th birthday and a few more!

Vera’s smile was euphoric and when asked if she enjoyed it, Vera replied, “Well my dear, I honestly never thought I would go swimming at all and I loved every minute of it! Can I go again?”

Yes Vera, you can go again!