Activities at Milford House Care Home
The Activities Team at Milford House are dedicated to providing a range of stimulating activities for both groups and individuals, that promote both physical and mental wellbeing based upon resident's interests both past and present. As a member of the National Activity Providers Association (NAPA) the team are always striving to incorporate best practice into the array of activities on offer and to enhance their own skills through qualification with NAPA to NVQ Level 3 in Activities Provision. The team combine weekly activity favourites such as sherry mornings with special events, musical entertainments, slide shows, outings in our own mini-bus as well as interacting with local community groups such as Plain Arts Salisbury to showcase resident art and creativity and others who come into the home to interact with our residents. Milford House also benefits from a strong network of volunteers who support the Activity Team as they deliver their programme and who, along with friends and relatives, are always welcome to come and join in our sessions and outings.
Gale Louw
Gale joined the Milford team in 2019, initially as a carer but has gradually transferred over to the Activities Team where she is now the full time Coordinator. Gale has a passion to create a comprehensive and inclusive programme of vibrant events for residents, family
members and friends to enjoy and, along with the rest of team, ensure that each resident is able to participate in meaningful activities tailored to their likes and dislikes.
Originally from South Africa, when not at work Gale loves nothing more than exploring the UK, catching up with family and friends, being creative across a variety of disciplines and keeping her eyes out for great activities and events she can bring back to the home for
residents to enjoy.
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 Milford House Care Home
A Special Little Visitor
We were all delighted to welcome back one of our carers to the home last week, who brought along a little three months old addition. Everyone could not get enough of this gorgeous little bundle and we can't wait for his next visit.
The Sunflower Diaries
Last week, residents at Milford House got busy planting sunflowers, which we have sitting on the window ledge in our conservatory. The lovely warm weather means that they are already sprouting! We will keep everyone updated as to their progress, as we will soon be having a competition to guess what height the tallest sunflower will grow to – all in aid of our charity for this year, WaterAid.
Everybody Loves Beth
Residents at Milford House were delighted to welcome Beth Hough, a new entertainer, to their roster - and she looks set to become a regular favourite. Beth, who sings, plays the piano, accordion & harmonica, sang familiar songs from the 40s, 50s and 60s that had everyone singing along and tapping their feet. We can't wait until she comes again in a few weeks time.
Travel Series Continues
Residents at Milford House continued their journeys when they attended a slide show and talk that featured the Dalmatian Coast and the towns of Split and Dubrovnik. Everyone enjoyed looking at the slides, especially those showing the blue skies, which for once were matched by blue skies here at Milford! In a few weeks time, we will have the next instalment, which will feature Rhodes and Ephesus - more blue skies, we hope.
Brightening the Bank Holiday
It was another wet May Bank Holiday Monday here at Milford House, but we had Sophie along for the afternoon playing her keyboard and piano accordion to brighten up our day. She had us singing along to a whole range of songs, all accompanied by a cup of tea - a great way to spend the afternoon!
Milford House Celebrates Shakespeare
Residents at Milford House Care Home in Salisbury have been celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with a week of related events. They were delighted to welcome local author, Pippa Roberts, for two afternoon sessions. The first was to learn a bit more about Shakespeare himself, listen to some of his work and then compose their own poem using the Bard himself as inspiration.
Pippa commented, "I work with lots of groups creating poetry, but was really impressed how the residents all joined together to create such a beautifully themed poem about spring that clearly resonated with them all."
Spring by the Residents of Milford House
The rain that falls, the wind that blows, the frost
That freezes the ground beneath our feet, these let
The warmer spring days in. Weeds grow lush
Flowers flourish, blossom buds and all the cuckoos
Call to brag about the tricks they play.
The pigeons coo, the swallows swoop, starlings
All chatter. It is spring, the days are bright;
Yellow, green, pink, blue, white and mauve.
Just as a rainbow fills the air,
We follow the colours to the pot of gold –
The summer that awaits us; here and now.
Pippa then returned to read a selection of poetry written by her grandmother, reflecting her experiences during the Second World War. The Activities Co-ordinator stated that, "these poems brought back a lot of memories for residents and certainly got everyone talking. It has been a brilliant week of events and we are very grateful to Pippa for sharing her skills with us."
