Activities at Orchard House Care Home

Residents at Orchard House care home really got into the swing of things and celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in style. They watched the Trooping of the Colour whilst creating some lovely red, white and blue floral arrangements for our party tables.  The flowers looked stunning and each arrangement housed a union flag, residents were very pleased with their results. They went on to create lovely photo collage boards depicting each decade the Queen has been on the throne. They loved sharing memories that the photo’s evoked, such as the colour of the Queen’s dress in the black and white photos. They joined together to watch the Service of Thanksgiving and sang along to the national anthem. In the afternoon they sat outside in the garden and created some beautiful ribbon wreaths. The celebrations culminated in a Jubilee Party for residents and their families. They were entertained by David Plummer, who played the saxophone brilliantly. The residents enjoyed singing along to the tunes and ended by singing the national Anthem. This was followed by a delicious Afternoon Tea made by our Head Chef, Claire Daffern.  Residents had shared memories about what was on their party tables for the Silver Jubilee, and Claire had incorporated these.

Back in January residents were asked for a special wish for something they would like to do during the year. These wishes were written down on golden stars and displayed for all to see.  As the year is going on, these wishes are being granted, much to the delight of the residents. Some residents had requested particular places that they would like to go, such as a farm or the beach, with a Mr Whippy of course.  A trip to the beach with a Mr Whippy went down very well with Sheila, and Ann loved visiting a farm. Others chose an experience that they would like, such as stroking a parrot or a donkey. We welcomed Isle of Wight Parrot rescue into our home for Lillian to meet and stroke the parrots. John was taken to the Donkey Sanctuary where he stroked a donkey.

Then there were the residents that wanted to share some special time with their loved ones and go on a “date”.  A private dining experience at lunch time was organised, compete with roses and heart confetti. Both Malcolm and John really appreciated this special time, and so did their loved ones as they have requested to do this again!

Residents of Orchard House care home have been extremely happy to be enjoying the sunshine on their recent trips to the Donkey Sanctuary.  As the sun shone down residents interacted with the donkeys by talking to them, stroking them and watching them.

For some it brought back memories of when they lived on a farm and they gained pleasure from telling us all about it. For others it reminded them of when they had their own donkeys when they were younger. However, for all of them, it was time spent outside in the fresh air, with a lovely change of scenery and, of course, eating an ice cream!  They all agreed it was a lovely time out.

World Bee Day is an annual global event raising awareness of the importance of bees and beekeeping for the survival of our ecosystems. Residents had a bee-rilliant time in the afternoon learning about bee-keeping and having the wonderful experience of meeting local bee keepers, Carol and Terry, from Ark Park Bees. They explained what causes bees to swarm and showed us how they moved them when they do. They hold a basket under the swarm, bang the branch it’s on and it falls into the basket and can be transported to somewhere safer for them.

Residents at Orchard House were thrilled to welcome Isle of Wight Parrot Rescue into the home. Lorna and Nicky brought Red Fronted Macaw, Verdi, and Cockatoo, Ella, to meet the residents.  They were very friendly birds and were happy to allow the residents to interact with them. It was wonderful for residents to have the opportunity to have an up close meeting with these marvellous birds. Residents were able to stroke them and talk to them, and were also able to ask lots of questions about the parrots and how the rescue works. Residents were astounded to learn that over the last 5 years Lorna and Nicky have rescued around 500 parrots just on the Isle of Wight, who knew there were that many in the first place. These wonderfully caring ladies share their homes with many rescue birds and also have them in aviaries outside.  Sadly they are not a charity and rely on donations to be able to operate.  It costs around £200 per week to feed them all and this doesn’t include building the aviaries, buying the right size cages and vet bills. We were very grateful for these busy ladies to give up their time and share their wonderful parrots with our residents.

Orchard House celebrated World Cocktail Day being shaken not stirred. Mixologist, Connor Seddon, who is the Bar Manager at the Brunswick Hotel in Shanklin, visited residents and gave them a wonderful demonstration of his cocktail making skills. He amazed them all with his bottle throwing and catching, and wowed them with his use of a flame torch to make the herbs in the drink just right. They all got to sample 2 cocktails, a Bramble – which is a gin based cocktail and bright red in colour, and a Caramel Saltini – which is a coffee liqueur and Baileys based cocktail.  Residents loved them both but the Saltini was just that little bit more popular and they asked Connor make a second round for them!