Activities at Plas-Y-Dderwen Care Home

In one of our monthly residents meetings, Gill said that the place she would most like to visit is the Botanic Gardens and upon hearing this our Senior General Manager Sharon and Activities Co-ordinator Lisa couldn't wait to set to work. 

We had a fabulous visit to these stunning gardens and we all came away having learnt an awful lot, as well as being inspired to see what we can do in the garden at Plas Y Dderwen.

Regular visits to local attractions, popping out for coffee, pub lunches, mini-bus trips, and other outings are key parts of our life enrichment program and feature often on our weekly activity calendar. 

At Plas Y Dderwen we support and encourage our residents to continue doing the things they love whilst also making new friends and exploring new adventures. 

The Tour de Barchester is a challenging 4-day cycle ride, covering 200 miles, starting from Plas y Dderwen and finishing in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, visiting 14 Barchester care homes on the way, all proceeds going to the Barchester Charitable Foundation.

We were the first stop for the cycling team on June 18 where residents and staff gathered outside to give a huge welcome to the cyclists as they arrived at our home. We were joined by the Mayor and Mayoress of Carmarthen, who spent time with the cyclists and residents.

The cyclists met with our eldest and youngest residents and they spent time chatting whilst enjoying a delicious healthy breakfast prepared by our talented Head Chef.

A huge thank you to Stacey at Forge Health and Fitness in Carmarthen, who kindly donated an exercise bike for the day. Staff and residents took on their own challenge of running up the miles with our own Bike-a-thon, building up our 'move minutes' for Get Barchester Moving Week.

This year for Carer’s Week, we wanted to show how much we care to our wonderful Care Assistants. We are so proud to have such a wonderful team of kind, caring and hardworking individuals who go above and beyond for our residents.

To celebrate, our care team received a delicious delivery of assorted Cadbury's treats during the week and to end the week, they were treated to an afternoon tea where our supporting staff teams prepared cakes, scones and brownies for their hardworking colleagues. The Manager gave each of our Care Assistants a keyring that read, ‘May you be proud of the work that you do, the person you are and the difference you make’.

Our residents are so grateful for all of the work that our team of Carer’s do, and we are all so proud of the dedicated team that we have at Plas y Dderwen! Their hard work and dedication makes our home so special!

To celebrate Father’s Day on June 16, we held an afternoon of fun, with a Tie and Pie afternoon. Residents and staff all gathered together wearing ties, looking extremely smart and enjoyed a roast lunch, prepared by one of our talented chefs.

During the day, each of our male residents was presented with a gift from the home, which brought many a smile!

The residents enjoyed admiring each other’s ties and it was great to see the whole home get involved, with staff dazzling everyone with their own ties!

After lunch, everyone gathered in the communal lounge ready for live musical entertainment from Carmarthen Ukuleles. The band didn’t disappoint and throughout the show we had hands clapping, feet tapping and plenty of sing-a-long numbers from the talented Ukulele players.

When the show was over, we finished the afternoon with refreshments and delicious Bramley apple pies. It was a wonderful afternoon and Geraint, one of our residents, said, “It was a brilliant show with the Ukulele’s and we have had a great day for Father’s Day – we should put a tie on more often”.

During this year's Dementia Action Week (13th - 19th May), our teams organized a variety of engaging activities tailored for our Memory Lane community.

The week started on Monday with the introduction of our new robotic cat and dog, which were well-received by the residents.

On Tuesday, we hosted a live virtual event where residents learned about the history of Cadbury UK chocolate. This event was complemented by memory boxes filled with Dairy Milk chocolate in various wrappers produced by Cadbury over their 200-year history.

Wednesday was a day of music and creativity. Residents made drums from old coffee containers and drummed along to familiar songs. Later in the day, Kris from People Speak Up led an interactive sing-along session. People speak up offers face-to-face workshops for individuals and families on a dementia journey, enhancing our week with their engaging activities.

On Thursday, Jennifer and Beth from Multiply conducted a workshop focused on math, where residents weighed ingredients and made delicious cheesecakes. Some of these treats were so tempting that they were enjoyed immediately rather than making it to the fridge!

Friday featured our monthly pudding club, a beloved event where residents shared their favourite pudding stories while indulging in a variety of delicious desserts.

Throughout the week, residents also benefited from relaxation sessions in our newly refurbished sensory room, adding a soothing touch to our eventful schedule.

This month we were invited to Cana Chapel in Bancyfelin. The residents couldn’t wait to hop onto our minibus and get to the chapel and meet with familiar faces, as well as residents from another local care home. As we arrived at the chapel, we were greeted with warm smiles and friendly faces.

We all gathered in the chapel hall, where tables were set with delicious tea and an assortment of cakes. Beti Wyn welcomed us all with open arms and led us in a heart-warming sing-along to traditional Welsh hymns. Our residents thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon, singing along and tapping their feet to the music. It was a wonderful to see our residents sharing in the joy of music and community.

After the singing we enjoyed tea and homemade cakes, which was obviously the best part of the afternoon!

The trip back home was filled with cheerful chatter and laughter, and everyone said how much they really enjoyed the afternoon.