Activities at Queens Manor Care Home

Residents enjoyed an outing to Cramond Kirk Christmas Service recently, where they were also treated to an afternoon tea and blether with the Minister.  

Many of our residents have very local connections to Cramond and were able to catch up with some old friends.  

This was a significant spiritual experience for one of our residents, a retired Church of Scotland Minister.  Everyone was so welcoming and we hope  to visit again very soon.  We are also able to take advantage of live streaming of local services within the Home

Drawing on inspiration from the seasons, imagination or personal items, the activity was more about creative expression, regardless of ability or skill.

Now, here’s the science bit! Watercolour painting can support fine motor skills as well as develop concentration and a sense of relaxation and calm. 

This was evident by not only residents' comments about how they were feeling as the afternoon progressed, but also remarks shared by colleagues who joined in. 

Every Wednesday Queens Manor residents benefit from the Fitcare Sessions delivered by Lynsey and John.  We’ve presented Lynsey with a Fitness Queen Certificate to recognise her efforts in supporting us all to remain active, supple and strong!  John got one too – they’re very competitive.
Residents really enjoy these fun sessions – there’s always a great turnout and we can see and feel the benefits.
 

Residents were thrilled to participate in an immersive movement workshop delivered by Daniella and Frances from Scottish Ballet.

The ladies also brought some costume items so we were also able to experience some of the magic of the Nutcracker through colour and texture.  Daniella said  that she was impressed by the movement skills of our residents – those regular weekly exercise classes really paid off

Inspiring words from our residents under the creative guidance of poet and performer, Ellen Renton. 

Along with Edinburgh Book Festival and Edinburgh Libraries,  we are delighted to have the opportunity to be part of a 5-week project whereby each week's theme is used as inspiration for sharing, reading, reminiscing or writing poetic prose. 

We regularly take a moment to admire and appreciate our residents' skills and talents. On this occasion we had the pleasure of admiring two beautiful shawls hand-knitted by Joyce. 

One was described as for every day and the other, which was a finely knitted treasure, had been and continues to be used for christenings.  The detail, time and love taken to create each shawl remains very evident and left us in awe. 
With a new television series starting about finding Britain’s Best Knitter, we may be in line to crown our own Queens Manor Star Knitter! 

Residents regularly enjoy outings into our community – here they are on their way to a Harvest Thanksgiving Festival at one of our local churches, where they were made to feel very welcome.  

We’ll be returning the favour very soon.

Outings are important to help maintain a sense of belonging to the community and really boost self esteem, as you may see!
 

We were delighted to welcome back our friends again from Fettes College.  The students joined us as part of their community engagement, volunteering to help in the garden. Afterwards, residents and students mingled over coffee and delicious treats especially prepared by the homes hospitality team.

They even treated us to some musical entertainment!  We are already looking forward to their next visit.

Residents were thrilled and blown away by young people from Edinburgh Stewart’s Melville College Pipe Band, tuned and tutored by Head of Piping and Drumming, Peter MacGregor.  

The Band gave a stirring performance of old Scottish favourites along with an impressive  demonstration of their drumming skills – hardly a dry eye in the house!  Residents and staff all loved the experience.  

We’re building strong relationships in our local community with many former pupils and family connections to ESMS: the Pipe band is associated with  the Edinburgh School of Music, and has a rich tradition of performing at local and national events, promoting Scottish culture though music.

The Currie Kirk Singers have been entertaining audiences since 1994, with their repertoire including songs from shows, national and comic songs, poetry and hymns - here they are delighting our residents. They conclude their performance with a blessing of peace, joy and love from the Currie Kirk Family.

A big Queens Manor Thank you from us to them for travelling across town in the winter cold and darkness to perform here. Special thanks to Eleanor on piano!

As you may see there was a great turnout to see them all once again - much singing and foot tapping evident throughout. We love Music - it's key to life enrichment and wellbeing - see for yourself!!

A wee birdie told us it's nearly that time of year again! 

Residents enjoyed a pre-Christmas browse at The Range  at Craigleith this week.  

Outings help us build and maintain connections with our community – socialising with friends, shopping and coffee whilst out in the fresh air supports self-esteem and wellbeing.

Diego has been coming along to entertain residents with his rock’n’roll renditions!  

He’s 14 and already showing great talent and flair -  we love him!  

Our residents love to see young people in the care home, and sharing in their journey – who knows how far Diego will go on his musical journey but he started right here!
Music, laughter, singing and dancing – all part of our regular Friday Afternoon Social
 

Our music and movement sessions are a popular group activity here at Queens Manor. Our residents love their music, and we enjoy listening to a wide genre of music on a daily basis, but our music and movement sessions are fun and interactive, and we can often be found dancing and singing along whilst keeping fit and active together!