Activities at Rivermead Care Home

Celebrations have been in full swing at Rivermead Care Home, as one of its residents reached her 104th birthday in style.

Peggy was joined by staff, friends and other residents to celebrate her special landmark birthday. A wonderful afternoon tea party was held at the home and guests enjoyed a special birthday cake made by the home’s chef Sarah Lightfoot.

Sarah Jackson, General Manager of Barchester Rivermead Care Home added: “We’re delighted to be celebrating a truly remarkable woman as she reaches this amazing milestone. Peggy is such a popular resident who always has an interesting tale to tell, and we look forward to hearing many more as she continues into her next century.”

We were treated to an amazing live virtual talk and a tour of Cliveden, hosted by the house and chapel guides from the National Trust Talks Service.

The volunteers kindly gave us a tour around the famous house taking an in-depth look at Cliveden’s many stories from its 350 year history, from devilish dukes to scandalous headlines and boundary-breaking garden designs to political notoriety.

Starting with the Duke of Buckingham who built the first house in 1666, our residents met the key owners who helped shape the house and its gardens including the Orkney, Sutherland and Astor families.

The talk was accompanied by an illustrated presentation which brought to life these individuals and showed how their influence at Cliveden still continues today.

We had a fabulous time joining NESCAFÉ’s virtual coffee experience. We were able to look into how they sustainably farm their coffee beans, as well as, to have a virtual tour of one of their factories all from the comfort of our home.

To make things even more interesting, our residents had the chance to test their knowledge with an interactive quiz, and to the delight of all to taste the signature Sweet Cinnamon Shaken Iced Coffee cocktail.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Rivermead care home in Norton, Malton had a brilliant time reminiscing about fashion icon, Mary Quant and the impact she had on all our lives.  Born on 11 February 1930, residents toasted Dame Mary Quant on her 92nd birthday.

Quant captured the spirit of the swinging sixties and pioneered a business model that reshaped the industry, making designer fashion far more accessible than ever before. Residents learnt about Quant’s career and influences, the personal stories behind some of her most stylish outfits and how she came up with some of her signature pieces, including the miniskirt and hot pants.

We had a lovely time joining Chef Alex Connell from Vegetarian for Life for a Valentine’s-inspired virtual cookery demonstration.  Chef Alex created some delicious Valentine’s Day-inspired vegetarian desserts, which our residents had the opportunity to try too.

First, our residents sampled a wonderful sticky toffee pudding, which was absolutely heavenly. Then they tried hazelnut truffles which were a huge hit and finally they were treated to a chocolate orange cake which everyone adored.

Deciding to focus on what we can do other than what we can’t, and the weather being so sunny this week, we decided to take a spontaneous outing in the Minibus. The travellers, Vivien, Rosie and Bryan, were not told the destination and one wonders even if the driver knew! As the minibus headed north through Pickering and onto the stunning Yorkshire Moors we listened to classic, soothing Elvis love songs.

’Are we nearly there yet,’ joked Vivien as we sped along sunny country roads, and as she knows the Yorkshire landscape rather well she also tried to guess where we were going. ‘Are we going to… Goathland?’ Not this time. ‘Ah, Dolby Forest? No, so then it’s Whitby? No! Ah!’ [She divined correctly] ‘We’re going to Sandsend!’