Activities at Rivermead Care Home

Residents at Barchester’s Rivermead care home in Malton have won a floristry competition run by London-based florists, Blooming Haus.

Residents and staff were treated to an interactive virtual floristry masterclass courtesy of Master Florist, Michal Kowalski, from Blooming Haus. 

They were invited to gather together flowers and foliage chosen by themselves and follow Michal’s demonstration to create their own displays.  Residents’ arrangements were then entered into a Facebook competition judged by Michal and Michael, the visionaries behind Blooming Haus.

Rivermead beat over a hundred other entries to win the Inspiration category in the competition with their stunning arrangement:  “The Arrival of Spring”. They took their inspiration from a 2011 painting by David Hockney. Their prize is £100 in Love2Shop vouchers which they plan to spend on plants to grow in the garden. 

We had a lovely time joining the team from Hereford Cathedral for an exciting virtual session.

We enjoyed a glimpse of this spectacular building and its treasures in a series of short pre-recorded videos. From the stunning gardens which lead down to the River Wye, to the Mappa Mundi and Chained Library.

It was wonderful to learn more about the history and beauty of Hereford Cathedral.

A tribute to Yorkshire artist David Hockney has been created by the residents of Rivermead

Care Home in Malton. A six-canvas landscape in Hockney colours was unveiled at the home on Saturday.

Activity Coordinator Beth Clark said, ‘We decided to pay a tribute to Hockey, who is now 83 and still painting, as a thank you for his many joyful works of art, and especially his stunning Yorkshire landscapes. They helped us have stimulating art activities during the lockdown when restrictions meant that we could not have musicians in the home.’

Some of the residents worked with bright acrylic paints and brushed in the winding road and vivid ploughed fields. ‘I’ve really enjoyed spending time on this, said resident Katie.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Rivermead care home in Malton were treated to an exciting live streaming tour of Knowsley Safari, hosted by Engagement Assistant, Verity Dann.

Knowsley Safari has been welcoming visitors for 50 years since it opened in July 1971.  Situated in the Knowsley area of Merseyside, the safari park is home to 750 animals on a 550 acre site, it boasts the longest safari drive in the UK.

Verity’s workshop took a peek behind the scenes at Knowsley to find out what it is really like to work in such a demanding yet rewarding world.  Residents discovered what a day in the life of a keeper entails from feeding time with the giraffes and meerkats through to training sessions and everything in between.  Verity explained some of the conservation projects that Knowsley Safari is involved with and how this is positively affecting some of the world’s most endangered species.

Here at Rivermead in Malton we were delighted to spend time creating a beautiful floral masterpiece to enter the #BloomingBarchester competition in partnership with Blooming Haus following their amazing virtual flower arranging masterclass. 

We all had a wonderful time decorating and working on our arrangement and we are happy to say we were impressed with our skills in applying all the tips and ideas learnt during the class to make a colourful floral design.

On Friday there was some excitement at Rivermead, for it was our first outing in a very long time. Rosie and Vivien opted to go to the café within Scampston Hall’s stunningly beautiful contemporary gardens (designed by the Dutchman Piet Oudolf and opened in 2005).

The weather could have been kinder but the cafe staff were very kind and welcoming, especially when they realised we had not been out for over a year. Rosie and Vivien had both been to this café many times in the past, and had watched the garden maturing, and they were delighted to be back, especially with Nature blossoming so beautifully all around. Over coffee and lemon-and-elderflower cake we chatted about the arrival of Spring and admired the garden tulips that had been gathered and put in vases around the café. ‘Oh, it’s just so lovely to be out among people!’ exclaimed Rosie, enjoying her second latté. ‘I agree!’ affirmed Vivien, munching on cake, and we mused on other places that we want to visit this summer.