Activites at South Chowdene Care Home

Marjie proved to be a biscuit maker extraordinaire, helping to produce some melt-in-the-mouth gluten-free spice shortbread to make sure absolutely everybody could indulge.

There were definitely more tasters than makers and residents and visitors alike had a great time trawling through memories of biscuits long gone, favourites reinvented and old names with exquisite packaging.
Our fantastic Michelle also made us some very indulgent chocolate chip cookies because there can never be too many biscuits.

Celebrating song and dance for Dementia Action week with Sam and Ruby. Residents had an absolute blast and managed every single word with both dancing and chair bopping encouraging those much-needed endorphins for wellbeing.

Residents reminisced about how songs reminded them of not only what was happening in their own lives, but what was happening in their community and also the country and the whole world. There was a lot of discussion which reminded other residents of things they had forgotten and encouraged many to chat generally and feel good about their input and telling their stories. Sam visited each resident in turn and spent a little time singing with them and finding out about their memories.

Wallace and Gromit would have been green with envy at the Cheesy-ness as South Chowdene residents celebrated Cheese Day.

Residents found out about all the different types of cheeses, when they started and how the mould or holes get into a block. We had a go at the 300-year-old tradition of cheese rolling after lunch and found out how it should be done and its possible origins.

At the end of all that, there were tasters with polls on mild, smoked or chive and onion cheese.
Chive and onion Double Gloucester came out on top and there was a lot of discussion around the versatility of cheese.  

Residents put their best creative skills to good use, designing and creating homemade cards for our fantastic nurses on Nurses’ day. 

We also took time to find out the history of Nurses Day and had a great discussion around the theme this year.

VE Day celebrations got under way well in advance, with residents making their own decorations for the event as they would have done in years gone by, and these craft sessions sparked a lot of reminiscence around what type of decorations were used, and the materials used to make them (basically whatever was lying around).

On the day, we got going with residents sharing their photos and stories either of the war or of VE Day parties 80 years ago. We kept an eye on what was happening at the horse guards’ parade and took part in the two-minute silence along with the rest of the nation.

There was a proper Street Party lunch with all the traditional 40s buffet favourites with gâteau for dessert prepared by our talented head chef, Lynne, all washed down with Ginger Beer and Dandelion and Burdock or a glass of fizz. After lunch, the real singing and flag waving started a we played the Wartime version of Musical Bingo.

What a fantastic spring evening we had with the Gateshead Youth Folk Band. Residents absolutely loved all the Geordie songs to sing along to and favourites from the movies were performed in a lovely swing style.

There was a great deal of foot-tapping and clapping and huge appreciation for the very talented young people. 

We were delighted to welcome the ladies from The Chev back into the home to talk us through the Jewish festival of Passover, which runs from 12th to 20th April this year.

We heard all about the history of the festival and the symbolism around the Seder plate. We found out why unleavened bread/Matzo are eaten and just how perfectly Jewish homes must be cleaned before Passover.

All this knowledge was put to the test with a quiz, and we made up our own Seder Plate.

We had a reflective evening as we caught up with this year’s World Health Day theme – ‘Healthy beginnings hopeful futures’, which sparked a lot of debate and reminiscence around homebirths, maternity provision and the introduction of immunisations. Residents then had great fun answering general questions in a health and wellbeing quiz.

We followed this up with some ‘Smoothie’ making in preparation for some tasty hydration on summer tea trolleys and discussed the benefits of smoothies not only in hydration but also in the consumption of vitamins and minerals.

That was certainly the case as a fantastic Spring Panto came to South Chowdene. Residents were given the chance to reminisce around all the favourite musicals encompassed in this stunning show.

There was sublime=me singing and total amazement at the fantastic routines performed by Peggy and Dotty who really drew us into the clever story made up from the melting pot of great shows.