Activities at Strachan House Care Home

Our activities team are great at building the activities programme around the likes and interests of the people we care for. Ensuring that our social events offer fun and adventure is part of the ethos of our home; it’s important that those we support can enjoy an active and social lifestyle. Of course, there will always be those who prefer peace and quiet, and in these instances, a cup of tea and a chat are always welcomed.

Enriching life
Watch our video on life enrichment in our homes.

Natasha Rubin

Activities Coordinator

G’day! My name is Natasha and I am the activities lead here at Strachan House. I am Australian born and bred, braving the dark and the cold here in Edinburgh to enjoy the beautiful nature and wonderful people! I have a background in team management and design. I have always loved working with people and have a strong interest in mental health and well-being, recently embarking on a psychology degree with an interest in specialising in Art Therapy. I am working with the team to create a vibrant, engaging and person-centred home.

Life-encriching activities booklet

Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure

Activities and Events Partnerships

As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies

Life at Strachan House Care Home

, ,

Indian Independence Day

Residents and staff enjoyed a fantastic afternoon of celebrations as we honoured Indian Independence Day at Strachan House. We have such diversity within our home we don’t need much of an excuse to have a party. What an amazing afternoon we had from sampling some tasty cultural dishes to learning some dance moves as Diane demonstrated a beautiful traditional dance. From learning how to wrap a 5 metre sari into a beautiful costume to one of our residents Alex sharing his memories of his trips around Indian. When the afternoon was finished we all agreed we wanted to go on holiday there.

, ,

Fundraising Football Tournament

Residents and staff at Strachan House Care Home in Edinburgh, Archview Care Home and Drummond Grange Care Home in Lasswade put the ‘fun’ into ‘fundraising’ with an inter home football tournament to raise money for Barchester’s Charitable Foundation

Residents and staff from each home came together at the astro pitches in Gore Bridge for a fantastic afternoon of footie fun. Each team and their supporters dressed for the occasion as the Strachan House Spartans went into battle coming out the victors on the day.

Mandy Head of Activities said “what amazing fun it was to raise funds and see everyone enjoying themselves. Our residents have been looking forward to this for a while. We had so much fun preparing for it and despite the scores it was a win win for everyone on the day. We can’t wait for next year and hold onto that trophy victory”

, ,

Happy Yorkshire Day

Residents today enjoyed learning about the great county of Yorkshire. What better way to celebrate than by making a classic dish…Yorkshire Puddings. What a wonderful baking session it was. A total of 60 puddings were lovingly made by our residents for our chef to create a themed Yorkshire dinner for everyone in the evening. What a perfect way to end Yorkshire Day.

, ,

A Card from the King!

Residents and staff received a very special delivery yesterday. Many will remember our week long royal celebrations for the coronation. During which many of our residents wrote letters to the King and Queen expressing their well wishes for their health and long reign.

Today we surprisingly received an amazing card from Buckingham Palace thanking all the Strachan House residents and staff for the hard work and well wishes. Our residents haven’t stopped smiling and we are now looking for the perfect place to ensure it takes pride of place in our home. A truly memorable occasion for everyone.

Mayfair of Nightingales

Residents across our services had a fantastic time joining Mandy Morrow for a virtual walking tour to learn about the ‘Herstory’ of Mayfair. The Mayfair of Nightingales may be long gone but it still holds a 20th century charm. Birthplace to the late Queen Elizabeth II, home to one of WWII's most decorated female war heroes and a tale of a wealthy Aristocrat and one of France's favourite designers.

We were delighted to take a walk down memory lane and discover stories from one of London's most iconic areas.  The experience was truly enjoyed by all.

, ,

National Ice Cream Day

Perfectly timed in the middle of a warm summer, staff and residents at Strachan House had a fantastic time celebrating National Ice Cream Day on July 18th, a brilliant excuse to sample lots of cooling treats.

Staff and residents experimented with many different types of toppings and flavour combinations, from the exotic, to the good old fashioned vanilla ice cream cone.

General Manager, Gordon Philp, said: “It wasn’t just the residents that were excited when we found out there was a National Ice Cream Day, the eyes of the staff lit up too!  Who doesn’t love ice cream?  We have all had a great time trying out new flavours and toppings, it was a wonderful way to keep cool in the heat.”

Margaret Lyall, a resident said: “I absolutely love ice cream!  There really isn’t anything nicer on a hot summer’s day.  We have had loads to sample with all kinds of different sprinkles and sauces.  They have all been truly delicious!”

Upcoming events

May

Join us in May and take a look at our upcoming Life Enrichment and Community Events.

Professional Open Evening

Calling all professional's. Join us on Tuesday 18th June for our homes open evening event.

Knit and Natter

Join us for our weekly Knit and Natter group and make new friends over a selection of tasty snacks and refreshments.

Afternoon tea - Memory Lane

Join us for Afternoon Tea, 2nd Saturday of each month from 2.30-4.30pm in our Memory Lane communtiy

Community Cafe

Join us for our monthly Community Cafe - Last Friday of the month from 2.30 pm. All welcome.

Respite - Are you looking for a little care break?

If you are looking for a little care break for yourself or a little care break pop in and see what we have to offer.

Volunteers - Could you make a difference?

We recognise the special impact that volunteers can make on the day to day lives of our residents. If you would like more information we'd love to hear from you.

Emergency Services - Take a break on us!

We offer a warm welcome and a hot drink any time you need one - to all emergency services personnel, police, ambulance, district nurses - pop in any time!

Gentleman's Club

Join us every Wednesday from 2-4pm for our Gentlemen's Club.