Activities at Tennyson Wharf Care Home

It was really fantastic, said our resident Lesley. We had market stalls with vendors selling handbags, plant pots, cards, jewellery, dolls and so much more. The star of the show was a hot chocolate bar selling luxury Italian hot chocolate that our residents are still talking about three days later! 

The games were great fun, including the Christmas Tree Corn Hole, Snowman Tin could be shy and guess the name of the cuddly toy. Residents were amazed at the wonderful raffle with so many prizes to be won. A visit from Santa added to the festivities. Everyone loved the treats from his sack! The fayre was a huge success with residents enjoying themselves so much and raising over £500 for the Residents Fund.        

The visit was part of the Professionals Business Lunch that the home hosts bi-monthly to provide networking opportunities within the community. Of course, residents were also surprised and delighted to see the alpacas.

General Manager Sarah Noutch said: “Our residents have really enjoyed their unusual visitors today. We knew that having the farm here would be a bit of fun for all our residents, especially as some find it difficult to go on many outings in our minibus.  We are always looking for new activities for the residents, and today we have seen the enjoyment and the therapeutic influence animals can have on people. It was also a fun way to launch our inaugural Professionals Business Lunch. Tennyson Wharf has fabulous facilities in a wonderful location overlooking the Marina. Networking could not be made easier!”
 

We had a wonderful morning enjoying the fresh coffee, tea and delicious cakes and socialising together. There was a lot of excitement about the raffle too. The community truly showed up for this very worthy cause and we raised £230. Our residents were delighted with this, especially as all the money raised stayed within the local community. Helen, a representative of Macmillan, came to tell us all about the charity and the fabulous work that they do in this Gainsborough area.   

She said throughout the area the coffee mornings had raised over £9000! Some of the money raised will go towards helping pay the salary of a dedicated Macmillan Nurse at Lincolnshire County Hospital.     

It has been a long summer without our friends and boy have we missed Caterpillar Music Newark. It was a lovely morning of play, songs, bubbles and laughter. 

We are so grateful to Anna and the kind Mums who so generously share their sweet babies and toddlers with our residents. Pam and Ruth both agreed it was a wonderful morning. Lesley said it was 'full of craziness!'    

Lucky that we have such caring and talented team members in Nina and Nivi, who entertained us as we celebrated India Day.
Nina, who you may remember from our Meet the Team Monday post, has a Master’s Degree in Yoga and has been practising for over 20 years. Her daughter, Nivi, has been trained in classical Indian dancing since the age of 3! Both put on the most fabulous display. They taught us yoga moves, thankfully, from the comfort of our armchairs, and explained the symbols used in dancing that depict the story. Our residents were so impressed with Nina's flexibility and the beauty of Nivi's dancing, costume and make-up. 

During the day we learnt a little about India, watched a video, took part in a quiz, tried on Saris and ate barfi and jalabis. We ended the day with a delicious curry from our superb chefs.

It was a very exciting day to welcome alpacas Rio and Kiril from Big Sky Alpacas to our home. Residents loved being able to feed them carrots and feel how soft they were, also learning the difference between alpacas and llamas.

The alpaca's visit was paid for by money provided from the Residents’ Fund. This is money raised in our raffles on our Summer and Christmas fayres, that residents decide how to spend for their use and the benefit of all residents. Residents had voted overwhelmingly in our residents' meeting that they would like to see more animals in the home and Rio and Kiril were the result of that. We all agreed it was money well spent!  

Several team members have been nominated in multiple categories in the Lincolnshire Cares Awards. General Manager Sarah Noutch for Manager of the year, Karen Holmes for Administrator of the year, Rebecca Harrowing for Activities coordinator of the year and Aimee Hill for the Rising Star award.  All nominees will attend an interview process before a panel of judges, with the shortlisted attending an awards ceremony in March 2026.

The Lincolnshire Care Awards celebrate staff who go the extra mile for the benefit of residents living in the Lincolnshire region. Categories range from ‘Registered Nurse of the Year’ and ‘Carer of the Year’ to ‘Dementia Care Champion’ and ‘Activities Coordinator of the Year’. 
 

Resident Representative, Peter Painter, has always been keen to support charities but also wanted to get fitter. The Alzheimer’s Awareness Day was a perfect match! Peter, fellow residents and family members took laps in our garden in the beautiful autumn sun. 

It was a wonderful day with Peter saying that he was glad he could ‘do his bit to help.’ We raised £130 for the charity and are grateful for everyone supporting us with this.   

With the new term just around the corner, some of our residents took part in a reminiscing session of their school days. They have a wealth of knowledge and experience, some even as teachers, so they wanted to share messages of support for those returning to school this week. 

It was an interesting and fun morning, but some did confess school days were almost too long ago to remember! We posted photos on Facebook with the messages of support and advice for our followers, family and friends. 

We love Jazz, Jueves and Maya, our Therapy Dogs from Therapy Dogs Nationwide so much and are always really grateful to Clive and Nicky, who bring them to us each month on a voluntary basis. 

Earlier in the summer, we hosted our Summer Fayre where we were able to raise money for the charity. We had a lot of fun at the fayre and the most exciting part was that we were able to donate £100 to the charity. Our residents were delighted to be able to do this for Clive, Nicky and the entire charity.  

They said “That’s absolutely amazing, thank you so, so much. It's such a lovely gesture, and we're genuinely so grateful." 

Anita from End Domestic Abuse Now (EDAN) attended our monthly community coffee morning to tell us about the vital work the charity does in Lincoln. Residents listened intently as she told how the charity was formed 27 years ago in Gainsborough and serves women and children of all ages without any government funding. In Lincoln, they have an 11-unit home where clients can stay for up to six months. 

Residents were touched by the stories and were pleased to be able to launch our donation drive. We are now collecting new toys, craft items, books and puzzles for Christmas and throughout the year.      

Prost! We all enjoyed a tipple of beer as we learnt new facts and information about Germany and OktoberFest. We were very lucky to learn these things and some of the language from Steff, our Senior Carer who grew up in Germany. She even wore a dirndl for us. 

The residents thought she looked beautiful. In the afternoon, we tried our hand at a game of bingo with German words and symbols. It proved to be very tricky! The day was rounded off with a wonderful menu prepared by our excellent chefs. Residents loved the German Cherry bread pudding. Others loved reminiscing about their military service in Germany. Patrick says he does not remember the finer details but knows he loves the food and beer!   

We undertook a project to ensure our local police service know that they are appreciated. A group of residents went shopping to buy items to put into gift bags and take to the local police station. PCSO Glenn Patchett welcomed the gifts and the residents to Gainsborough Police Station and gave a fascinating tour of the facilities. 

It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning where we learnt many interesting things about the station, facilities, Tasers, drones and looked at the battering rams and riot shields. Brian and Joan could not resist having a go on them.    

We absolutely love it when Nicky and Neil from Clearer Productions visit us. We had a spectacular evening with cheese, wine and singalongs plenty. 

Nicky and Neil remember our residents’ names, details about them and greet them like long-lost friends. They are magical entertainers. 

June said "It was a wonderful evening, really wonderful." Peter made a speech to thank Neil and Nicky for their hard work, especially in the current heat.

In true Wimbledon style, we spent a lovely afternoon eating yummy strawberries and cream that had been freshly prepared by our kitchen team.  

Residents came flocking to the café to enjoy the treats, wine and spend time together to discuss who they think the Wimbledon winners might be.  

Peter loved the friendly rivalry of supporting different players. Hilary thought the strawberries were delicious and can’t wait until next Wimbledon! Lesley enjoyed showing residents photos of when she had a special treat and went to Wimbledon for her 70th birthday.