Activities at Tennyson Wharf Care Home

It was a delicious celebration of all things ice cream when we celebrated National Ice Cream Day. Knickerbocker Glories, Banana Splits, Sundaes and cones were all on offer. 

Residents and staff thoroughly enjoyed themselves and thanked our kitchen team for putting on such a wonderful array of sugary goodness! Brian and Peter challenged each other to see who could eat the biggest ice cream. Brian won by a scoop! Mint choc chips seemed to be the flavour of the day.    

Staff, families and residents came together to enjoy a fabulous Mad Hatter’s Tea Party for Dementia Awareness Week. The home was decorated in an Alice in Wonderland theme with many donning costumes to add to the fun. 

We were entertained by carer Adrian singing and playing the guitar and chef Emma made the most fabulous afternoon tea. Resident June said: “It was marvellous, the staff made so much effort, it was incredible, we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.”    

Staff, residents, relatives and the local community came together to enjoy a Summer Fete that was held in the home’s grounds on Saturday 13th June.

Tennyson Wharf  hosted a variety of activities, including entertainment from singer Jules, pony rides from Comfort Horse Therapy, craft stalls, raffle and a tombola, something for everyone that came to the event.

Staff at Tennyson Wharf made everyone feel welcome and were delighted to see different generations having fun together. Visitors enjoyed plenty of refreshments, with a delicious lemonade stall provided by Ginger Lemonade and scrumptious cakes and bakes provided by Bakes by Natalie. 

What a fabulous way to celebrate International Day of Dance!

We had a visit from Steve Mason from Lincolnshire Lindy Hop Clubs for a wonderful morning of singing and dancing. Steve brought students from Market Rasen, Louth and Grimsby to entertain and interact with our residents. The team pulled out all the stops and our home was buzzing with excitement. 

We had an absolute blast and can't wait to see them again!         

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." George Bernard Shaw.

We took the challenge seriously and had a day of imagination! We started with a bit of a serious side, looking into our imagination, as most people think we lose our imagination as we age. The opposite is actually the truth. Children are less constrained in their imagination, but adults bring experience and emotion to imaginative situations. We looked at lateral thinking to broaden our horizons, then the play commenced!

Charades and a box of tricks! Residents were given random items to create their own activities. You could see the cogs turning in their heads as they came up with ideas. There was a lot of laughter as we tried to build towers, shoot balls from a soft beach ball, play keepie-uppies with balloons and other fun scenarios. Later in the month we have an imaginative day of junk modelling that we are all looking forward to.      

Dawn has been with us since the very beginning of Tennyson Wharf, a total of 11 ½ years. She has contributed so much to the lives of all at Tennyson Wharf, from raising funds for the Barchester Charity Foundation with sponsored races to being nominated for awards.     

She estimates that in her time here she has cracked close to 50,000 eggs for breakfasts and cakes! She will be sadly missed, and we wish her well with her new endeavours and hope she will pop in to see us from time to time.  

We had a real treat when Lincoln Male Voice choir joined us for the afternoon. It was a full house as 25 members visited and sang Barbershop, Sea Shanty and Choral music. 

They were accompanied by pianist Yuan Styles who gave a stunning performance that enthralled residents. Residents have requested that they visit again and raise the roof with their harmonies.       

We spent the morning learning about cocktails for International Cocktail Day and having a little history tour of cocktails through the ages. We started in 1915 with a Singapore Sling, moved on in 1920 with a Midnight Cowboy, in 1930, a Shirley Temple and into the 1960s with an Arnold Palmer. They were only little tipples and residents could choose to have a cocktail or mocktail!  

The afternoon was celebrated with smooth jazz songs from Gabriella. Yes, the same Gabriella that entertains us with her wonderful operatic voice too. It was a real eye-opener as some residents said they did not appreciate jazz. We think we were all converted by the stunning performance!

A truly wonderful occasion as Connie watched her first ‘Imps’ game since her first visit in 1949! Polly, our chef, had worked with Fan Liaison Manager Allan to give Connie a VIP visit. Connie was dressed head to toe in team colours with streamers on her wheelchair! We sat right next to the goal, the match was electric with a final victory score of 2-1! The icing on the cake was a meet and greet with left back, 

Adam Reach and the Imp team mascot. Connie took it all in her stride and was so grateful for the experience saying it was an experience she will not forget. Other residents were so delighted for Connie and enjoyed trying to spot her on the television with the televised match.     

Resident, Connie had wanted to be able to attend a Lincoln City Football team match, so staff at the home made her wish a reality proving the old adage, it’s never too late even at 95 years old!

Connie has lived at Tennyson Wharf for two years and is beloved by staff and residents alike for her sense of humour.  Staff at the home were delighted to be a part of making her dream come true, as they knew how much it meant to Connie, and they all wanted to be there to see the smile on her face when her dream was realised.

Staff have long known of Connie’s love of Lincoln City Football team and wanted to surprise her with a trip to the stadium. Connie was also accompanied by Chef Polly who is a Lincoln City super fan and arrange the trip with the help of Alan, Lincoln City Fan Liaison Officer, both were there to witness this momentous occasion.

We had such a blast over the weekend as we were entertained by Jules and Jay, enjoyed pony rides from Comfort Horse Therapy, ate delicious treats from Bakes by Natalie and drank the most amazing lemonade from Ginger Lemonade. There were craft stalls, raffles, tombola and even a visit from the Bomber Command Mini club and classic cars. 

We had been working with Samantha in our armchair exercise classes to create a dance routine that we could show our families. Jules and Jay sang 'Summer Holiday' as we proudly showed off our moves.
All in all, a wonderful day and money raised for our Residents’ Fund and a donation made to St Barnabas Hospice to boot! 

We could not have done it without all of our providers, friends, church groups and families. We are really grateful.

We celebrated International Museum Day with a trip to Lincolnshire Life Museum, which is always fascinating, but James Newbolt from Trinity Court Potteries really stole the show! His talk had our residents thoroughly engrossed as he brought history to life with interesting facts, explanations of common phrases and a demonstration on his replica mediaeval potter’s wheel. 

James, who makes replica pottery for museums, often dons period costume in his presentations. Some of you may have seen him in a toga for Lincoln Historical Weekend but we celebrated the Mediaeval period. Residents truly appreciated his effort and in-depth knowledge.        

What could be better than celebrating with our friends from Burton Hathow Prep School? We made delicious treats of sopapilla, prepared a quiz and games to share a little bit of the history of this Mexican festival and even made sombrero piñatas filled with sweets.  

The children were so enthusiastic about the smashing of the piñatas, no one held back, but it was still a battle! Eventually they were smashed, and the children were delighted. They had delighted our residents with their antics, everyone laughed heartily. After all the fun, our residents took it in turns to read stories to the class. It was a lovely experience.    

We did it! We Won! 

Residents were delighted to discover that they had won the annual Barchester Easter Cake Decorating competition for the North East and Scottish region. Activities member Joan and resident Brian worked hard to create a design that would be effective and allow many residents to take part with the decorating.  

It was a fun afternoon creating carrots and rabbits out of fondant and Brian was excited to be able to reprise his hobby of cake decorating by piping the ‘grass’. Our residents are looking forward to spending their £50 prize gift voucher. 

It’s that time of year again, the Barchester Easter Cake decorating competition. We spent a little while planning the design with the help of resident, Brian, who is a bit of an expert when it comes to baking.  

It was a lot of fun and not too much chocolate was stolen for taste tests along the way! We really hope that this could be our year to win.