Activities at The Cedars Bourne Care Home

A couple from The Cedars celebrated 65 years of marriage this month.  A Sapphire wedding anniversary is a truly remarkable milestone, and on 1st June the happy couple celebrated with a special lunch in acknowledgement of their enduring love and commitment.

Dr Michael McGregor and his wife Margaret moved to Bourne in 1960, when they set up his GP practice. He lived and worked in Bourne caring for the community until his retirement in 1993. There are very few local people who haven’t consulted with Dr McGregor at some point in their lives!
 

Michelle’s Petting Party came to visit us again for this month’s animal therapy. The residents were thrilled to meet Michelle's latest feathered friends- two ducks and a tiny duckling, along with her beautiful cat Boots, Diego the dog, Doris the Chicken, her two fluffy rabbits, gunnie pig and a bearded dragon. 

It was an afternoon of adorable chaos, and with the addition of a visit from home administrator Leanne's gorgeous grandson, it was an absolute success! 

We had a full week of commemoration, celebration and remembrance this month to make VE80. 
Decorating for VE Day was so much fun - Barbara had us all laughing as she turned herself into a 'VE Day Tree'! The celebrations then got underway with our Resident's Choir performing wartime songs, including They'll be Bluebirds Over (The White Cliffs of Dover), Run, Rabbit, Run, Jerusalem and the new VE80 song 'I'll Remember'. We finished the set with 'We'll Meet Again' to much applause and many smiles. It reminded us all of what we are celebrating and what our families fought for.

We watched with the rest of the nation the service from Westminster Abbey before watching a special Barchester Live Virtual Event by historian Pippa Catterall, in which she discussed the historical import of the day. The week ended with a celebratory VE party, watching the 80-year concert on TV with staff dressed in 1940's medical outfits, and reminiscing about where we were on the day. Everyone agreed it was a very uplifting gala with some fantastic singing and dancing, and how much it was appreciated that the staff made such an effort to evoke some wonderful (and some bittersweet) memories of what is one of the most significant events in living memory.  

This month we really enjoyed visiting the newly opened ‘Bygones’ shop at Waterside Garden Centre. It was lovely to explore such a beautiful place, filled with a huge array of treasures to discover.  

We have also had multiple trips into town, with Ellen loving her trip to the memorial garden to pray for VE80. With the warm weather, we couldn’t resist taking Elizabeth and Teresa for ice creams on the shore of Rutland Water this month. The weather was perfect, and it brought back some lovely memories for Elizabeth, who used to work at the tourist information there. 

Teresa said 'it's wonderful, just taking it all in!' We had a 'lovely, just lovely' time. 

The Cedars Care passed a recent Care Quality Commission inspection with an overall “Good” rating after being praised for a responsive, safe, effective, caring and well-led service.  The CQC inspected the home on 26th and 28th March (the report was released on 7 May and rated the home, run by Barchester Healthcare, as “Good” overall.

The report stated that there were ‘meaningful activities which focused on social interaction and stimulating people’s physical and mental wellbeing. There were clear governance processes in place and the registered manager had good oversight of the service. The service had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Managers were visible, knowledgeable and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. Staff felt supported to giving feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment.’
 

We had a wonderful tutorial this month from Karen from The Florist Garden. Our residents were shown how to create their own environmentally friendly oasis, with which they made a display for their rooms with fresh spring stems. 

Everyone said what a fun time they had, working together to make something beautiful. Our wonderful home chef delivered a warm homemade cake, straight from the oven to have with our afternoon tea: an absolutely delicious way to finish the afternoon!!

Mother’s Day started with a card and chocolate for all of our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters and all the wonderful women who love and support their families and friends unconditionally. Our residents were thrilled with their gift- Anne said it was an unexpected surprise, and Catherine that she felt thoroughly spoilt!

That afternoon, we enjoyed our afternoon cream tea with family and friends, accompanied by the very talented Pianist Graham Tickle, who played songs to tap your feet to! It was a truly fabulous Mother’s Day for all of our residents.

It was an honour to be invited to the unveiling of the 'Green Spaces and Waterways' mural by local artist Emily Bowers, commissioned by Our Place, Our Art and SKDC. 

Emily came to The Cedars to talk to our residents and gain their insight and memories of Bourne, and we are delighted to hear that the mural includes residents Sheila Stubley and Barbara Coleman as children scrumping for apples!

Sheila really enjoyed the event, saying how beautiful the mural was and how kind they were, 'we couldn't have had a better welcome'. Of Emily's speech she commented on how well Emily presented herself,  enjoyed her tea and cake, and was tapping her feet to the music of local group Pocket Cadence, who 'will go far with such a lovely voice'. Sheila had a wonderful afternoon. Thank you Emily, for including her in your amazing event.

The Cedars said ‘Thank You for the Music’ as they celebrated International ABBA Day with a themed karaoke party and happy hour.

Staff, residents and guests dress in their 60’s and 70’s finest, and came together to sing and dance to the most iconic tracks from Swedish pop group ABBA: well known as one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and who is one of the best-selling musical acts in the history of popular music.