Activities at Thistle Hill Care Home

We are proud to announce that Jean Durrant  has been crowned Resident Ambassador of the Year for the North Division in this year’s Barchester Care Awards and is through to the national round of judging.

More than 2,950 nominations were received from all Barchester homes and hospitals across the UK. All entries were a very high standard and Jean is over the moon to have been named the winner for the division, beating hundreds of other nominees. 

Our divisional winner, Jean is through to the national finals in which the overall winner is decided. She will join winners from across the UK at a special awards event in October to celebrate their outstanding achievements and discover if they have won a national award. Huge congratulations, well deserved!

Our homes had a fabulous time with the talented soprano Astrid Joos from Street Theatre.  Astrid spoke about a selection of famous operas and our residents were treated to performances of wonderful arias from operas well-known to all, such as ‘Giuditta’, ‘Don Giovanni’ and ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’.

It was a lovely experience, truly enjoyed by all.

Armchair travel returned to the Thistle Hill Care Centre today as our residents took flight to Italy!

Under the watchful eye of Wing Commander Nathan our residents boarded the flight simulator and took it in turns to fly over the stunning city of Naples and its beautiful coastline.

After lunch our residents enjoyed an Italian themed tea party on our balcony. Featuring a variety of Italian themed snacks and ice cold refreshments. Whilst relaxing to the sounds of classical Italian music playing in the background.

Our weekly coffee morning took on a spin as we hosted a special 'wine tasting' event.  Residents from around the home and their loved ones joined us in our Memory Lane café and were able to sample a selection of fine wines and enjoy a variety of themed snacks including grapes, cooked meats and olives.

To mark World Music Day, staff and residents at the Thistle Hill Care Centre care home in Knaresborough were treated to an hour in the company of choir leader and vocal coach to the stars, Dan Cooper, who taught them to sing ‘Mamma Mia’ by Abba.  In partnership with The Choral Hub, Dan delivers regular virtual singing events through their platform the Come Sing! Club which encourages people to sing for their wellbeing.

Dan Cooper is a professional choir leader and vocal coach with over 10 years’ experience delivering top class workshops, sessions and singing lessons. He runs a successful choir; Love Soul Choir, is co-director of a children’s group; Sound Pop Academy and is the founder of a workplace choir company; Sing Force. In 2019, his choir performed with Take That. He’s also worked on TV shows as a vocal coach including BBC’s 'Little Mix The Search' and is passionate about the positive impact that singing in a group has on wellbeing. Dan truly believes in the power of singing and wants more people to experience the joy it can bring.

Residents across our homes had a lovely time joining Dr Tim Howard, 4th generation GP, whose whole life has been about patient care, for an exciting virtual event to discuss his novel ‘Let’s Kill All The Lawyers’.

The novel is a medical fiction thriller that explores the impact of life and death events, mistakes and forgiveness, and the impact of law and justice on the day- to-day lives of ordinary people doing their best in difficult circumstances.

Residents had the chance to ask their own questions once the discussion was over and a great time was had by all.