Activities at Thistle Hill Care Home

Our homes had a lovely time joining Sue and Nicole from Ferndown Florist for an intriguing flower arrangement workshop in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Our residents enjoyed a wonderful virtual demonstration and got inspired to create their own flower posies for our Jubilee displays.  Our home will be specially decorated for the upcoming festivities. Stay tuned.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Thistle Hill Care Centre in Knaresborough were treated to an interactive virtual Jubilee Posie-making masterclass courtesy of talented mum and daughter duo, Sue and Nicole from Ferndown Florists. 

A family-run business, Ferndown Florists was founded in 2010 by Sue & Phil Fletcher, with daughter Nicole joining in 2012.  Sue has always been a florist since the age of 16 with years of experience in the industry. Ferndown Florist offers all aspects of floristry from traditional, modern and environmentally friendly natural designs. Sue and Nicole produce their gorgeous bouquets, displays and posies daily for many different events and occasions.

Staff and residents at the Thistle Hill Care Centre in Knaresborough invited family, friends and local community groups to join them to celebrate the Big Jubilee Lunch on Sunday 5 June.

The Big Lunch was first created in 2009 to encourage communities to get to know each other better and it is an initiative that the Thistle Hill Care Centre has taken part in several times before.  This year the home wanted to go bigger and better to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.  Head chef Paul Drinkel came up with the Big Jubilee Lunch menu featuring steak and lobster and everyone got busy making decorations to make sure the home and garden looked their absolute best.

The afternoon was a huge success with a visiting face paint artist, two musicians, a surprise visit from Milo the pony and our first ever horse race featuring horse space hoppers!   Everyone had a brilliant time joining in with the fun and all the guests agreed the food was an absolute triumph! There were even Jubilee-themed cocktails and mocktails to add to the festivities.

We had a lovely time joining Graham Whitlock for an exciting virtual event to discuss his book ‘The Crystal Palace Chronicles: Star of Nimrod’.

Our residents were thrilled to find out more about the book and the fictional character Joe, who went on a rollercoaster adventure travelling back in time to the heyday of Victorian Crystal Palace.

Everyone had lots of fun during the virtual talk, as Graham took them on a clever and hilarious adventure. A great time was had by all.

A couple from the Thistle Hill Care Centre, in Knaresborough have celebrated their Blue Sapphire wedding anniversary and 65 years of marriage.  Henry and Bella met in the dinner queue whilst working in the Munitions Factory at Thorp Arch.

Henry tapped Bella on the arm and told her he was taking her out, Bella said even though it was love at first sight she said ‘no’ to Henry, but Bella’s friend Irene persuaded her to give Henry a chance.

They were later married at the Knaresborough registry office on May 18th in 1957 and have enjoyed 65 years of marriage, with four children, six grandchildren and even great grandchildren and great, great grandchildren.

Henry and Bella’s family joined them in celebrating the couple’s special anniversary. The home arranged dinner party for the family featuring Cava, Sherry and Cake

It was a day of fun-filled tastings for the staff and residents at the Thistle Hill Care Centre in Knaresborough. To mark the day, residents had so much fun taking part in a cocktail making masterclass, before enjoying a musical performance by home favourite singer Rochelle Ayris performing a variety of hits including songs by Elvis Presley and the Rat Pack, all whilst enjoying a few cocktails themselves.