Activities at Trinity Manor Care Home

Ahead of Armed Forces Day, staff and residents at Trinity Manor were transported back in time for a World War II themed talk and tour of Blenheim Palace, hosted by Antonia Keaney, the Palace’s social historian and author.

The Oxfordshire UNESCO World Heritage Site has been offering virtual tours throughout lockdown in order that people can continue to enjoy all the rich history and splendour that Blenheim Palace has to offer.

Entitled ‘Evacuees and Espionage,’ Antonia’s wartime themed talk focused on how the Marlborough family, estate staff and the Palace itself played a full and energetic part in the war effort. The talk and tour told the story of how the Palace prepared for the worst, survived the onslaught of 400 boys being evacuated to Blenheim and kept the secrets of MI5.   

Residents and staff celebrated National Carers’ Week, which takes place from June 7-13. Residents wanted to thank all the wonderful staff at the home, whose hard work and dedication make a real difference to the lives of those living in their care.

Carers Week is an annual event to raise awareness of caring, highlighting the challenges carers face, and recognising the contribution they make to our residents, families and communities throughout the UK. The theme for Carers Week this year is ‘Making caring visible and valued’ - to shine a light on all those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to care for vulnerable people in our communities.

As part of the celebrations, the Mayoress of Sherborne, Anne Hall, was able to stop in for afternoon tea earlier on in the week, where she was kind enough to formerly thank a few of the staff for all of their efforts, especially after the difficult year that they have had with lockdown.  Staff felt very honoured for her to take the time to visit and receive special gifts which she handed out to show appreciation for all their efforts.

Later in the week staff were also treated to an outdoor garden party, with drinks, delicious food, garden games and this also included a mini golf tournament which proved to be a great success. Chef Lucy, had put together a wonderful spread of party food for everyone to enjoy, which included some delicious homemade pizzas. Everyone joined in the fun, but also adhering to the 30 guest rule. There was also music and lots of dancing which great to see after the tough restrictions of the last 15 months.

Staff and residents at Trinity Manor out in force as they celebrated National Beer Day in style!

National Beer Day is held annually on 15th June and celebrates everything about this stereotypical British favourite and for the residents of Trinity Manor it was an opportunity to learn a little about this centuries old drink, with researchers saying that it was possibly being brewed as early as 8000 BC!

Trinity Manor were thrilled to receive some amazing samples of locally brewed beer courtesy of Hall & Woodhouse, and even erected a beer tent with lots of nibbles for the residents to enjoy and which also showcased Badger Beer’s Dorset Dozen, including local favourites: The Golden Champion, The Fursty Ferret, The Hopping Hare and The Legendary Tanglefoot. The residents really enjoyed sampling them, especially on such a gloriously sunny day.

Acting as waiter for the afternoon, Deputy Manager, Paul was certainly game for a laugh, donning his finest lederhosen (not typically British attire!), which definitely made everyone laugh!

The icing on the cake was a visit from John Hill, whose accordion playing attracted many of from the home to join in with the fun.

Staff and residents at Trinity Manor recently acknowledged Dementia Action Week, a national, annual event which promotes working to ‘take action’ in enhancing and promoting well-being of the lives of those affected by dementia.

During the week, which runs from 17th – 23rd May, residents and staff on the Memory Lane floor at Trinity Manor, had a very busy week of sensory activities, which centred on positive mental stimulation.

The week included sessions in the Magic Table room; tapping virtual beach balls, playing with rustling leaves or popping bubbles. There was some honey tasting on World Bee Day, with one resident saying, ‘I can remember my father having bee hives, so tasting this reminds me of being a child again!  They were some wonderful memories.’  - Proving that you can never underestimate how powerful these kinds of activities can be.

The Trinity Manor team also informed the residents of the progress of the Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘Step Up for Dementia’ campaign, where some of the staff at the home have agreed to do 850,000 steps in a 3 month period to raise money for this worthy cause, as well as highlighting the 850,000 people currently diagnosed as living with dementia in the UK.  If they manage to stay on track, then they will certainly exceed their target!

The week ended with a ‘Denim for Dementia’ day, as staff donned their favourite jeans and jackets; some even daring to wear double denim, in order to raise more funds for the Alzheimer’s Society.

As the lockdown restrictions are continuing to ease, Trinity Manor are currently working on starting a Dementia Friendly Café, as well as a Well-being Walks club, so that anyone in the community living with dementia, as well as their family members, friends or carers, can come and meet with others in a similar position, share experiences, chat and fellowship with each other, as well as getting out and about in the fresh air and countryside as they make new friends. If this is of interest to you, then please get in touch with the home.

Residents had an exciting afternoon recently when they got to meet Adam from the Medals Going Home project via Zoom.

Adam has garnered much press coverage of late on TV, radio and in the papers, for his selfless acts of kindness.  

Residents learned of how he reunited some old WWI medals with the families of the people who originally owned them, as well as some old photographs with inscriptions on the back.

We are very excited that Adam has now agreed to work on an ongoing project doing something similar in our local Sherborne area! More information on that to follow very soon!

Members of Trinity Manor Care Home have taken up the Alzheimer’s Society’s Step Up for Dementia Challenge. The challenge run by the charity involves walking, jogging or running to hit 850,000 steps over a three months period – that’s the same number of people who are living with Dementia in the UK right now.

The money raised will make a big difference to the lives of many affected by dementia. It will fund essential support services for people living with dementia as well as their carers, and also helping to fund research to find a cure.

To find out more about the challenge, or if you would like to donate please speak to a member of the team here at Trinity Manor, who will be happy to answer questions and direct you to ways in which you can support us.