Activities at Tyspane Care Home

There have been celebrations to mark the beginning of a new year for thousands of years. Sometimes these were simply an opportunity for people to eat, drink and have fun, but in some places the festivities were connected to the land or astronomical events. In modern society, New Year’s Day is when people remember their past years, achievements and failures. People often also look forward to the New Year to come, setting resolutions to work towards personal development. A new year is seen as the start of a new beginning.

Here at Tyspane Care Home New Year celebrations allow residents to socialise with staff, friends and families. You can’t help feeling all warm and fuzzy, thinking about loved ones and friends at this special time of year.

So to get the party started Tyspane Care Home welcomed back Jonathan who played a medley of classics including Auld Lang Syne on the saxophone. This should get everyone in a festive mood for tomorrows BIG New Year’s Party.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

Early celebrations of Christmas are thought to have derived from Roman and other European festivals that marked the end of the harvest, and the winter solstice. Some customs from those celebrations that have endured include decorating homes with greenery, giving gifts, singing songs and eating special foods.

At Tyspane Care Home we really needed no excuse to celebrate with residents, families, friends and staff at this beautiful time of year. Our Christmas Party started with ROUGH Justice who are an experienced piano/electro acoustic guitar and vocal duo. They entertained everyone with a mix of pop, rock, rock n roll, indie, new wave and dance classics. They certainly warmed our hearts and souls and got the party started.

The afternoon was full of dancing, singing and merriment and to close the event the beautiful Tamsin Ball blended classic music with other genres such as folk, jazz and musical theatre. The performance was bewitching and captivating and left everyone with goose bumps.

Feedback from families and friends was amazing, Ms Hanks said, “ We have just come back from your fabulous Christmas party-can we just say a huge thank you to everyone who put so much work and effort into making it such a lovely evening for the residents and families, we felt so wanted. Every single staff member had the biggest smile on their face and put a million percent into this evening.”

With these king words ringing in our ears, Tyspane Care Home would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

During the coldest and darkest time of the year, music is the best mood booster you can get during the holiday season. Just singing or playing a musical instrument will do the trick to bring you more joy.

With this in mind, Tyspane Care Home welcomed back Barnstaple Ladies Choir who treated residents, friends, families and staff to a medley of Christmas songs. It was a wonderful experience and kick started the festive season at Tyspane Care Home.

Thank You Ladies.

Resident, Bertram Jones 103 years young, at Tyspane Care Centre had always wanted to tell the story of his experiences as a WW 2 Prisoner of War to honour all our war hero's. Bertram kept a diary and has vivid memories of that time so activities staff at the home made his wish a reality providing a special day to celebrate Bertram's life. Jacqui, Tyspane’s Activities Coordinator read extracts from the diary to all the residents, relatives and friends whilst Bertram was able to recount verbally his experiences and this helped to bring them to life.

As a result of the publicity Barchester Healthcare was contacted by Rishi Sharma from California who is part of a history project recording the stories of WW2 veterans for his you tube channel.

When Rishi was a young boy he believed that super heroes wore capes however during his research Rishi realised that “super heroes are already amongst us in the form of WW2 veterans and their stories should be heard and preserved for future generations”.

When asked the secret to his long life Bertram told Rishi that it was all down to Marmite.

Alpacas from Woolley Animals, Venton, Winkleigh spent the morning with excited residents at Tyspane Care Home in Braunton.

The session was designed by the Tyspane Care Home Activities Team to support the wellbeing of the residents, including those who find the presence of animals calming and mind-boosting for their mental health.

Pictures show the smiling residents in the lounge and around the home as they cuddled and played with Gerry, D’Artagnan, Questa, Rufus, Jimmy and Duke.

One resident, Mary, said: “The Alpacas were so wonderful – I was surprised how soft they were.”

Another resident, Bertram, said: “I never expected an Alpacas to walk through my door!” Then promptly saluted D’Artagnan and Jimmy.

As the event was such a success amongst staff and residents, the home hopes to plan more animal visits over summer 2024.

Today, Tyspane Care Home residents were entertained by Jiggy Vintage led by Alice. Jiggy Vintage is an interactive music and movement programme designed to entertain residents in residential accommodation. The young and old came together today to form meaningful connections whilst singing and dancing to favourite songs and nursery rhymes such as “Wind the Bobbin Up” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite.”

Tyspane Care Home was buzzing, the room was filled with exciting activities and sounds. Truly amazing and one to be repeated.