Activities at Tyspane Care Home

Two intrepid members of the care team completed the Great North Run on 10th September 2017.

Lizzie Ward and Genevieve Twining completed the 13 mile course having trained around the hills of North Devon.

Genevieve finished in a respectable 3 hours 20 minutes and collected sponsorship on behalf of The Children’s Liver Disease Foundation, which is dear to her heart; and Lizzie Ward finished in a very impressive 2 hours 40 minutes.

Hats off to you both girls – you look great in your T-shirts and medals. Well done from all the residents and staff at Tyspane.

Spending time outside during the summer months is essential to residents' well-being, but what could we do to make being outdoors even better? Well, a visit from some alpacas seemed to do the trick! They came on a sunny day in July and managed to say hello to just about everyone. They came indoors too, much to the delight of residents who were less mobile.

Mike Culley, Andy Willmer and residents and staff laced up their trainers and warmed-up for the Motomed Challenge, with the aim to ride 26.2 miles on both fixed cycles and motomed.

Staff and residents took to their marks and achieved the 26.2 miles in around 1 hour and 30 minutes. Mike Culley, who is the local Iron Man champion and still works with local groups, started in 1966 whilst serving in the RAF police and became the first black belt in North Devon in 1972, completed his first triathlon in '83, and completed in the world championships in Nice, France.

Staff, residents, relatives and the local community came together to enjoy our Summer Fete that was held on 3rd June 2017

We hosted a variety of activities throughout the day, with this year's theme being dance, including live entertainment from the Grumpy Old Men, the Barnstaple Youth Band, Nadine Morrish Dance Academy, Project Dance and cheerleaders from Coombe Martin/Ilfracombe. We were joined by Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, and her entourage, who delighted everyone with their presence at the event. The Summer Fete was opened by local Iron Man and charity swimmer, Mike Culley, who is taking the lead in our Motomed Marathon.

Staff at Tyspane Care Home made everyone feel welcome and were delighted to see different generations having fun together. Visitors enjoyed plenty of refreshments, such as cream teas, cold drinks and ice cream, prepared by the team, who were hard at work making sure that a great time was had by all – it really was a team effort!

After 30 years of continuous service at Tyspane, much-loved Activities Coordinator, Hilary Cortis, has decided to retire.

Staff and residents at the home sent Hilary off in style with champagne and presents to thank her for many years of dedication. Everyone at the home has very fond memories of Hilary and she will be sadly missed.

During her time at Tyspane, Hilary has worked in every department and has worked under 13 Managers. She joined the home 30 years ago and was one the first members of staff to be employed. 5 years later, the home was sold to Barchester Healthcare, so she has been with the home since it first began.

Celebrations have been in full swing as resident, Doris, reached her 100th birthday in style.

Doris was amazed to have so much fuss made about her and was delighted to see all her family. She said the secret to her long life was keeping active.