Activities at Tyspane Care Home

The Paris 2024 Olympics has surely offered ground-breaking celebrations for sport for the entire world. Numerous sites and venues of France and French overseas territories have become places of celebrations this summer. Residents, families, friends and staff have enjoyed watching a plethora of sporting events either in groups or independently and have discussed the new events that have been introduced this year. Breaking, more commonly known as breakdancing, caused a massive discussion in Circle of Friends, who would have thought a dance that originated in the Bronx in 1970's could involve into a competitive sport, complete with international events, a robust judging system and world championships. Luckily for Tyspane Care Home residents "Breaking," does not appear in our sporting clubs, however, the Tyspane Care Home Olympics sweepstake organised by Vernon did!

Lee, “Thank you for the chocolate, nice one.”

Vera, “So nice of you.”

Paul, “I didn’t know I had a winning country.”

Babs Spear (physiotherapy), “I glad it’s a big bar.”

Mia (Senior Carer), “How lovely, thank you Vernon.”

Thank You Vernon for organising the sweepstake.

At Tyspane Care Home we celebrate life through everything we do, from our thoughtful experiences and activities to our delicious food. We offer the latest technology as well as sensory engagement to nurture the wellbeing of our residents. With a wide variety of tailored activities and events we make sure our residents have the best physical, mental, spiritual and social stimulation, all bespoke to them.

So, this morning the activities team visited St Brannock’s Church in Braunton with Lorna, Martin (Lorna’s son) and Gwen.  For Lorna and Gwen their faith and religion are important aspects of their spirituality allowing them to hold onto real meaning in their life’s, have confidence in their personhood and provide hope for the future.

The morning was made even more special as whilst in St Brannock’s Church we were able to locate the carving of The White Sow and Seven Suckling Piglets in the chapel ceiling. This being important because twelve months earlier Lorna had told residents, families, friends and staff the legend of St Brannock who had searched and found the place where a white pig was suckling seven piglets and built St Brannock’s on the very same spot.

Lorna stated, “Thank you for bringing me to church, it means a lot to me.”

Gwen when asked if she enjoyed the visit especially seeing the beautiful organ stated, “Oh yes.”

Furthermore, as we all know trips are not the same with coffee and cake, thank you SQ Braunton for being so accommodating.

It is said that William Shakespeare, Homer, Edgar Allen Poe, William Wordsworth, John Keats, Lord Byron and William Blake are the world’s greatest poets and all of these great poets have several important things in common - approach to their subject matter, style and formal elements of their writing, their dedication to their literary goals, and the lasting influence of their work. However, after today we might need to add another name to this list; Nathan Rodney-Jones.

Nathan Rodney-Jones is an exceptionally talented young adult who is currently studying creative writing at The University of East Anglia in Norwich. He walked into Tyspane Care Home activities lounge with grace and style carrying a vintage typewriter. Nathan employed vivid imagery and symbolical language to evoke the audiences’ sensory perceptions and engage their minds. He used metaphones, similes, and other figurative devices to help paint vivid mental pictures, elevating the artistic quality of his poems.

Nathan captured the hearts of residents, families, friends and staff with his poems, pronouncing every word with passion and offering explanations about the importance of each poem to him and the inspiration beyond each poem.

However, as a struggling student (his words not mine), Nathan also has another spectacular talent, he is a “Poetry Busker.” Typewriting poetry or poetry busking is something Nathan has been doing in Norwich to support his studies. The busked poems are all typed on the spot based on the topics and information he is given. Nathan was happy to type personalised poems for residents at Tyspane Care Home.

It was one of the most entertaining, stimulating, intellectual and alternative afternoons Tyspane Care Home has hosted.

Thank You Nathan, see you soon.

By talking about our dreams, both sharing and listening, we are opening up an aspect of ourselves that benefits from self-reflection. A wish is a hope or desire for and they support balance, health and happiness, they help us connect to the positive.

Therefore, this morning activities team capitalised and ceased the moment when an opportunity to sit amongst residents before lunch in the lounge to discuss future wishes and aspirations arose. The moment was simply magical as residents expressed their dreams, aspirations and hopes for the future. What they wanted to do in their earlier years but had never had the chance to do or wanted to do it again.

David (Resident Ambassador) stated he wanted and wished he could walk again, even if it was in a hydro pool or on a hoist. He missed the feeling of being upright and his feet touching the floor, he missed walking.

Patricia stated she yearned for a massage again, she used to have regular pamper sessions including a massage once a week. One of her favourite memories was with a group of friends having a Turkish massage, so much fun.

Mary wanted to visit Exmoor Zoo again and go on more shopping trips.

So, imagine when Tyspane Care Home fairy godmother’s aka Babs and George (physiotherapy department) joined in the discussion and were able to set in motion events to make residents wishes come true. Patricia was booked a massage for Thursday morning and Babs was going to speak to Rob (Tyspane Care Home Physiotherapist) about David and how they could help him achieve his dream.

Remember it is good talk especially about our future wishes and aspirations.

The origins of the humble beer festivals originated in 1810, in celebration of the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis 1, to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

Also, it is said that one of the greatest things about a beer festival is being able to try lots of different beers (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) that you might not have previously tried, or might not get as often a you like. Tyspane Beer Festival was full of fun and merriment, good beers (or other drinks), delicious food offerings, live music was more than enough for an enjoyable afternoon. Residents, families and friends embraced the traditions of the humble beer festival and played games, entered the beer quiz, beer ping pong and entered the yodelling competition.

Apparently, the secret to successful yodelling is switching between your chest (normal voice) and upper register (falsetto) or as I was instructed by Mary the secret is to sing, “The Old Lady” in a very high pitch voice. Go on give it go!

Patricia stated, “My favourite part was the games, they were so much fun.”

Bobbie, “I enjoyed the yodelling, I am very good at yodelling.”

Peter, “I enjoyed the beer and singing”

Mary, “I was happy to be in the garden with Graham, he had a glass of shandy.”

Beers, friends and good times. What more could one ask for?

Sometimes you forget you're awesome so this is your reminder.

Friends can help you celebrate good times and provide support during bad times, they prevent isolation and loneliness and give you a chance to offer needed companionship, too. In fact, studies have shown that being in healthy friendships can enhance physical and mental wellbeing. These social connections boost our mood and therefore our wellbeing. They help us keep strong and resilient, and can help us make better life decisions.

So, over the last few weeks here at Tyspane Care Home we have been celebrating the wonder of friendships and what they mean to us in our Get To Know Me sessions.

Jaye (Activities), "Tyspane Care Home is one big family, one which is an absolute pleasure to be part of."

David (Resident Ambassador), " I love everything about Tyspane Care Home, a great place to live."

Patricia (Resident), "It's been lovely to celebrate friendships."

Jacqui (Activities), "Good friends are the most precious treasure that one possesses. Friendships are a bond that help us step outside our comfort zone and share our deepest thoughts."

However, they say all good things must come to an end and this afternoon Tyspane Care Home celebrated friendships old and new with a fabulous spectacular party to recognise the importance of friendships becoming family. Entertainment was provided by the awesome Roger Colome, pizza and cheesecakes were freshly baked and prepared by Jaye (Activities) as were the beautiful table decorations.

Thank you to all the residents, families, friends and staff who made this afternoon possible........