Activities at Upton Bay Care Home

Paying tribute to St David's Day this week, residents at Upton Bay delighted in an authentic Welsh-themed menu, full of tasty treats from the western regions of 'Cymru'.

A flag-embellished Victoria sponge, welsh rarebit for supper, and traditional Welsh Cakes to accompany our afternoon tea were a lovely change for the day.

Not to mention the bright and beautiful daffodils sprinkled throughout the home!

And who says exercise can't be fun: We topped off the day with a competitive 'Pancake Toss and Race' incorporated into the exercise class, which certainly entertained as our homemade crepes made their way towards the ceiling!

Love is in the air at Upton Bay today, as we embrace our first Valentines as an open Home!

Residents have received tokens of affection from their sweethearts, from roses, to teddies, to chocolates! Chef Alain baked a whole lotta love into these gorgeous mini biscuits, lovingly boxed and ready to gift between residents and their loved ones to help make the day extra special. 

Today’s menu featured sumptuous Scottish salmon, tender beef wellington, and star of the show, ‘Devoted to You’ double chocolate torte! 

Feast your eyes on our show-stopping 'Butter Wouldn't Melt' vanilla and chocolate buttercream cake!!

The afternoon saw our ladies and gents weep each other off their feet at the Tea Dance, with thanks to Simon Woodley for entertaining with his beautiful keyboard music!

This week, we paid tribute to the first Chief Scout of the world-wide Scout Movement and co-founder of the Girl Guides.

Diane, one of our Upton Bay Team and a Brown Owl, and kindly brought in her ‘Campfire Blanket’, a labour of love that has taken Diane years to stitch rare and long lost badges too from the various groups within the movement.

Our residents connected with the skills and achievement badges, and enjoyed reminiscing over childhood days. Barbara and Margaret were Brownies, as well as the Guides like Pam, and Michael was in both the Cubs and Scouts as a boy.

Unfortunately, the stormy weather called off our bus trip down to Poole Quay, to share an ice cream with Baden Powell himself (or rather, his bronze statue!)

The Scout motto, “I promise to do my best to be kind and helpful and to love our world” is something that translates pretty well into the world of care!

This week, life enrichment came in the form of well-deserved pampering and relaxation at our morning Ladies Club. Hosted by the wonderful Chrissy, our ladies enjoyed aromatherapy and hand massages– our way of celebrating International Women’s Day.

There were so many smells and textures to choose from, mixing fragrances like freshly sliced orange with buttery mango lotions. There are so many benefits to sensory stimulation, including promoting well-being, positive decision making and memory recall through reminiscence.

The morning’s fruity mocktail tasting certainly brought back memories of sipping strawberry daiquiris on beaches across the world through the decades!

Thank you Chrissy for bringing a little tranquility to our ladies!

In preparation for Valentine’s Day, Residents at Upton indulged in an interactive virtual cookery demo, courtesy of Chef Alex from Vegetarian for Life.

Chef Alex created Valentine’s Day-inspired vegetarian desserts live via video link. Much to our delight, we whipped up our own delectable desserts after, and created some unique chocolate confectionary.  

Margaret said, “Chocolate is the way to my heart!”

Residents will be taking part in a series of love-boat-themed activities in the run up to Valentine’s, from hand crafted tokens of affection to loved ones, to the home’s first Tea Dance with a live musician!

Upton Bay welcomed the Year of the Tiger this February 1st, as we celebrated Chinese New Year! Residents helped decorate the home with beautiful Chinese hanging lanterns and embellishments, before reading their horoscopes over a tea party with Chinese style tea, fortune cookies and delicious bakes.

The evening saw dancing and music over a home cooked Chinese style buffet, complete with crispy tempura, chili prawns and teriyaki chicken. We welcomed talented musician Mark Bussell, who played a mix of beautiful oriental music, as well as our old boogie favourites to get the party going!

And no Chinese New Year party is complete without the Dance of the Dragon, with our handmade Dragon held proudly by our residents!