Activities at Upton Bay Care Home

With Halloween just around the corner, and the gardens filling with crackly golden leaves, Residents at Upton Bay have been getting into the seasonal spirit today, with an exciting live cooking demo from chef, Alex Connell, from Vegetarian for Life.

Vegetarian for Life promotes veggie and vegan living older people’s lifestyles, and carefully curated a pumpkin filled menu for us to cook along with, and try at the end.

Chef Mark transformed our freshly picked pumpkins into a deliciously warming Spiced Pumpkin Soup, with an oh-so-sweet traditional pumpkin pie to finish, dusted in cinnamon.

“I haven’t tried pumpkin soup before – it’s charmed me, and I like a bit of spice!” commented Muriel, resident at Upton Bay.

To talk to our team about care packages, or to find out more about our exciting range of activities and life enrichment, call Upton Bay today on 01202 679529.

This week, our residents tried something new - a creative writing masterclass courtesy of best-selling author, Mike Gayle.

After a career in journalism working as a features editor and agony uncle, Mike has written 16 novels. The talk explained how he came to be a writer, his influences and his creative process.  Drawing on his 20 years’ experience putting pen to paper, Mike shared his top tips and his writing do’s and don’ts. Our residents loved most Mike’s reading from All The Lonely People, his latest novel.

Mike said: “I know how much I love to write – it is such a positive creative outlet.  It has been an absolute pleasure to share some of my experience with the residents today.”

Last week, our residents at Upton Bay enjoyed a virtual cruise and interactive cookery demo, courtesy of chef, Paul Hawkins, and Lisa Richards from Unilever’s Away from Home team which supports the care sector.

As they pulled into each port on the cruise, residents were given clues to identify where they were visiting and then Paul created a typical dish from that country using authentic, local ingredients.

Residents started off in Hamburg where the chosen dish was Labskaus, a hearty dish of mashed potatoes, corned beef and beetroot served with a fried egg and pickles.  Next it was off to Rotterdam to try delicious Bittenballen, or crispy Dutch Meatballs.  Finally the residents docked in Zeebrugge where the spotlight was on Mattentaart, a traditional sweet puff pastry almond-flavoured tart.

This virtual cruise has got us planning our dream holidays! Where in the world are you looking forward to travelling to next?

At 97 years of age, Ray, resident at Upton Bay Care Home, dreamed of swinging a hole-in-one on the golf course after almost 20 years away from the green. So our team made his wish come true, with the help of Broadstone Golf Club.

After a few practice shots, and a masterclass from Chris, golfing pro at the club, Ray found his stride and began hitting far across the fairway, before turning his hand to the putting green and achieveing his long awaited hole-in-one.

Ray said: “I can’t believe I’m on the green again! I’d always wanted to prove to myself that even at near 100 I could still swing it, and today I’ve proved that. It’s done me the world of good!”

The entertainment doesn’t stop at Upton Bay! We welcomed back the terrific Steve Linn for an amazing outdoor concert on our Memory Lane.

Steve’s mix of tremendous tunes from the 60’s through to the 2000’s ensured there was something for every resident. Our Ladies and Gents were swinging, jiving, and even two-stepping to the music!

Ray, resident, said, “A couple of years ago I’d have been showcasing my real moves – lifting and twisting and all that!”

“He has such a wonderful voice – I feel like a schoolgirl front row at a concert!” Commented Barbara.

Life enrichment at Upton Bay is truly about making every day fun, worthwhile, person-centered. We’re ready to welcome your loved one! Call our team today on 01202 679529 to talk about our fantastic care packages.

Now that the beautiful winter sun is starting to show, residents at Upton Bay made the most of the break in the weather with a trip down to Rockley Point in the minibus. 

Blessed to have this on our doorstep, we enjoyed an afternoon at the Harbour’s Edge beach cafe, tucking in to Dorset ice creams and hot chocolates!

Barry, resident at Upton Bay, felt right at home looking out from the coastline, having spent many years on the neighbouring Brownsea Island. “I know this place like the back of my hand, brings back good memories,” he said.