Activities at West Abbey Care Home

Residents have been celebrating World Religion Day today by learning all about different faiths and their holy days.

This year, World Religion Day took place on Sunday 17 January.  The idea behind the day is to promote inter-faith understanding and harmony, followers of every faith are encouraged to acknowledge the similarities between the different religions and to embrace the commonalities religions share.

Residents and staff got into the spirit of the day by discussing their own faith and why it was important to them.  The residents learned all about different religions, Including Islam, Plymouth Brethren and Christianity on the whole. Information was offered from a number of sources including residents and staff of the home, the loved ones of the residents as well as the wider community, with David from St James Church offering a huge amount of support to the project.

General Manager, Caroline Carter, said: “We have all had such an interesting time finding out all about different religions and the similarities between them all.  It has been fascinating to discover new things about different faiths and see how events and festivals are celebrated around the world.  We all loved seeing the beautiful, ornate buildings and the colourful outfits different faiths wear when we were watching sermons and services online.  It has been a wonderful day.”

Residents had a wonderful time celebrating the birthday of one of Britain’s best-loved fantasy authors, JRR Tolkien, on 3 January.  He was born in 1892 and is most famous for writing The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The staff and residents spent the day learning about the life of Tolkien and reading excerpts from his books, they found out he was a Professor of Anglo-Saxon and English Language and Literature at Oxford University from 1945 to 1959 and a close friend of CS Lewis.  Like Lewis, Tolkien created amazingly elaborate fantasy worlds, landscapes, languages and stories that have enthralled generations of adults and children alike.

However West Abbey had a slight twist to their readings. Excerpts were read to groups by activities coordinator Stephen Allen dressed up in full chainmail armour, which made the event feel like it came to life!

General Manager, Caroline Carter, said: “We have had a fascinating day finding out all about Tolkien.  We read excerpts from his books and watched a film about his life and influences. This afternoon we watched The Hobbit and I have already had a request to watch the first Lord of the Rings film one day soon.”

Resident Jackie said: “I have absolutely no idea how Tolkien could come up with such incredible stories, he must have had an amazing mind. I have really enjoyed finding out about his life and having the stories read by someone who looks like they’d jumped right out the book made it even more special.”

Residents got into the Christmas spirit by joining a virtual afternoon of festivities along with the staff and residents at over seventy Barchester care homes across the south of England, Jersey and the Isle of Wight

Staff and residents pulled out all the stops by dressing up in their glittery Christmas best to link up with all the other care homes in the south of the country for a whole host of different fun activities culminating in the Barchester Big Quiz of the Year.  When they weren’t quizzing, residents enjoyed a feast of festive foods prepared by the home’s head chef Louis Buys and all of his team.

General Manager, Caroline Carter said: “We’ve had a year like no other so we wanted to ensure the Christmas celebrations for our residents and staff were an extra special treat.  ‘Meeting up’ with the other homes virtually has given them all such a boost.  We’ve all had so much fun letting our hair down, everyone really enjoyed the afternoon and it brought out all of our competitive spirit.”

Pat, resident at West Abbey Care Centre said: “It has been a lovely afternoon. It was wonderful to see everyone in all the other homes joining in. I really enjoyed being able to test my brain like this. I think it was a really wonderful idea.”

Residents at West Abbey recently received an act of kindness from the Yeovil Inner Wheel Club. The club put together 23 shoeboxes full off Christmas presents for residents who have little or no family. This gesture touched the hearts of everyone within the home due to the huge amount of time it must’ve taken to put together.

It is not every day that you meet people as kind and as generous as the members of the Yeovil Inner Wheel Group. The time and thought that went into this shows what amazing community spirit we have around here; and we can’t wait to find some way to return the favour to them all.

Thank you so much for all your kindness!

Celebrations have been in full swing at West Abbey, as one of our residents reached her centenary in style.

Flora was joined by staff and other residents as she received a telegram from the Queen in recognition of her landmark birthday. A champagne reception was held at the home and guests enjoyed a special birthday cake made by the home’s chef Louis Buys.

Flora has only been in West Abbey for a few months, where she is enjoying a new chapter of her life. She has already made an impression on all those around her with her kindness and great sense of humour.

Among those relatives attending using the new visiting suite in place at West Abbey was Flora’s daughter, Lynne, who played host for the afternoon to lots of guests. Speaking about her centenarian mother’s day, she said: “Last week was Mum's 100th birthday and everyone at West Abbey made it very special for her. The chef made her a beautiful cake, she had huge balloons and a great day. I can't thank everyone at West Abbey enough and definitely feel we have found the best place for her to stay”

We’re delighted to be celebrating a truly remarkable woman as she reaches this amazing milestone. Flora is such a popular resident who always has an interesting tale to tell, and we look forward to hearing many more as she breaks into her next century.

Residents and staff at West Abbey have recently begun what they are calling the 24 Days of Kindness. The aim of this is to deliver a present and card to individuals or organisations in the local community who have worked so hard over the past year and have made a real difference in the community.

The campaign of kindness has already been running a week with special deliveries, including Day Lewis Pharmacy in Abbey Manor Park, Yeovil Fire Services and Beechwood Care Home to name a few.

With many more deliveries to make around the local community, West Abbey are so excited to bring some festive cheer to the local community.