Activities at West Abbey Care Home

Staff, residents, relatives and the local community came together at West Abbey Care Centre to enjoy an open day that was held at the home on Saturday 19th October.

West Abbey Care Centre hosted a variety of activities throughout the day, all based around the theme of the event, Superheroes! Staff dressed up as their favourite superheroes and there were quizzes and films for all the residents and visitors to participate in, which were enjoyed by everyone who came to the event.

Staff at West Abbey Care Centre made everyone feel welcome and were delighted to see different generations having fun together. Visitors enjoyed plenty of refreshments, such as superhero decorated homemade cakes and biscuits, prepared by the catering team, who were hard at work making sure that a great time was had by all – it really was a team effort!

One resident said, “I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was surrounded by lots of great people, and the refreshments kept flowing. The weather held out until we finished. Staff did a great job, not just on the day, but organising the event and getting everyone together.”

Helen Colaço, General Manager at the home, said: “Staff at West Abbey Care Centre are dedicated to making sure that the home is a hub of the local community, and this event, along with all their hard work, has definitely paid off. It was a resounding success!”

Residents and guests at West Abbey Care Centre in Yeovil enjoyed a morning of grins with a live music performance that took place at the home. Local school, Perrot Hill School in Crewkerne performed a selection of songs from musicals and songs for all the residents to sing along to that they have been learning in their school.

Perrot Hill School visited for the morning to perform their music for everyone in the home and to take some time to get to know the residents within the home. Perrot Hill have been visiting West Abbey Care Centre yearly for the last 3 years and always bring smiles to the residents faces!

The hospitality team at the home provided a spread of sweet and savoury treats for guests and performers to enjoy after the show.

Laetitia Brooks, Year 6 Tutor and Head of French at Perrot Hill School said: "It has been a great pleasure to meet so many people, having an opportunity to chat with the residents following our singing performance; our group always look forward to coming to the home.”

General Manager, Helen Colaço said, “Our residents and guests had a wonderful day singing along with the wonderful performers. We do our best to provide a wide range of activities and entertainment at West Abbey Care Centre as part of the lifestyle enrichment programme for residents, and this was one was one of our favourites.

Staff, residents, relatives and the local community came together to enjoy our summer fête that was held in the home’s grounds to celebrate our 25th anniversary.

We hosted a variety of activities throughout the day, including a BBQ, live music from Wendy Bassett, a raffle, many other stalls, and a Viking re-enactment performance by one of the care staff, Stephen, which was enjoyed by everyone who came to the event.

Staff made everyone feel welcome and were delighted to see different generations having fun together. Visitors enjoyed plenty of refreshments, such as burgers, hot dogs and cakes that wereprepared by the catering team, who were hard at work making sure that a great time was had by all – it really was a team effort!

A care practitioner at West Abbey Care Centre in Yeovil put the ‘fun’ into ‘fundraising’ with a 26 mile sponsored trek around Stonehenge to raise money for Barchester’s Charitable Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Society.

Paul Pippard, a care practitioner at West Abbey Care Centre took part in the sponsored walk in memory of his grandfather who passed away 2 years ago and to raise awareness and funds for the Alzheimer’s Society.

Paul and 300 other participants set off from Hudson’s field, Salisbury, at 7.30am before travelling through the city and going through woodland and farmers’ fields. The route finished along the A303 and alongside Stonehenge. Paul said that from there the “Views were amazing” even if the end was uphill!

When Paul crossed the finishing line he was met by his family, wife and little boy. His completed time to walk 26miles was 8 hours, 7 minutes and 44 seconds, which was overall 44th place out of those walking the 26 miles! Paul received a lovely medal and then had to walk back to the car, which was uphill again!

It was a fantastic day meeting new people, personally raising over £400 and joining together to help fund a cure for Dementia that so many people are affected by.

Resident, Donald Woan, at West Abbey had always wanted to be able to revisit Yeovil Town football club, the football club that he played for 60 years ago, so staff at the home made his wish a reality. Don was given a full tour of the stadium and even got a pitch side view of preparations for the new season.

Don has lived at West Abbey Care Centre for only a few months though is beloved by staff and residents alike. Staff at the home were delighted to be a part of making his dream come true, as they knew how much it meant to him, and they all wanted to be there to see the smile on Don’s face.

Staff first found out about Don’s dream shortly after he moved in and, ever since then, they have been dedicated to helping him achieve it with the help of Yeovil Town football club.

Casper, a famous alpaca, visited West Abbey on the 4th July from Copse View farm. On a sunny Thursday afternoon Casper and his uncle Midnight Prince walked around the home, visiting residents in the lounges and in their rooms! Residents got the chance to look and touch it. There were smiles everywhere!