Activities at West Abbey Care Home
Our Activities Coordinators are constantly striving to mentally and physically stimulate those we support by organising group and individual activities for anyone and everyone to participate in. There are regular outings in the minibus to nearby places of interest, as well as visits from the Donkey sanctuary, musicians and entertainers. We also host evenings such as our Cheese & Wine evenings and BBQ's in the summer, that we encourage relatives to come to. Activities are one of the most important aspects of a care home, so it is essential that our team are dedicated to ensuring that residents are entertained. We encourage our residents to participate in any way they can. We also encourage relatives to join with activities and events as often as they can to ensure that life at West Abbey is fun and active for all.
Ryan Palmer
Hello, I'm Ryan and I joined West Abbey in 2018 in Hotel Services team where I was nominated 2 years running in the Barchester Care Awards by residents and their families. I moved to Activities in June 2021 which suits my outgoing personality. I know our residents well and love seeing their enjoyment of the entertainment we provide plus going out into the community on our mini bus, I have lived in Yeovil all my life so know all the best places to visit. The team call me the 'IT hero' as I'm always able to resolve the connection issues with our virtual events and our computer / tablets!
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at West Abbey Care Home
Enjoying the Sunshine!
Residents made the most of the recent great weather by tending to the garden.
How to be Cool
Every once in a while, for the past few months, folks at West Abbey get together for 'band practice' - and it is going down a storm!
Resident, Jackie, sang at our talent show, and her husband, Ian's, fabulous guitar skills did not go unnoticed. We asked him if he could commit to collaborating with our band once a week and he was delighted with the idea.
Chris de Burgh's 'Lady in Red' is a firm favourite here, and The Eagles' 'Hotel California' lyrics has caused heated discussions amongst residents.
Most recently, we have been good rebels and sang a tamer version of 'Smoke on the Water' and Mumford and Son's 'Awake my Soul'.
The band is about enjoying, connecting, expressing and releasing with oneself and others - a rejuvenating experience,
Sometimes, you just “gotta go with the flow!”
Dementia Awareness Week
To mark Dementia Awareness Week, residents had their very own 'cake off', much to the delight of other residents and staff. We had a lemon buttercream gateau, an orange flavoured Bundt cake and yoghurt cake in the final judging. Not being short of volunteers to taste the cakes, it was a close tie, but they were all delicious, so a draw was decided to be the best outcome!
Twiddle Muffs
West Abbey have been lucky enough to receive 39 twiddle muffs from the local WI branch at Chilthorne Domer. Pictured are two of the lovely and talented knitters delivering their donations, along with resident, Norma, and Deputy Manager, Helen Colaco – all enjoying a good twiddle!
National Poetry Day
The below poem was put together by a group of residents on our Memory Lane unit to celebrate National Poetry Day. Enjoy!
Macmillan Coffee Morning
We Raised £122.37 by holding our own bake off during our Macmillan Coffee Morning on Friday 30th September. Staff brought in cakes to be judged and there were four finalists: Louis (Maintenance), Anna (Activities) Helen, (Deputy Manager) and Pete (Head Chef). Overall, Pete was declared the winner - congratulations!
