Activities at Westergate House Care Home

We are embracing the summer here at Westergate House with a range of fabulous activities.  Following a morning with the option of joining exercise sessions, we took a minibus trip to Littlehampton Seafront and stopped off by Arundel Castle for a cup of tea.  The perfect balance!

Back at home, Julie, our Activities Assistant, set up an ABBA sing-a-long, and the amazing Cheryl Williams sang for everyone in the main house.   The Red Arrows display flew overhead that morning, celebrating the local Goodwood Festival of Speed. Some residents watched the aeroplane antics from the garden, and others jumped on the minibus and watched the whole display from a fabulous viewing spot while out.

A special day at Westergate House and a time to say thank you to our wonderful volunteers.  We are very fortunate to have some amazing people who give up their own time to visit Westergate House and enhance the experience of our residents.  They bring the community to the home, and contribute topical conversation and skills to share with the residents.  Time spent reading a newspaper, gardening or playing a board game is invaluable and much appreciated by the residents and the staff team.  Today it was a pleasure to invite our volunteers for a celebratory fish and chip lunch, where gifts and treats were also shared.  The picture shows Annie and Terry with Paul and Nikki.  Thank you to all our volunteers for taking time out of busy schedules and sharing special moments with our residents here at Westergate House.

To mark the occasion of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the activities team put together a range of events that paid tribute to the poignant day. Television programmes that followed the commemorations were streamed and there was plenty of time to reflect and reminisce the important moment in history.  It was wonderful to hear the residents’ personal stories and their memories of the time; some of their experiences were truly incredible. Entertainment came from ‘The Bognor Bell Ringers’ and the fabulous Cheryl Williams. Songs and tunes from the war-time era were lovely to hear, and more memories flowed.  There was also a trip to Goodwood; some of the residents joined the minibus trip and watched a Spitfire take off.  This was an amazing experience and spurred more conversation about the bravery of the pilots who fought for their country.  At Westergate House we are truly in awe of anyone who lived through the war years, and remember those who lost their lives on 6th June 1944, in a battle that changed the course of history.

The Westergate House minibus has been out in the local community once again.  Our residents love to take part in activities outside the home; a chance to see the neighbourhood and to take some fresh air and exercise.  We decided on a visit to the seaside, and residents from two of the communities joined Lee and his team for a walk along the promenade for a stretch and an ice-cream treat: Mr. Whippy being the firm favourite.  Watching the world go by and reminiscing about trips to the coast as children filled the afternoon with fond memories and non-stop conversation.  The weather was fabulous, the perfect back-dop to a lovely afternoon out.

There is always a lot of fun and laughter here at Westergate House and sometimes that comes in the form of a healthy in house competition!

After the recent Masters Golf weekend, our residents went head to head and tested their skills with our very own game of putting, at the Westergate Masters.  

This ‘hole in one’ challenge had residents, family visitors and even a few staff members trying to putt for a prize.

There was only one ‘Hole in One’ but an awful lot of water and bunker shots, which made for a lot of laughs. At one point, a resident nearly got a hole in one on the actual golf course round the corner!!

Another really lovely day we had here in all of our communities, with residents all getting involved in lots of different and varied activities.

Music Monday was a big hit with residents and staff singing and dancing away to the music choices of our residents, and also we let our

creativity flow with residents making shapes and models in salt dough, after which we painted them in the afternoon once they had been dried.

Some of the pieces are now on display in residents rooms or out in our communal areas for all to see and enjoy.