Activities at Westvale House Care Home

Staff, residents and guests celebrated the day of love with residents and relatives at Westvale, welcoming the ladies from St Philip's Church along to their popular coffee morning. The morning was full of chat and laughter as everyone had lots of fun making Valentines cards together. The ladies made special friendship cards for their lifetime friends. They also enjoyed a special performance by popular vocalist, Dean Sinclair, singing love songs for Valentine’s Day.

General Manager, Charlotte said: “Today has shown us all that you are never too old for love. We’ve had a whole range of treats and Valentine’s themed fun for the individuals that live here and their guests and we have enjoyed every moment of it!”

Residents at Westvale House welcomed pupils from Penketh High School, who are working alongside Warrington Youth Group in a 6 week intergenerational project. During the 1st week the Residents and pupils enjoyed getting to know each other. One pupil was thrilled to be a part of the project. She said, “It reminds her of good memories of her nanny who was in a nursing home!

General Manager, Charlotte Aspinall said: “We invited the group to the home as a way to promote social interaction between the generations, and the residents at our home had a lot of fun on the day, and love our young visitors. If anyone ever wants to stop in for a lovely afternoon with your young ones, or just for a cuppa and a break, we’d love to have you join us.”

The staff and residents at Westvale have been flipping and turning pancakes all morning in preparation for their annual Shrove Tuesday pancake ‘bake off’.

Westvale has marked this year’s Pancake Day with a pancake flipping competition with the children from local nursery and of course, lots of pancakes! Prepared by the homes head chef at the home, flippin’ pancakes,  and serving them up with an array of sweet and savoury fillings.

One Resident said: “My secret to the best pancakes is all in the whipping. Give it some elbow grease when mixing the batter and you’ll get perfect pancakes every time. I like experimenting with the fillings – the residents’ favourites are spinach and cheese, chocolate spread and banana and of course, good old fashioned lemon and sugar!”

Westvale care home prepared a traditional Burns Night Supper to the tune of bagpipes and capers continued well into the wee small hours! Staff, residents and relatives at the home were involved in a number of activities to mark the Scottish institution, including honouring the poem Address to a Haggis, written by Burns.

General Manager, Carol Dwyer  thought it was a perfect occasion to celebrate an evening steeped in age-old tradition as well as getting in a spot of Scotch whisky tasting, accompanied bagpiper, Ian to singing a medley of Burns’ songs. Carol said: “Our residents have enjoyed a hearty meal of Scotch broth, Haggis with neeps and tatties all prepared by our stellar chef”

One resident said: “I enjoyed acting out the part of the whisky-bearer and asking everyone to raise a dram to toast the Haggis.”

Residents from Westvale enjoyed an afternoon of singing and dancing to classic hits by local entertainer to celebrate the King of Rock ‘n’ Rolls birthday. As residents put on their ‘blue suede’ dancing shoes for an afternoon of classics songs from the King of Rock N Roll which saw everyone singing and clapping along too!

Residents had a wonderful time from start to finish and commented on how much they enjoyed the Elvis tribute before sitting back to enjoy a slice of delicious home-made cake and refreshments. Carol Dwyer, General Manager said: “I am glad that everyone enjoyed the visit and we continually review our activities calendar to look at different ways to provide our residents with choice.”

Residents at Westvale recently enjoyed the company of young boys from local rugby club, Latchwood Rugby Club. Residents welcomed the group of rugby plays to enjoy music, games and activities with residents at the home. Residents were delighted to play pass the ball and hear of their stories from playing rugby and ambitions of the team. The catering team at the care home provide a selection of healthy snacks on the day, including hand cut fruits and vegetables, as well as a spread of cakes and sweet treats for all to enjoy.

General Manager, Carol Dwyer said: “The residents at our home had a lot of fun with our group of young visitors. The rugby playeers were able to show us what they learnt in their rugby training and heard stories from our residents from their younger days. If anyone ever wants to stop in for a lovely afternoon with your young ones, or just for a cuppa and a break, we’d love to have you join us.”