Clare Leach had a packed audience on a cold February day at Woodland View. A weekly visitor to Woodland View, providing interactive singalong sessions with song sheets, Clare gets a great reaction from both residents and visitors, with their favourite song for interactive fun without a doubt being 'Underneath the Spreading Chestnut Tree'.

Activities Coordinator, Kevin Riley, always appears just in time with his battery operated bubble machine, working his way around the audience during 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles' – another firm favourite – unless you've just had your hair done by Tansie in the home's own hair salon of course!

We decorated the main coffee lounge and reception, changed the mood lighting to pink shades and introduced a cuddly Tiger called Valentino for everyone to bond with to celebrate Valentine's Day. In the morning, residents attended a craft session to create Valentine's=themed boxes, complimented by a Valentine's fact and famous couples quiz in the afternoon. Residents loved it all!

Folks at Woodland View were quite ready for this year's Shrove Tuesday, with residents and the staff all having a go at doing more than just eating pancakes.

Staff took part in a pancake challenge, which had them puffing and panting, progressing down one of the community corridors, holding a frying pan containing a pancake. As they arrived at predetermined points along the course, they had to turn around three times before tossing the pancake. They would then progress in an increasingly dizzy state! This was on a stopwatch and times were compared and an overall winner established. The winner – super-fast Housekeeper, Kate Wlodarczyk – won a bottle of our finest Prosecco with Senior Carer, Ann Francis, winning the booby prize (a packet of 8 ready-made pancakes!) for being super-slow, but still out of breath! Residents watched, laughing out loud, as this ridiculous caper continued.

Residents were not going to get away lightly – oh no!. Activities Coordinator, Kevin Riley, prepared a firing range for them in the form of a target, which was over 4 feet tall, which was projected on to a large piece of vinyl. Armed with buttered scotch pancakes, they were to score points by throwing them at the target. The pancakes, of course, would stick and the appropriate scores recorded for three pancakes thrown. Despite the size of the target, the residents still missed! This was hilarious and eventually scores were recorded... for most anyway. Sharp shooter, Peter Hurst, won a large box of chocolates, with Mary Harvey winning the booby prize for the lowest score. She was so impressed when she received her very own packet of scotch pancakes.

An exhausting but fun day for all involved and one that would be fondly talked about for days to come.

There's nothing more effective than combining the power of music from a decade long gone with the therapeutic properties of art. At Woodland View, residents appreciated this soothing combination and its benefits.

Those lovely old tunes, very familiar to those attending, stimulated both memories and conversation, providing a wonderful backdrop for the painting and drawing sessions. Some of the residents produced their own work, whilst others preferred to use prepared drawings for colouring.

Children from the Queen Boudica Primary School visited Woodland View to mark National Storytelling Week.

Each of the children read stories they liked and had a little bit of help from residents whenever they got stuck. The teachers sat quietly, beaming with pride as time passed and residents sat there fully attentive. At the end of the session, residents gave the children a good, long round of applause. The children were then invited to dip their hands in Activity Coordinator, Kevin Riley's, 'Sweetie Treatie Jar' – a firm favourite with visiting children.
 

Ask anyone who Robbie Burns is and most people will say he was a Scottish poet. Residents at Woodland View got to learn a lot more about this man than they ever knew before.

In recognition of his contribution to Scottish culture, Activities Coordinator, Kevin Riley, gave an illustrated facts presentation, which revealed such things as him fathering 12 children and passing away at the age of 37. He worked in Jamaica as a bookkeeper and published his first works to fund his emigration there... but didn't go in the end. Where he managed to find the time to write poetry is anyone's guess! The presentation featured a recording of two of his poems, read by authentic Scottish narrators to raised eyebrows! Residents were then given the chance – some for the first time, – to sample 'haggis, neeps & tatties'. Whilst it was pleasantly received by some, others decided they were happy to have never discovered it before.

Throughout the day, there were a number of additional activities celebrating Burns Night, the anniversary of his birth. There was Clare Leach and her interactive fun & music session, which included a number of Scottish-themed tunes. This session saw Kevin attempting to play a set of bagpipes with some success and much to the amusement of the residents, who had tears of laughter streaming down their faces as he struggled and gasped for air (there is video evidence of the uproar!) whilst the pipes screamed an unearthly sound.

In the afternoon, Activities Assistant, Carol Green, then helped residents make some homemade shortbread, most of which was consumed shortly after cooling from the oven.

A busy, flat out day for everyone, but totally worthwhile. Here's to your memory, Mr. Burns!