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Thursday, February 2
January Activities Summary
by
Robin Bates
on Thu 02 Feb 2012 09:37 GMT
Hello
again
January
found us very busy at the Manor with our Activities and Celebrations.
Firstly
we enjoyed a lovely afternoon with residents and some families and friends
enjoying Chris’s wonderful canapés and bubbly to celebrate the fourth Anniversary of Zoe being at Valerie
Manor. A lovely time was had by all... please see separate article.
John and I would like to congratulate Zoe and Rob for working so very hard to
realise the dream, not forgetting the support of all the staff and
relatives who together work towards the wellbeing, happiness and comfort of our
Residents.
On
to the Activities...Analogies, The Name Game, Triads, Word Search and
Crosswords were among the ‘mind benders’ Target Toss, The Parachute Game,
Indoor Boules and the regular Exercise from the Chair got people moving.
 We've enjoyed some more physical activities such as table tennis and skittles, as well as resuming the ever popular outings in the Jalopy.
We
celebrated Elvis Presley’s birthday with his music and a video of his
Gracelands home, Australia Day... the decorations were out with an
Australian Quiz.  Chinese New Year was great... the year of the Dragon saw
us exercising to Chinese music and sampling Prawn Crackers with a sweet chilli
dip (too hot for some !) we enjoyed some fun opening Chinese
Fortune Cookies and reading out the messages inside. By asking resident’s
year of birth we found out which animal individuals they would have been in the
Chinese Horoscope. We had Goats, Dogs, Horses, Rabbits, Tigers and an Ox
and Rat ! One of our lovely young carers was happy to join in until we
found out that she was a Monkey... we decided it was apt as she is a lovely
cheeky young lady !
We
are celebrating The Oscars and St. Valentines Day in February as well as a
possible new venture of a visit from a Reflexologist. I’ll give you a
catch-up next month.
Bye
for now
Robin
Friday, December 2
November Activities Summary
by
Robin Bates
on Fri 02 Dec 2011 20:07 GMT
November seems to have flown by.
 Busy
again at the Manor, our third Poem, put together by some of our ladies and
gentlemen is finally finished. We enjoyed a ‘reading’ of it together to
check the details that were included and to make sure that everyone was happy
for it to go to print. You'll see a copy soon at the Manor.
 Amongst
our physical Activities we have had Throwing Rings, Target Toss, The Parachute
Game and Giant Dice. Our usual exercise from our chairs had a couple of
twists...one week including Musical Instruments and on Curry Week
Movement to authentic Indian Music and a demonstration of Indian Dance.
We enjoyed Poppadoms with our coffee and dear Chris cooked up a wonderful
Indian Meal for those who wanted it.
We
celebrated St. Andrews Day with a decorated Dining Room, themed food, Quiz and
a DVD of ‘Scotland from the Air’.
Singing
along to The Batchelors brought back many memories as did watching D-Day ...The
Atlantic Invasion.
We
were very lucky to receive visits from the Steyning Girl Guides who gave a
Remembrance Day Service, a beautiful singer called Sophie and the Table Tennis team.
Alan
was in his element running around the grounds wearing his head light and
setting off the firework display which was really great. Thank you Alan.
Pudsey
Bear had his annual airing and monies were raised once again. The cakes
were fantastic and the staff were delighted to dress up in their Pudsey Spots !
Our
‘Mind benders’ included Triads, Famous Couples and Closure Phrases. As
Christmas is drawing closer we enjoyed a Reminiscence Session talking about
Gifts and Christmas food from years gone by. One gentleman remembered
receiving a lead toy horse and a wooden aeroplane in the RAF colours, one
of our ladies remembered receiving a China Doll and that her two brothers
squabbled and broke off the doll’s head ! Another cherished
memory was of a doll called Suzie and wax crayons. Another doll was
called Elizabeth after our Queen who was at that time a Princess.
Moving
onto the festive food everyone seemed to remember having silver three penny
piece coins in the Christmas Pudding always served with homemade
custard (I can hear Zoe now reading about the coins and shaking
thinking ‘Health and Safety...Health and Safety !) Individual Yorkshire
Puddings and homemade horseradish sauce with sprouts, cauliflower and roast
potatoes were on the menu with the turkey and pork.
One
gentleman even remembered attending a Christmas Midnight Service, taken
by the Reverend Tarrant, at Southwick.
A
big Congratulation to Zoe on reaching the final of the Regional Care Home
Manager Award. You will see the photos on a seperate link. A lovely
time was had by all ! Sally-Ann joined us on this occasion which was
great.
Finally
I’d like to report on our BBC Children in Need Sponsored Tap Sessions at Let’s
Dance ! (Hassocks). We had a one hour Children’s Fancy Dress Session in
the afternoon and a two hour Adult one in the evening. Our pupils and
their families pledged in excess of £1,400 for the cause...lots of sore feet
but happy faces ! Please see photos below.
Here
is the count down to Christmas I hope to see you on the Families Day on
22nd.
John
and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and
Healthy New Year.
Robin
 
Thursday, November 3
October Activities Summary
by
Robin Bates
on Thu 03 Nov 2011 20:06 GMT
Hello
again,
What
a beautiful October we have enjoyed.
Looking
out over the fields and grounds have been a delight with the leaves turning
colour, the plants thriving and our lovely big field looking very smart having
been mown for the first time since the seeds were sown. Two new trees
have been planted just beyond the car park. The Rowan was kindly donated
by a resident and family and the Cherry Tree is being looked after for
Sally-Ann, Mike and Reuben.
Although
the evenings are getting darker earlier the October sunshine has given everyone
a boost during the day.
As
ever lots going on. The Table Tennis and visit from ‘Tickled Pink
Production’ and the children bearing Harvest Festival Gifts proved to be highly
popular.
Our
‘Mind Benders’ included...Happy, Grouchy Stuff, Occupations, Pub Quiz with a
Tipple and Expletives Deleted.
 Physically
we still exercise from our chairs every Monday morning. Tin Can Alley,
Target Bean Bag and Balls in the Box were on offer for those who wanted to
participate, with special help this month from our volunteers Natasha
& Shayne.
We
celebrated John Lennon’s Birthday with a Beatles Quiz and DVD. The
Polperro Fishermen’s Male Choir of 80 years of song was enjoyed as well as The
Magic of Sinatra DVD.
Many
of you may already know but over the last few years that Zoe has owned Valerie
Manor two Poems have been written by the Residents... they are displayed in the
entrance hall. I thought it was about time to put
a third together. For two weeks after our exercise sessions we have been
putting together a couple of lines about individuals who attend. We
have chatted about jobs and hobbies and between us amidst much laughter
have written the third Valerie Manor Poem... watch this space !
One
lovely lady who did not attend the first session but heard about it wrote her
own poem and read it out to us at our second session. It made me cry
! you’ll see it soon.
 We
enjoyed two theme days.. .Oktoberfeist and Spanish National Day... again with a
decorated dining room, traditional music, Quiz and Food.
I
have made a mistake... I have the Indian
Curry Week down for November which was the month last year....on further
investigation it changes every year like the Chinese New Year... and our Easter
! Hence we are celebrating it a month later. Residents have been
offered the choice of Indian Food if they wish to try. On the Monday of
the week chosen I am going to bring along some Indian Music, Costumes and
Bindis so that we can celebrate with some ‘moves’ !
See
you in November
Robin
Friday, September 30
September Activities Summary
by
Robin Bates
on Fri 30 Sep 2011 18:14 BST
Hello
again.
Busy,
busy, busy...that is the order of the day at Valerie Manor.
For
those who wish to participate there is so much on offer. The lovely staff
are co-ordinating the Activities Menu
plus many extras on offer from Local Organisations. Weekly flower arranging and the regular scrabble sessions with Marmalade continue to prove popular.
We
started September with one of our ‘ Mind Benders’ sessions with Opposites and
Requests we also offered The Apple Quiz, Famous Couples and Do You Know your
Flags.
Our
Theme Day this month was Mexican Independence Day where the dining room was
decorated, a Mexican Quiz was enjoyed along with traditional Mexican Music and food.
A
‘Flight over the Grand Canyon’ and Line Dance DVD’s were enjoyed and listening
to Gershwin made everyone really happy.
We
have had some lovely Exercise Sessions on Mondays with many of our ladies and
gentlemen joining in...I have my little ‘groupies ‘ now which is great.
We follow our stretching exercises by singing along to various artists whilst still moving a little faster in time to the music. At the moment
everyone’s favourite is Billy Cotton so much so we enjoyed his music two weeks
running !
 We
still have our Reminiscence chats after the Exercising and singing. One
week was the anniversary of MOT Tests being introduced in 1960 it spurred us on
to talk about cars that had been owned or driven in when we were younger.
Among those remembered were...a 1962 small Ford, A dark blue Austen 7, an
Austen A 40, which was grey, a Chevrolet, a dark blue Audi, a car that
was mentioned was one I had not heard of...an open top two seater Clino.
At
this session a lovely daughter and grand daughter of one of our ladies joined
in...the little girl spoke of her 2 big wheeled and 2 stabeliser Fairy cycle
and how she loved to ride a horse called Sarah and her sister rode one called
Pickle. Her Grandmother years ago enjoyed a ride on a Camel and
Elephant. It was really lovely once again seeing the generations enjoying
time together.
One
of the most funniest mornings we had was when we had our ‘Rhyming Slang’
session after exercising. Carers and residents came up with some
beauties. One Carer...who I thought would be too young...knew the answers
to many Rhyming Slang phrases. She said her dad had taught them to
her. We were all most impressed with one lady who got nearly all of the
rhymes right.
Various
Outings have been enjoyed but they are covered separately by Zoe...do
have a look.
I
hope you enjoy the ‘Indian Summer’
See
you next month.
Robin
Friday, September 2
August Activities Summary
by
Robin Bates
on Fri 02 Sep 2011 20:18 BST
September
already, how time flies !
I
do hope you are enjoying the Summer.
I
think we have been lucky that most of our ladies and gentlemen have been able
to enjoy the lovely outside space at Valerie Manor over the last couple of
months. As well as just sitting and enjoying the views and having a
chat, some have been gathering fruit and vegetables, playing games and on
many occasions enjoying their lunch ‘al fresco’ !
The cheese and wine evening was a great success, as was the surprise visit from two Alpaca's one Monday afternoon!
Our
‘Mind Benders’ in August included The Alphabet Game, Chicken or Egg and Closure
Phrases. A Nautical Quiz accompanied our Cowes Week theme with a
decorated dining room.
Physically
we still exercise from our chairs on a Monday morning prior to our popular
reminiscence sessions.
Zoe
has organised that every resident receives a weekly Activities Menu of what is
happening with the time and place for those who wish to participate in what is
on offer. A great idea as not everything suits everyone and individual choices can be made.
We
had a ‘ride’ on the Orient Express and enjoyed listening to Matt Monro
and watching the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. We planned a Day’s Menu and
decorated fairy cakes.
Talking
of cakes...there is a separate item regarding The Great Tea Party which was
held for Charity but John and I would like to congratulate everyone on
putting on such a lovely event. The cakes were AMAZING...well done Chris,
a great raffle with many donations and the ‘Guess the Weight’ cake was
beautiful. One of our ladies daughter gave up her time to raise funds by
Face Painting...the children loved it please look out for the photos. It
was wonderful for the residents to be a part of everything that was going on
and to bring the different generations together really makes everything even
more special. One of our ladies had a visit from her daughter who arrived
with her daughter and two great grand children who had flown in from New
Zealand...four generations taking tea together ! Dear Marmalade was there
beavering away as usual selling raffle tickets and making everyone smile.
 Our
Reminiscence Sessions continue and one had to be on ‘Your favourite Holiday
Destination’ We had Cornwall, Greece, France, Sussex, Wales, the New
Forest and Thailand. Some enjoyed going on Cruises, another favourite was
sailing along the coast and a ride in a helicopter. It is great to get
everyone discussing their favourite/not so favourite subjects. We had a
good old moan about the recent riots...our ladies and gentlemen are definitely
on the ball agreeing that a stint of discipline in the forces would not go a
miss !
See
you in September.
Robin
Wednesday, August 3
July Activities Summary
by
Robin Bates
on Wed 03 Aug 2011 20:03 BST
Hello again,
I can’t believe it is August already, the months are whizzing
by !
 I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine in July. I know
our ladies and gentlemen have soaked up the sunshine in their lovely garden
whenever possible. Have you seen the vegetables and fruit growing, not to
mention the many herbs thriving. Zoe showed me the other day and I was
amazed. Do have a look as it is in an area we do not usually visit on the
right hand side near the big field.
Activity wise we have enjoyed our usual Exercise,
sing-a-long and Reminiscence sessions. We especially enjoyed exercising with
musical instruments. Not forgetting the activities our lovely volunteers helped organise in the gardens such as skittles and boule.
A Val Doonican DVD sitting in his Rocking Chair
singing brought back many memories and a Virtual Trip Around Chichester Harbour
was a little bit different.
Independence Day was celebrated with an American Quiz, stars
and stripes decorations and exercising to Glenn Miller. Bastille Day
again had decorations, themed food, French music and Quiz.
Regarding the Reminiscence Session, one morning one of our
gentlemen showed me a photograph of his brother, Peter, this prompted us to
talk about sisters and brothers. The names kept rolling out...Hilda and
Roy from one lady...Joan, Mary and Arthur...Mary...Doris...Vera and
Mildred...Teddy, Arthur and Daisy...Roy, Phillip and Robert. Happy
memories but also sad as many of the names mentioned are no longer with us some
having lost their lives in the war. These sessions really get everyone
thinking and remembering. One lovely lady nearly every week says she has
forgotten things but by the end of the session beams as the memories come
flooding back..such a delight !
Happy August !
Robin
Wednesday, July 6
June Activities Summary
by
Robin Bates
on Wed 06 Jul 2011 19:14 BST
Here we are again with an update on our June Activities.
The highlight must have been the Opening of the new Nursing
Wing. It has been well covered already but John and I must congratulate
Zoe, Rob, and all the staff for organising such a wonderful day. Everyone
worked so very hard and everything seemed to slot into place beautifully.
The bubbly flowed, the food was amazing and our lovely ladies and gentlemen
enjoyed themselves so very much in the midst of our very special guests.
It was wonderful meeting new relatives and very special seeing relatives of
some of our dear ladies and gentlemen that sadly are no longer with us. I
think this demonstrates the real feeling of family at Valerie Manor. John
and I are very proud of what Zoe has and is achieving but realise that without
everyone’s support her job would be even harder !
 On to our Activities... Italian National Day was celebrated
with decoration, quiz, music and themed food. Wimbledon saw everyone with
strawberries and cream whilst enjoying the tennis. Some residents even enjoyed picking their own strawberries from the raised planters outside! Exercising with pom
poms proved fun for most of our ladies and gentlemen. I have quite a
following now on a Monday morning for our Exercise and Reminiscence Sessions.
The Max Bygraves DVD went down extremely well as did the wine and cheese
tasting.
Mind Benders included World Vacation Quiz, Do You Know Your
Flags ?, Analogies, and Similies.
At one of our Reminiscence Sessions I asked people what they
were doing when they were sweet 17... one lady worked in a Creamery and
remembers the margarine being rationed, another was a Dressmaker, whilst
another remembers working in a Post Office in Pulborough. Working in her
mother’s shop was another memory. Regarding the gentlemen one joined the
Air Force and another remembers cycling all over the country with his younger
brother.
I’ll say goodbye for now wishing everyone a lovely July.
Robin
|
|
Happy
New Year everybody !
Regarding
the Activity side of things the Physical options available were...Giant Snakes
and Ladders, Musical Santa Hats, Target Toss, Table Tennis and Exercise from
the your chair.
Having said that, due to the lovely weather, many
ladies and gentlemen opted to enjoy the new surroundings having refreshments
outside and a few games also. Not to mention helping with the planting in
their lovely new garden.
Decorating Fairy Cakes is always a favourite Activity which
was enjoyed so much we have it planned again for this month.
I returned on the last week of May for an Exercise and
Reminiscence Session not to mention our Pub Favourites Sing-a-long. We
exercised to some Aromatherapy Music slowly stretching then clapping and moving
whilst singing along to our favourite old time songs.
On the day that the all clear was given the
ladies and
gentlemen were thoroughly spoiled by a very special day celebrating the
Queen’s
Birthday, a special DVD which brought back many memories was
shown. Rooms were decorated and a special cream
tea was enjoyed.
