One morning in October, activities coordinator Robin set to work with the residents in the lounge and got all their creative juices flowing to develop a poem together about their lives and times at Valerie Manor. The result is a lovely poem that I will proudly be framing and displaying in the hall for all visitors to see…

To view the poem simply click on the scroll to the left.

Keep an eye out for the Valerie Manor Jalopy when you’re next out on the roads of West Sussex! The Jalopy now proudly sports the Valerie Manor logo and contact details. So if you see us, be sure to give us a wave!...

Much fun was had by all on Friday 14th November when residents and staff joined in the Valerie Manor Paper Chain Marathon in aid of BBC Children in Need. A fabulous chain of colour grew throughout the day through the corridors of Valerie Manor reaching almost 50 metres in length! We’d like to say a big thank you to all who kindly donated towards the event and helped us raise £220 for this worthy charity. Well done to all involved!

BBC Children in Need help to positively change the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.

>> visit the BBC Children in Need website

I would like to say a HUGE thank you to regular volunteer Marmalade and her husband for donating a Nintendo Wii games console to the home.

The Nintendo Wii's Wii Sports has become a revelation in homes for the elderly all across the world, in the way that it helps them to remain active in their latter years. So big is the craze in the US, that cross-country tournaments have been known to be organised!

The Wii will provide both mental and physical stimulation for those residents that would like to join in and have a go. The staff and I will be providing supervision to all residents that would like to participate over the coming weeks and begin to integrate it into their health and wellbeing routines. You never know… we may even have a Valerie Manor Tournament in 2009!

The Wii machine is also being promoted as an exercise tool by the NHS. The elderly and infirm have been urged to embrace computer technology and exercise with a Nintendo Wii Fit console to help reduce their risk of falling. Read The Telegraph article for more information.

You can also find out more about how the Wii has been embraced in care homes throughout the country in the following BBC and Guardian articles:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/7218103.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7637801.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/apr/30/health.longtermcare

“In loving memory of all those who fell in battle”

A big thank you to the 1st Henfield Girl Guide Company for giving up their time and delivering a lovely Remembrance Day service for the residents at Valerie Manor this Sunday. The Guides organised the whole service themselves and will use it to work towards a badge. The service included the hymn “Jerusalem”, the poem “Dulce et Decorum est” written by English soldier and poet Wilfred Owen in 1917 and prayers. It was a touching ceremony as young and old together remembered the fallen.

Hello everyone its time to update you on some of the Activities we have enjoyed during October.

We had great fun with our Musical Hats and Line Dancing from our chairs... we had a few Sheriffs at the Manor!... Everyone thoroughly enjoyed making fresh flower arrangements which adorned the dining room, lounge and residents rooms. Making tissue flowers was quite a fiddly challenge but patience was a virtue and very pretty they were too. The recently resumed outings are proving ever popular once again and we'll keep you up to date with those throughout our other blog entries.

On Halloween the decorations looked great and spooky confectionery was enjoyed along with Halloween cakes. We had a go at learning some tongue twisters which gave us all a giggle.

Look out for our Valerie Manor Poem that we wrote together... almost all the ladies and gents contributed... it took about 2 hours to complete and everyone was delighted with the result. We'll have it on the blog soon. I hope you enjoy it too!!

Bye for now, Robin (Activities Coordinator)

Pictured Above (from left; Line Dancing from your chair with Ellie, Tissue Flowers, Musical Hats) Below (Halloween at the Manor!)