Glenholme Vera James House

Bispham Gardens residents had a lovely time at Gardening Club last week. ☀️🌻 After a morning of hard work, planting and watering new seeds, and soaking up the sunshine, they made and enjoyed mocktails using their homegrown mint from the garden. Bliss!🍹☀️

Yesterday was National Ice Cream Day, and Bispham Gardens couldn't let the day go by without joining in the celebrations! The day was introduced by President Reagan, as he wanted to commemorate a treat enjoyed by over 90% of the population.🍦🍨

Holdingham Grange made the most of the sunny weather this week with a fabulous trip to Skegness seaside! They enjoyed a traditional lunch of fish and chips, followed by ice cream, and then did some sightseeing. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their visit and they are looking forward to their next day trip.☀️

Thimbleby Court are delighted to have received an award in this year’s ‘Horncastle in Bloom’ competition! The competition, which is held annually, is an initiative developed to bring the Horncastle community together, and celebrate history and horticulture. 🌻

The residents were busy at work back in May, planting and preparing their display for the competition. They were thrilled to be presented the Chair’s Special Recognition Award for their beautiful and poignant display. 💐🏆

Anne at Bispham Gardens has really enjoyed making her first ever mosaic. She created this beautiful piece for the home manager. This has set her on a new path and she now can't wait to do more! 🌻

Claire moved to the Marlowes in April 2023. During the assessment stage of her move, Claire identified that hearing fire alarms makes her feel upset, unless she is involved in the process.

Claire was supported by staff to become a Fire Marshall so that when she moved in she could complete the weekly Fire Alarm Testing with the Fire Champions. Claire says that this really helps her anxiety around the noise and she enjoys the process.

Last week, Claire ran a fire drill with Annie & Bola. Claire checked everyone was present against the sign-in book and thanked everyone for taking part, giving positive feedback to the team on their fast response. Well done Claire! 😀🔔

Eyes down for a game of bingo at Thimbleby Court! 🔢

Three of our Haddon House residents went on holiday to Butlins in Bognor Regis recently. They all had a lot of fun trying different activities, from going to the beach, to watching shows, and going swimming. Everyone had a fantastic trip away! 🍦🏖️🎭

Haddon House will be hosting their 'World Food Day' celebrations next Tuesday!

From 12 pm on Tuesday 23 July, they will be hosting a range of activities and fun, including tasting foods from around the world, garden games, a bouncy castle and face painting! 🍉🏰🎨

Everyone is welcome to attend - please join us! 😃

For more information please see below ⬇️
💻 https://www.facebook.com/events/3023974594412293/
📞 01733 246 444
✉️ [email protected]

Residents at Halmer Court had a lovely time flower arranging recently. Thank you to Jen for helping residents create beautiful arrangements. Great fun was had by all. 💐😊

Benjamin from Haddon House went to see The Lion King again in London recently. Benjamin really enjoys going to musicals, and the Lion King is his particular favourite. He was very excited as he had been asking to go since coming back from his recent holiday to Disneyland. Benjamin had a fantastic time, and even treated himself to a cuddly toy whilst he was there. 🦁👑

Holdingham Grange made the most of the summer sunshine at their Summer Fete this weekend! ☀️

There was a mouth-watering BBQ, live entertainment, Shetland ponies, and a range of stalls selling everything from books, to honey, to homemade chocolates, homemade gifts, and flowers, as well as many other games to enjoy. The residents absolutely loved the hustle and bustle of the day. We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who joined us and helped to raise £766 for the residents’ activity fund. The day was a huge success! 🍰🎤🐴

Haddon House are all set for the England game tomorrow! Residents have been busy making a flag with everyone's hand prints on it this week. Come on England!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Vera James would like to say a special thank you to the family of a former resident, who have generously donated £1000 to the home, in the hopes of extending one of the gardens out. The resident had loved spending time in the garden. Thank you 🌻

Horncastle had the largest horse fair in Europe in the 18th & 19th century.

For the past couple of years Horncastle have celebrated this with a horse fair in August. One of the attractions is a full-size horse puppet, which visited Thimbleby Court yesterday. The residents absolutely loved it, and didn't want him to leave!

Thimbleby Court's weekly 'Knit and Natter' group have been busy making blankets for the local premature baby unit. Keep those needles clicking ladies! 🧶

Small studies have been conducted into aromatherapy and dementia, which suggest lavender, bergamot and lemon may all help to create a sense of calm, reduce aggression and agitation (including pacing), and increase the length of a person’s sleep.

Thimbleby Court decided to set up an aromatherapy session in their King Charles suite. As well as using taste sensation with strawberries, salt and vinegar crisps, and lemon chunks, they used aromatherapy, and discussed how it made them feel. It was a great session and it was interesting to see how preferences differ. 🪻🍋

Holdingham Grange are hosting their Summer Fete this Saturday!

Please join us from 12pm - everyone is welcome!

There will be:
🎯 Games
🎸 Live Music
🍖 BBQ
🎨 Craft Stalls
🎟️ Raffle
and more!

For more information, please click the link below ⬇️
https://www.facebook.com/events/2035683596813165/

Benjamin at Haddon House has been busy designing a poster for the home's upcoming 'World Food Day' celebrations! He created the vibrant poster with some help from staff, and now they're all set for the big day! 🍜🥘

For more information about the event, please follow the link below. ⬇️
https://www.facebook.com/events/3023974594412293/

We would love you to join us! 🎉

Residents at Holdingham Grange enjoyed a trip to Pennells Garden Centre yesterday afternoon. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed looking around, and having delicious tea and cakes. 🍰☕

Everything tastes better when it's homemade, and these ladies at Thimbleby Court know all about that! They used their experience to show staff how it's done! They made a delicious key lime pie, just in time for lunch.😊

Bispham Gardens would like to thank the Carecross team for the wonderful afternoon tea they provided for our residents, recently. We also got the karaoke machine out, and had a sing-along, which made the whole afternoon feel like one big party! 🎤

After their Pride party last week, Claire at The Marlowes decided to jazz up the entrance area with a sparkly new noticeboard display of their Pride photos! Claire said it was very therapeutic and she’s looking forward to next month so that she can create another new board. Thanks Claire and Christina! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🌈

Thursday night is Thimbleby Court's weekly quiz night! 'The Scousers' team won last night, with 'The Three Musketeers' runners up! 🏆

It was pizza-making time for the residents at Wendreth Court recently! They used a variety of toppings to create their own delicious pizzas, with help from the kitchen staff. 😋

Thimbleby Court had their monthly visit from Age UK recently, where they enjoyed an engaging afternoon filled with jigsaws, drafts, and games. Thank you to Age UK for visiting, and we look forward to more enjoyable times together in the future! 🧩☕

Sweet moments at Wendreth Court. Our residents had a delightful time decorating biscuits together earlier this week. 🍪❤️

Bispham Gardens enjoyed a lovely, royal afternoon tucking in to cucumber sandwiches, which were homegrown by the residents! Everyone was very proud with the fruits of their labour. 😊🥒

Bispham Gardens' jigsaw team is growing, and they're getting quicker! They have broken their record by completing a 500-piece jigsaw in just a day and a half! They love spending their afternoons in the conservatory doing jigsaw puzzles, and enjoying each others' company.

If anyone has any 500 piece jigsaws they would like to donate, the home would be extremely grateful - they have completed a lot! Thank you. 😊🧩

As part of Dementia Action Week, residents at Vera James House put their resourceful skills together and created their very own air hockey kit. Many residents enjoyed taking part in the game, which became very competitive! 🏒😊

Vera James House enjoyed their first 'Ladies and Gents that lunch' outing earlier this week! Residents were delighted to head out for an afternoon pub lunch. Joyce noted that she was "looking forward to a glass of wine!" 😋🍷

Residents at Vera James House have been busy knitting blankets during their 'Knit and Natter' club for Cats Protection, Ely. Cats Protection do vital work to improve the lives of our feline friends, so our resident, Jane was thrilled to hand the completed blankets over. 😺🧶

Residents, staff, and visitors enjoyed a busy and fun-filled Easter at Vera James including a draw on Easter Monday. 🎁

Activities Coordinator, Lisette Cook thanked all those who had generously donated prizes for the draw. The proceeds will go towards supporting activities for the residents at the home. 😊

The team at Vera James House were delighted to win the Senior Living Stability Star Award and Training Excellence Award at the recent Glenholme Care Awards ceremony! 🥳

The Stability Star Award honours services with the highest employee retention rate over the past year, underscoring the value of fostering a supportive and stable workplace environment. ⭐

The Training Excellence Award honours services with the best training attendance and e-learning compliance. 📝

The Award was presented to Vera James Registered Manager, Rob Hart by resident, Bev.

Staff at Vera James are going to be holding regular support group meetings for their residents’ friends and family.

'The Friends Café' meetings will take place on Friday afternoons at 2.30pm, with the first meeting on 12th April.

This will be a safe area for families to talk freely with each other, sharing their experiences, not only of the challenges of caring for a relative with dementia but also of making the difficult decision to have their relative cared for in a residential home.

In time they hope to open the Friends Café up to the wider community.

All friends and family of the residents are welcome at the group meetings, and tea and coffee will be available.

As Vera James House approaches its 35th anniversary, staff at the home are keen to find out more about Vera James, after whom the home was named.

Local historian, Mike Petty kindly sent a paper cutting which shows the Duchess of Gloucester opening the home. The cutting tells us that Vera James spent 30 years working on the Committee of Cambridge Housing Society, but does not give any additional information.

Please contact the home if you have any more information about Vera James - we would be very grateful! 😊

It seems we have several budding artists in Vera James House! Last week, Activities Coordinator, Lisette Cook, and other staff assisted residents to paint pictures. It was a thoroughly enjoyable activity, and a selection of the paintings are now displayed on a board in the home. 🖼️🎨🖌️

Back in October a number of our residents set a selection of bulbs in pots. The pots were kept in the home’s greenhouse and in the last few weeks have been brought out for the resident's to enjoy. Seems we have some budding gardeners! ☺️🌼🌺