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May
March & April News 2022
It’s been a busy two months for us. March we celebrated St Patricks Day and the catering department made Irish stew and soda bread all washed down with Guinness and Irish whiskey, followed by an Irish quiz. Shrove Tuesday we enjoyed pancakes with various fillings and a staff pancake race.
On Red Nose Day we enjoyed musical entertainment in the morning with Jasmine and her through the years show. In the afternoon we had a tea party with Prosecco and a cake sale to raise money for comic relief.
In April we celebrated Easter. On Good Friday we had a quiz, followed by Prosecco and hot cross buns and a sing a long session in the afternoon. Easter Day the easter bunny delivered Easter eggs to us all and on easter Monday we painted and decorated our own Easter egg to keep or give to a family member.
We have had trips out to Preston garden centre, The Fifth trust vineyard, Ivy Barn cafe, Coopers Bistro and Gibsons Farm shop. We have savoured on ‘Taste it Tuesday’ food from Mexico, Portugal, China, America, India, Israel and Poland. Fizzy Friday we had a rather delicious ginger beer and vodka fruit punch also raspberry fizz gin, white wine spritzers, Prosecco and many more.
With the weather improving we have played games in the garden, large snakes and ladders, draughts and in doors we had skittles, scrabble and tin can ally. In arts/crafts and painting we decorated easter bonnets and eggs, made pictures of sunflowers using mesh, felt and paper and still life paintings of daffodils. Our usual activities of quizzes, bingo, manicures and massages, church services, film club, musical entertainment, smoothie day and our befriending service have also kept us active.
We are looking forward to what’s in store for May.
February 2022 News
So the month of Love, February. Arts and crafts had a hint of romance about it. We made heart shaped valentines wreaths and painted pictures of roses. We made trees and rainbows out of coloured tissue paper, which we stuck to paper, we painted daffodils and spring inspired landscapes and painted what our dream garden would look like. Although the one we have is rather lovely.
We created smoothies from a selection of fruit and vege and baked choc chip cookies, brownies, rice crispy cakes, jam tarts, my favourites, rocky road and Pepperoni/vegetable pizzas for Italian ‘Taste it Tuesday’ accompanied by sausage and ham rigatoni that the catering staff made. We had Spanish chicken and chorizo paella, olives and cold meats. Turkish lamb kofta, salad, stuffed vine leaves and pitta bread and finally German cold meats, cheeses, frankfurters and German breads. This was followed by ‘Fizzy Friday’ and our taste buds were awakened with Morello cherry lemonade, ginger beer, raspberry fizz cooler, rose spritzer, dandelion and burdock fizz and finally the good old Gin and Tonic ๐คช
Films and TV had a varied variety for us to view. To catch a thief , with lovely Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Pride and prejudice, Mr Tom, with Jon Thaw, Guys and Dolls, the Kings Speach and many more. We have had two church services, and our befriending service once a week. In door games, such as skittles and hoopla and hand massages and manicures which are so relaxing.
Looking forward to what’s in store for March as the nights are getting longer and we are moving in to Spring and hopefully warmer weather.
So here we are in 2022 and January already at an end, but we have been busy as usual. Java Jive music entertained us which was great and Jasmines music put on a show ‘Through the Years’ with all the old songs that we could sing along too.
We have baked all sorts of goodies, including pizzas, brownies, sausage rolls, chocolate chip cookies and a birthday cake to name but a few. In Arts and Crafts we have painted the fireworks from New Year’s Eve , our garden here and gardens we remembered through our lives, we painted the Scottish flag for Burns night and poppies and we made flowers out of paper.
Taste it Tuesday we visited China, America, Hungary and Scotland. We sampled Hagis, neeps and tatties accompanied with Scotch Whiskey. American hot dogs and burgers accompanied with American pale ale. Hungarian beef goulash and Chinese sweet and sour chicken and rice, vegetable stir fry, prawn toast, spring rolls and prawn crackers. We enjoyed a French cheese and wine evening with roule, Brie, port Salut and caprice des dieux, helped down with Cuvee Prestige red and Coe’s De Gascogne white.
Fizzy Friday had us sampling a Rose spritzer, cream soda orange and mango fiz, white wine and orange spritzer, Tropical fruit punch and Vanilla Coke. Film club saw a variety of old films including, Fiddler on the Roof, Gone with the Wind, Carry on Doctor, Oliver, Some like it Hot, Calamity Jane, The Pyjama Game and High Society plus quite a few more.
We had hand massages which are always a real treat. We got active with indoor hoopla and skittles but with all the eating and drinking, we really should of gone for a jog but armchair yoga was easier. We had our weekly befriending services and the church service fortnightly. Looking forward to February as it’s the month of Love.
So the festive month is over for another year. We were blessed that this year was better than last year. Father Christmas managed to get us in person, as did our families.
We started the month decorating the three Christmas trees. We made Christmas cards, bunting and decorations for the tree. We created a Christmas tree made out of decorated paper plates and created still life pictures of decorated Christmas trees and robins. We had a Christmas tea party with lots of festive goodies to eat. On the subject of food, ‘Taste it Tuesday’ had us visiting Scotland, France, Greece, Italy and Egypt. ‘Fizzy Friday’ had the Christmas feel with mulled wine, eggnog, Prosecco, Irish coffee and festival fruit Prosecco punch.
Over the Christmas period we were entertained by Mandy Reynolds, Jasmines music, Anna who played pieces from ‘The Nutcracker’, staff lead us in Carol singing and we had a treat from the Simon Langton girls school who sang carols for us on a Zoom connection.
We managed to venture out on the Mini-bus to Tadpoles tea room, Preston garden centre and Gibsons cafe, which was really enjoyable, even though the weather wasn’t always good but it’s just lovely to get out and blow the cobwebs away. We have had productive cooking sessions, creating delights for those that are unable to to join in. We made shortbread, gingerbread men, cupcakes, Rocky road and a birthday cake. We had a variety of films in our Cinema club. A Wonderful Life, My Fair Lady, Ladies in Lavender, A Christmas Carol, Fiddler on the Roof and the Nutcracker Ballet to name but a few. We have created Smoothies which we always enjoy, exercise classes twice a week and our old favourite Bingo along with quizzes and board games.
Thankfully our Church Services are back to some normality every two weeks and this year we had a Boxing Day service which was very special. Christmas dinner was a delight and as usual we all sat down together staff included and a good time was had by all.
Once again our catering staff excelled themselves in making our day so enjoyable. New Years Eve we enjoyed a quiz and we sang and for those who enjoy dancing got up and did a jig. Not many of us managed to stay awake till midnight so we had a glass of bubbles on New Years Day.
We wish all our families, residents and staff a very healthy, happy and safe New Year.
November News 2021
Well we have had a busy month. We have had a couple of trips out to Preston garden centre, Ivy Barn coffee shop and Tadpoles tearoom cafe. It’s just lovely sitting and people watching.
We have had baking sessions and made fruit cake, vanilla cupcakes some rocky roads and two birthday cakes. We visited Japan, Germany and Asia on our ‘Taste it Tuesday’ We we experienced different types of Sushi, various German sausages, cold meats and cheeses and Asian delights, such as, Chow Mein, spring rolls and prawn toasts. Fizzy Friday’s tipple, had us sipping, tropical Bellini’s, Sherry Cobbler, Rum and Coke and Gin and Tonics. We also had a coffee/hot chocolate morning, adding various liqueurs to our hot drinks. It all went down very well.
We celebrated Bonfire night with fireworks, it was a great display. In arts and crafts we made poppies for remembrance Sunday and painted picture’s of poppies and soldiers. We also painted pictures of firework night and autumn scenes, these were displayed on our art wall. We had musical entertainment by Mandy Reynolds and Java live music.
We are back to having the Church service every two weeks, which is lovely, getting back to our pastoral needs. We have had some really good films on, in cinema club. Charade, Top Hat, Carry on Doctor, Singing in the Rain, The King and I to name but a few.
The catering staff put on a special Remembrance Day Tea, which made us all reflect on the Sacrifices that were made during the wars. We celebrated Thanks Giving and St Andrew’s Day. We have had quizzes , board games, exercise classes, sing along’s, befriending services and the guessing box, this is where items are placed in a box and you have to guess what it is just by touch.
We are now on count down to Christmas and are all hoping that this year will be better than last year. We wish everyone a Happy Christmas and Safe, Healthy New Year.
September/October News
So we have a combined September and October account of activities, someone had a grey moment I wonder who. In two months we have achieved quite a lot. We started September with the 80th Anniversary of the outbreak of World War 2. This co-insided with National Nutritional Week, a coincidence in respect of the years of rationing that our parents and grandparents had to injure.
Which leads us to ‘Taste It Tuesday’. We have covered many countries over two months. Vietnam, Cuban, Indian, Spanish, Italian, Polish, French, and Asian. And as usual our catering staff made a huge effort to ensure we all enjoyed the delights of their labours. We had a create your own Smoothie, and Sandwich afternoon and they were excellent.
Gardening Club we potted up bulbs ready for next year. We had to clear the allotment and greenhouse ready for planting next years crop. We had a gardening club Sensory Game, Guess the Smell, that was interesting as it wasn’t all flowers that we were smelling!
We celebrated World Alzheimer’s Day and in baking we celebrated World Apple Day. Brogdale near Faversham has one off the biggest collection of Apple trees in the world, it was started by Henry VIII. He sent out a group of men to find as many varieties of apples that they could find and bring them back, where they started to graft different varieties together, which gives us the varieties we have today. As Kent was a good area for growing and its proximity to London, it became ‘The Garden Of England’.
We have carved pumpkins ready for Halloween and in Arts and crafts the theme was very much autumnal and spooky. We have had several befriending services and we have managed to get Holy Communion in the summer house which has been wonderful. We had a residents meeting to discuss matters arising and to put forward ideas, for up and coming events, that we we would like to see on the agenda. We have had exercise classes, 80’s and rock and roll karaoke's, trips out, sing alongs, games of Bingo.
Finally we had a delicious French cheese and wine afternoon. We are looking forward to next month to see what is in store for all of us, to keep us out of trouble.
We have celebrated some bizarre ‘National Days’, including, National Doughnut Week, National Vanilla Ice Cream Day and National Cheesecake Day.
Our ‘Taste it Tuesday’ took in food from Italy, Australia, Hungary and the Republic of Czechoslovakia. We followed the tasting with a quiz on the said country. Some of us enjoyed creating our own sandwich and smoothies, and then sharing the end product with each other. ‘Fizzy Friday’ had us sampling Sangria, Strawberry Gin Fizz, Coca-Cola and Strawberry Vodka. We also had Italian wine with our Italian Taste-it Tuesday dishes.
We look forward to our French Cheese and wine club, as there are so many French Cheeses and wines to get through. We have made Rocky road, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Almond cake in our cookery club. We had trips out to the Preston Garden Centre for coffee, Ramsgate for ice-cream, Minnie Bay for a cuppa, Cliffsend nature reserve and St Margaret’s Bay.
We have been getting on in the greenhouse, those of us interested in the gardening club. We have re-potted the tomatoes out in to bigger pots and look forward to enjoying our crop when ready. On days when the weather has not been great, we have had film club and watched a variety of films, including, The Cowboy and The Lady, Anastasia, Sabotage and Raffles to name but a few.
In the art club some of us have been busy painting the Garden View, still life, painting fruit and the sea and beach from memory on our trips out. We have been lucky enough to have a Church Service, which we have missed due to lockdown.
We held a residents meeting at the end of July to discuss any worries or concerns we may have and what we would like to do on future trips and entertainment.
June News 2021
Well, June started fairly wet, great for the gardens though. In ‘Gardener’s Club’ we have planted up troughs and the hanging baskets, we have also planted some seeds in pots for later in the year.
In our Arts & Craft class we have drawn summer flowers, the river Stour, the garden and also Wild Orchids. We made thank you cards for members of staff that have helped us and gone over and above to keep us safe through the last eighteen months.
We have managed trips out to Deal, Preston garden centre, Westgate-on-Sea, Ramsgate and Cliffsend nature reserve. Needless to say all destinations where you can have ice cream. On days that we we couldn’t get out, ‘Film Club’ presented The Red Baron, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, A Star is Born among others.
On Cupcake day, we baked in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society and combined it with a Rock & Roll Karaoke, which was enjoyed by all. International Children’s Day coincided with International milk day so we celebrated both by creating our own milkshakes and sandwiches.
Taste it Tuesday and Fizzy Friday had us travelling to Argentina, Thailand, Jamaica, Peru, France and Italy. We combined this with a travel the world quiz on those countries. This was all helped down with Italian wine, Ginger beer, Gin punch, Shandy and Vodkas and lemonade. Apart from baking cupcakes we have made almond cake and vanilla cakes.
In our sensory activities we had guess the taste and smell of items of food and drink, we included English wine tasting day in with this. We recognised the Carer’s Week with the staff who take care of us. All Carer’s, all over the country, have been exceptional over the past eighteen months. We have held several befriending services along with a Church service and residents meeting. The poetry club got together to read and discussed poetry.
John Betjeman is a favourite and Pam Ayers as they can be very funny. We celebrated Fathers Day on 20th June and a lot of our gentlemen were really spoilt, lots of chocolates. We have had sing alongs with the staff and played some Bingo.
All in all June has been a busy month. Looking forward to seeing what July holds for us.
Well the last couple of months have been quite strange weather wise. The variety of flowers and buds in the garden have taken their time to appear and snow showers and frost has not helped.
We have been warm and cosy in doors and kept busy watching, making and doing. We have celebrated three saints days, St Patrick of Ireland, St George of England and St David of Wales. The Saints days were celebrated with quizzes and an art class on all things Irish, English and Welsh.
Easter came at the beginning of April and we decorated bonnets, eggs and cakes. We have been lucky to have an Easter church service and befriending service. April Fools day we had an afternoon of telling funny stories, jokes and singing.
We have baked fruit cake, St Patricks day cup cakes, coffee cake, cheese straws, vegetable pizza, sausage rolls, vanilla and chocolate biscuits, Victoria sponge and almond cake all very delicious. We have had a variety of films during the last two months. Anastasia, mystery at Wentworth Castle, Battle of Britain, The Pride and the Passion to name but a few.
We celebrated International Women’s Day and Mothering Sunday with a cream tea and entertainment with Drago Music. Red Nose Day we had a quiz and an 80’s music karaoke. We played a sensory game where we had to guess the smells which was great fun. We quizzed on International Women’s Day and painted what we thought represented Earth Day.
We had a Sunday poetry day and discussed poets and their work. We celebrated Queen Elizabeth’s birthday with a quiz about her long life and events within that time. Needless to say we have had ‘Taste it Tuesday’ and ‘Fizzy Friday’ with delicious treats from Poland, India, Japan, Turkey, Germany, Spain, France, Algeria and America. Fizzy Friday had us sampling Moscow Mule, Whisky Sour, Mimosas, German Hock and lots more. Arts and crafts we made daffodils to place on a painted background and created an Easter Chick from decorated napkins.
We have managed the gardening club between showers so we are a bit behind with our planting. Finally we had a residents meeting to discuss any concerns we may have about our home life, activities, food and anything else that comes up.
Looking forward to warmer weather so we can get in the garden.
Here we are at the end of May.
Things are beginning to bloom but it’s all a bit slow this year. We have managed to get out and about, at last, in the mini-bus. We’ve been to the Cliffsend nature reserve, Ramsgate Beach, Ramsgate harbour and Minis Bay. It’s always ice cream all round on these occasions.
We have baked chocolate biscuits, almond cake, vol-au-vents, ham and cheese puff pastry parcels, sausage rolls, carrot cake and Victoria sponge.
‘Taste it Tuesday’ had us tasting the food of Canada, Vietnam and Indonesia. There may be a travel ban but we are managing to taste the culinary delights of far flung countries while still at home, the imagination runs riot. This was all washed down with Pimm’s, lemon and lime fizz and raspberry coolers.
In Arts and Crafts we painted a May Pole for May Day and attached ribbons. We also painted pictures about VE Day, Bluebells, Ducks and things found on the Beach. We have been busy in the green house potting plants, a variety of flowers, ready for the garden.
We have played a sensory smelling game with herbs and fruit, which was great fun. We had an afternoon creating our own sandwich’s and smoothies which was interesting.
We had a VE Day Anniversary tea party with an 80’s music theme. All in all a great time was had by all.
February started very wet and windy, we are waiting for the time we can get into the garden and a bit more normality to our lives. We have been busy with our arts and crafts club. We have been drawing Daffodils in a vase along with other spring flowers and winter trees coming in to bud.
In the cookery club we have made Nutella Butterfly cup cakes, cherry cake, chocolate chip cakes, vanilla and chocolate biscuits and banana cake. We celebrated Shoves Tuesday with blueberry ( the healthy option), chocolate, honey and chocolate spread and the original lemon and sugar pancakes.
The staff had a pancake race which was very entertaining. Still on the subject of food, ‘Taste it Tuesday’ saw us enjoying Peruvian, Chinese and Turkish food, as usual the catering staff excelled. ‘Fizzy Friday’ we had coconut rum and coke, orange and white wine spritzers, Coca Cola and raspberry mohito’s. In the entertainment department we all got singing to an 80’s karaoke and an Abba music karaoke which is always a favourite.
We always enjoy our film afternoons watching classics like the 49 Steps, Where Angels fear to tread, The Desperadoes and many more and the popcorn always goes down well. The clocks go forward next month, which means having those wonderful long and hopefully warm evenings.
Well after one of the strangest and challenging years we have experienced so far as a community we have entered 2021 with the hope of returning to some form of normality . There is light at the end of the tunnel as we continue with our vaccination programme of residents and staff.
It has been, for us all, a period of unknown and few certainties but the residents have shown their resilience and determination through this time and our amazing team have not let us down in their dedication and commitment and for this we thank them.
In less than 5 weeks, it will be March. Daffodils, sunshine and warmer longer days greet us and we can once again celebrate the small joys together when we can get in to the garden and our outdoor activity programme can get back into full swing.
In the meantime we continue to enjoy our varied programme of games, singing and food!! Although there is a way to go, till some form of normal returns, we all feel very positive about 2021. We wish you all a happy safe New Year.
Well here we are in December and Christmas is only round the corner. We have two months worth of activities to get through and we have been really busy. We have baked, indulging in shortbread biscuits, apple crumble, Polish cheesecake, fruit sponge, vanilla cupcakes and Halloween decorated cakes.
‘Taste it Tuesday’ had us visiting Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Asia, Argentinia, Japan, Germany and Romania. It was very delicious and a wide and varying range of flavours.
To wash it all down ‘Fizzy Friday’ had us sampling Watermelon Juice, Orange Prosecco, Banana Milkshakes, Strawberry Lemonade, Coconut infused Rum and Coke and lastly Pimms. It seems we spend our entire days eating and drinking.
We have recently started a new club which involves, yes more food, Cheese and Wine from different countries. So far we have sampled French and Italian cheeses and wines. We celebrated Halloween, you can see the pictures on the Website, which was great fun and we played games.
In arts and crafts we have been creative making leaf decorations from salt dough. We made a group picture of Halloween pumpkins from a potato stencil. Our stain glass window of a tree was very good, using tissue paper as the glass. We individually made autumn leaf pictures and Halloween pictures and decorations.
We watched several movies over the last couple of months in Film Club, Goodnight Mr Tom with John Thaw, Seven Brides for Seven Brother with Howard Keel and Jane Powell, The 39 Steps, Camelot with Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero and Robin Hood to name but a few. We had a church service which we always appreciate.
We celebrated Kindness Day and of coarse Remembrance Day and watched the service at the Cenotaph on the television. We had some fantastic fireworks to celebrate Guy Fawkes night with lots of whizz bangs. We put our brains to the test with two November related quizzes. One was to celebrate The Prince of Wales Birthday and the other a St Andrew’s Day Quiz. And to end the month we had a residents meeting to express any concerns we might have and discuss new ideas to keep us busy and food we might like to try. I expect we will be just as busy this month.
A fantastic donation has been made to The British Legion on behalf of the residents and staff at Littlebourne House of £150
We know we are nearer to autumn as the mornings are getting chilly And the leaves are turning in to those beautiful warm golden colours.
We have all been busy this month. In our baking club we have made cakes, sausage rolls and scones. We have been on trips out to Ramsgate Beach and Minnis Bay. It’s lovely to see a change of scenery and the coast takes on a different prospective each time we go. On good days we can see the French coast really clearly.
There are always plenty of ships and tankers to look at. The catering staff have given us a real Asian journey with ‘Taste it Tuesday’. We have visited ๐ป๐ณ Vietnam ๐จ๐บ Cuba ๐ฎ๐ณ India and China ๐จ๐ณ. It was all very delicious.
Fizzy Friday had us sampling watermelon/raspberry lemonade, coconut rum and coke, lime soda, straight rum and coke and spiced rum and coke. We felt as if we were in the Caribbean with the sun shinning.
We have watched a variety of ๐ฅ films in film club Ladies in Lavender - The Victors - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang -Sherlock Holmes and the 49th Parallel to name but a few. We have had our usual hand massages and pampering sessions which we all enjoy. What delights will October bring?
Well here we are, at the end of August. The summer almost over, nights drawing in and that autumnal chill in the air. We have been busy this month with a variety of activities.
We have been out on the mini-bus to Minnis Bay, St Margaret’s Bay and Pegwell Bay, really lovely to blow the cobwebs away. Taste it Tuesday had us visiting ๐ท๐บ Russia, ๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica, ๐น๐ท Turkey and ๐ฌ๐ท Greece. We sampled beetroot soup, Hot Chicken and Rice, lamb Kebabs and Greek Yogurt and Honey just a few examples of the menu. Fizzy Friday we tried Passion Fruit Martini’s, Non Alcoholic Tropical Fizz, Classic 1940 Moscow Mule and a Sea Breeze.
We picked apples and lavender in our Gardening Club to use in our craft and cooking group. Our baking group made apple crumble, cheese scones, rocky road, jam tarts, fruit cake, cheese straws and mini-pizzas. After all that baking and eating we managed to fit in a couple of exercise sessions. In Arts and Crafts we made lavender bags and bouquets to use to raise money for Breast Cancer Day. We painted still life of flowers and sat in the garden to paint trees. We replicated the wall paper in the Brighton Pavillon and Prepared and painted Birthday cards. Cinema Club we watched The Kings Speech, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Guys and Dolls, Mumma Mia and Hello Dolly to name but a few. In between all these activities we have had a crafty nap.
We have had some wonderful weather during June, really hot days. We have been in the garden making the most of the sun and soaking up that vitamin D. The gardening club planted up pots with sage, mint and lavender, hopefully the kitchen will make use of them once they are established.
We have baked cakes, coconut, chocolate cornflake cakes, Rocky road and fruit cake. Our art classes were inspired by the sea this month. We painted Pictures of dolphins and jellyfish on paper plates, which made a wonderful display in the lounge. The cinema club showed a mixture of films such as, Samson and Delilah, Return of the Musketeers, 49th Parallel, Anastasia to name but a few.
We sampled Whisky punch, white wine spritzer, fizzy apple and orange, beer and fizzy blackberry on ‘Fizzy Friday’. ‘Taste it Tuesday’ we visited France๐ซ๐ท and and had French cheese selection with baguette, grapes and French wine. We had Jamaican ๐ฏ๐ฒ jerk chicken, rice, crackers and super malt beer. Across to Asia for a Thai ๐น๐ญRed curry, rice and Singha beer and lastly back to Italy ๐ฎ๐นfor spaghetti bolognese, pizza and Italian chianti. It was all very tasty and enjoyed by all of us. We had a trip out on the mini-bus to Ramsgate which was most enjoyable. For those of us who can’t get about as much we had hand massages and seated exercise classes that help keep us going after all that food and drink.
We kept the ‘Little Grey Cells’ active with quizzes and board games as we know it’s important to keep the brain active as well as the body.
What a wonderfully hot July we have had. It’s been glorious, just a shame we can’t go anywhere. But that does not mean to say we have not been busy.
We have travelled afar on our ‘Taste it Tuesday’. We took in Australia, Czeck Republic, Peru and Hungary. We sampled the delights of these far flung countries and again the catering staff excelled themselves. Not only did we taste the food but we discussed the country’s and then had a quiz to see how much we had absorbed. We have been entertained by the staff. We had a Karaoke, staff members singing ABBA songs for us and we joined in. We have had our usual arts and crafts and quizzes to keep the brain active.
We had a Church Service, for which we are always grateful, as we know how stretched our church is, not having a village Vicar and we appreciate the time that they give to us. We had a residents meeting, a chance to discuss matters that may concern us and to put forward ideas that we would like to see implemented in the future. We have had trips out on the Mini-Bus which blows the cobwebs away.
We have a new Summer House which is much larger than the old one and can accommodate more people. Fizzy Friday had sampling cocktails of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety. Really it’s all go, and it’s wonderful that we are kept on our toes.
Well we are well in to Spring now. We are still in lockdown though but at least the weather has been wonderful and we can make the most of the beautiful garden that we have.
With no visitors coming and going we have been kept occupied with an array of activities. ‘Taste it Tuesday’ has seen us visiting Canada, Cuba, Vietnam and Indonesia, very different flavours and unusual food from Canada, bacon and pancakes? Fizzy Friday we tested Pimms’s with lemonade, Sangria with lemon and lime and gin with a choice of tonic, lemon or orangeade. Film Club saw some old favourites and some new arrivals but the popcorn was the same.
We celebrated VE Day, which we all remembered. At 10.30 we had a briefing on the days activities. We started with a VE Day quiz, just to make sure ‘Those Little Grey Cells’ we’re working. This was followed by a Fish and Chip lunch for us and staff. After lunch we were entertained by Mandy Reynolds and at 3pm we all sat down for afternoon tea a great day was had by all and many memories came back to a lot of us.
Those that could, took part in the Residents meeting to discuss any worries that we might have, especially at these uncertain times. We are continuing to Face Time our families and phone them, which we all feel is very helpful and keeps us close. In our baking club we made vanilla cup-cakes, rice crispy cakes, coffee cake and scones. As the weather has been so good we have had many garden games. Hoopla, giant naughts and crosses and dominoes, croquet and numerous seated ball games. The gardening club were in action repotting their carnations and placing them out for all to see. And the art class got us painting a sunflower field and using balloons as flowers, we painted a vase of balloons.
We used potato stencils to make pictures of butterflies and dandelions. For those of us who can’t join in with activities, we had hand massages and manicures, there is never a dull moment. We look forward to the day that the world comes back to some normality.
In the meantime you keep safe as we will.
Well we are still in Lockdown but keeping busy. The weather has been lovely so plenty of time spent in the garden. We have taken up reading the newspapers together, just so we can get an idea of what the rest of the world is doing during these extraordinary times.
We are still ‘Face Timing’ family members and talking on the phone. We have had our usual mix of arts and crafts, baking, bingo and quiz’s. Our exercise classes with Tony, Georgia and Pattie have kept us moving.
Our singing voices were put to the test with an ABBA karaoke. We have had film afternoons, with some old favourites and treated to manicures and hand massages. We have been in the garden with the gardening club and the greenhouse is coming on a treat with tomatoes. We have had a church service but because of Lockdown it was conducted by Home Staff.
We do pray that everyone keeps safe. All of the staff are doing a wonderful job and let’s keep our fingers crossed that ‘The Virus’ is soon no longer with us.
Well, here we are and March already behind us. We have been busy, even with the restrictions on the home with the Coronavirus. We managed to get two trips out to the ‘Tulip Tea Room’ and Deal Sea Front before we went in to self isolation. All the staff are working incredibly hard to keep our minds and bodies active in these uncertain times.
The alcoholic drinks on ‘Fizzy Friday’ are certainly doing the trick to keep ‘our spirits’ up. We have sampled Vodkas and tonic, red wine, Prosecco and orange fizz, beer, fruit punch and banana milkshake’s to name but a few.
Even though we can not leave the home we have visited Asia, Poland, Ireland, Japan and Turkey on ‘Taste it Tuesday’. This included St Patrick’s day, which we celebrated in fine style. As usual the catering staff excel themselves to give us the delights of food from different countries.
We have had exercise classes to keep us moving and our usual creative art, games and gardening activities.
Film club presented us with a variety of movies including, Gallipoli, The Inn if the Sixth Happiness, How to catch a Thief and many more. We have missed our singing entertainment, from our usual talented artists of the area but I’m sure they will be back when when everything is back to normal.
Meanwhile keep safe everyone.
COVID - 19 Update:
Due to the risk to our residents we are no longer having external entertainment, however for the foreseeable future we will be increasing our in house entertainment.
Coming soon our weekly blog
Well here we are the start of a new decade. With the Christmas and New Year festivities out of the way it’s business as usual. Our old musical friends Jon Beetham, Tom Abraham’s, Chris Field, Jasmine, Geoff Stephens, Stella and ole favourite Glenda have sung and played in the start of the year. We enjoyed, as always, the Church service, conducted by the village elders, which we appreciate very much as we haven’t, at this time, a permanent Vicar.
We have been out and about on ‘Tony’s Tours’, weather permitting. We visited Preston Tea Gardens, Gibson’s Farm Shop, The Tadpole Tea room and MamaFeelGood’s. We ventured further a field with ‘Taste It Tuesday’. Tasting the delights of Algeria, Greece, The Czech Republic and the United States of America. Fizzy Friday we toasted Sangria, Fruit Smoothie, Wine, Lemon and Lime Bellini, Shandy, Prosecco and White Wine Spritzer.
We had all our usual arts, crafts, baking, hand massage and bingo, which keeps us all busy. We are looking forward to getting back to the gardening club when the weather improves. We finished the month with a residents meeting to plan what we would like to do in 2020.
Well February was a wet one. We kept an eye on the river and the cellar to see if we needed to hand out life jackets. Joking apart it’s been quite miserable on the outside but inside we have been very busy to make up for the weather. We have visited Peru, Russia, and Jamaica on ‘Taste it Tuesday’ and off coarse we celebrated Pancake Day and the staff raced each other while tossing their pancakes. ‘Fizzy Friday’ had us tasting Bucks Fizz, Shandy, Prosecco, Strawberry-lemonade and Guineas.
Even with the rain we managed to have trips out when the sun shone. We took trips too the Elam Valley vin yard and the valley itself is very beautiful. Preston garden Centre is always a favourite and they do very good tea and cake. We also tried the Tulip tea rooms in Bridge and I’m sure we will revisit in the coming months.
The Film afternoon saw some old favourites. The Kings Speech, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Top Hat and many more. We have been entertained by Chris Field, Geoff Stephens, Jon Beetham, Jasmine, old favourite Glenda and a special Valentines Day sing along with Mandy Reynolds. We joined the over 60’s club at Littlebourne village hall for a Bingo afternoon with a very delicious tea.
We had a residents meeting to discuss any concerns, things we would like to do in the coming months and menu changes. Once again we are grateful to the Church elders who give their time up to come in an hold a service for us. We can only hope the weather improves and we can, in the coming months, get out in to the garden with our gardening club, roll on summer.
We entered the Christmas month with a choir who sang beautifully and we all joined in which got us in to the ‘Festive Spirit’. We enjoyed parties throughout the month. We were invited to join the children at Littlebourne CofE Primary School for their festivities which was wonderful. And of course or own home party in which relatives and staff enjoyed a splendid buffet and entertainment. The catering staff always put on a great feast for us and work really hard to ensure we enjoy ourselves. Jasmine entertained us with her singing and we joined in with the songs, we also had a fabulous raffle with lots of prizes. It was especially lovely watching residents grandchildren enjoying the time with us.
Our usual ‘Taste it Tuesday’ had us visit France, Greece and Egypt. Our Fizzy Fridays where mainly Prosecco based as it was Christmas so we had a lot of bubbles. At the cinema club, we watched Festive based films such as, Miracle on 34th Street, The Snowman, Meet me in St Louis along with many others. The months musical entertainment saw Glenda, Geoff Stevens, Tom Abraham’s, Jon Beetham and Chris Fields singing Carols and the Littlebourne Brownie Group came in to see us as well.
Christmas dinner was delicious, and we were joined by staff and residents relatives so as you can imagine there were lots of us and again the kitchen staff excelled. Santa Claus came and we all had a bag of goodies, distributed by Santa’s little helpers. We now look forward to 2020, a new decade, a new year with different challenges.
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.
Well November started with a ‘Bang’. The fireworks were wonderful and we all really enjoyed them and we had the added musical entertainment of Glenda, who is always a favourite. We have carried on the musical theme this month with a Staff/Resident Karaoke and entertained by Geoff Stephens, Alan Harry, Tom Abrahams and Jon Beetham, who always get us singing and dancing. We had a church service, which is always appreciated, that our local Lay Preachers take the time to fit us in.
We also reflected the past conflicts on Remembrance Sunday. ‘Taste it Tuesday’ we travelled to Argentina, Japan, Belgium, Romania and Germany, which our German residents loved. ‘Fizzy Friday’ had us tasting gin and tonic, raspberry lemonade, fizzy mango, sparkling rose and grapefruit, pina coladas, passion fruit martini, fruit punch and sparkling lemonade and lime. We have had a variety of films to watch on our Cinema afternoons. The King and I, Top Hat, Sherlock Holmes and many more.
‘Tony’s Trips Out’ took us to Mama Feel Goods coffee shop, Preston Garden Centre, always good for a cuppa and Chatham garden centre. We were entertained by a very agile Belly Dancer and some of us attempted to replicate the moves. We finished the month with a residents meeting to discuss any concerns that we may have and projects we would like to see in the future. We are looking forward to the Festive Cheer of December
October, the Witching month and what fun we had carving our pumpkins and the designs were amazing. It’s been rather a wet month and the garden is looking really autumnal now even though there are still patches of colour where the last of the flowers are still in bloom. We have had our arts and craft days and been very creative in our work. Our usual musical entertainers have been in. Tom, Chris, Glenda, Jon, Geoff, Jasmine and a new comer called Alan, they were all very good and we always enjoy a sing-a-long. Tony has taken us out on the mini-bus to visit the Spitfire museum at Manston airport, the Chillingham tea rooms, Preston Garden Centre and the Tadpole Tea room, which sounds like something out of Harry Potter. We have visited China, Italy, Poland, France and Asia on our ‘Taste it Tuesday’ all very delicious from our catering department. Fizzy Friday had us sampling Long Island iced Tea, pink Majito, cloudy Lemonade, Expresso martini’s, sparkling apple and raspberry lemonade with Bacardi, white wine spritzer’s, red wine and ice cream sodas. We watched Charlie Chaplin, Dr Zhivago, Norman Wisdom, Camelot, The 39 Steps and The Kings Speech to name but a few. We visited the village hall for bingo and afternoon tea, always lovely to catch up with our friends. Zoe held our gardening club and we discussed what we needed to do in the coming winter months in and out of the greenhouse. We held a residents meeting and had a church service where we gave thanks for the Harvest and the local farming community. We are looking forward to next month and Bonfire night. Before you know it The Festive Season will be upon us.
We are now at the end of the summer months and that autumnal nip is in the air.
The garden is still in bloom though and we are still managing to get out amongst the flowers during the day when it’s warm. We have had another busy month with visits to the Staple vineyard, Weatherspoons for fish and chips, Tadpole Coffee Shop, Mama Feelgood Coffee Shop and two trips to the village hall for an afternoon tea and bingo session. Further afield we have visited Vietnam, Cuba, India and Spain on our ‘Taste it Tuesday’ treat, all very flavoursome and once again the catering staff did a great job.
We have been entertained by our usual wonderful singers. Jon Beetham, Geoff Stephens, Chris Field, Glenda and Jasmine and her 60’s Divas, we always have a sing along with them. Our cinema club had some classic films on offer. Brief Encounter, Rebecca, The Man With The Golden Gun, and many more. We have had our usual ‘Arts and Crafts’, manicures, exercise classes, cooking and one-to-ones. Fizzy Friday had us sampling Mojitoes, Passion fruit Mojitoes, Pina Coladas, Passion Fruit Martinis, Pink Lemonade and for those who prefer not to have alcohol sampled non-alcoholic raspberry Mojitoes.
The staff, visitors and residents enjoyed fund raising for Macmillan by holding an afternoon tea and cake event. We ended the month with a residents meeting to air any concerns we may have and to discuss what we would like to do in future months. Looking forward to what’s in store next month with Halloween high on the agenda.
The month of August, when the surrounding country side is waiting for the farmers to bring in the harvest. Our own gardening club have been busy in the greenhouse and on the raised bed bringing in our produce. We have had an abundance of tomatoes, rhubarb, runner beans and plants. We have been out and about with Tony on the Mini-bus to various destinations around the coast, a favourite is Deal where we have ice-creams along the beach.
The village hall has entertained us this month with afternoon tea and a Bingo afternoon which was really enjoyable. It’s lovely to meet residents of the village. We have had our usual musical entertainers. Jon, Tom, Glenda, Mandy, Geoff and Chris for a sing-song. The Arabic dancer returned to give us all another display of agility on the dance floor and we joined in with the percussion instruments. ‘Taste it Tuesday’ had the delights of the catering staff getting us to taste Thai, Italian, Pakistani and Australian Food which were all very delicious.
‘Fizzy Friday’ is always a treat. Gin and Tonics, Bucks Fizz, Shandy’s and Ice cream sodas. We have had cinema club, arts and crafts, painting, chair aerobics, quizzes and dance sessions, we do seem to cram in so much, keeping us on our toes. Our resident meeting went well, these are always useful for both residents and staff to put forward suggestions and concerns that may arise.
We had the Church Service for those who wished to attend and we are always grateful that they make time to come in to the home to allow us to have this service. Here’s looking forward to September, which I’m sure will be as full and entertaining.
This month on the 5th of April our lovely Resident Peggy turns 100 , she had a lovely cake and plenty of birthday cards, including a birthday card from the Queen to mark her centenary.
We would like to this opportunity to wish Peggy a very happy 100th birthday and heres to many more!
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May
MONDAY 16th MAY 10.30 am QUIZ 10:30am INDIVIDUAL WORK 2.00pm BEFRIENDING SERVICE&
22
May
SUNDAY 22nd MAY 10.30 am BINGO SESSION 2.00 pm CHURCH SERVICE IN THE SUMMER HOUSE
01
Apr
April Week 1 Blog: This week everyone enjoyed the lovely spring sunshine, we celebrated a residents 101st birthday and on
12
Apr
This week residents and staff sampled food from Germany on Taste it Tuesday - Sauerkraut, Bratwurst and lots more which everyone enjoyed. We
13
Apr
This week after the busy Easter weekend we had a calmer start to our activities enjoying some stencilling and painting. Tuesday we tasted foo
20
Apr
This week we toasted the Queen’s 94th birthday with a glass of Bucks Fizz and we all joined in the National Anthem which seemed esp
27
Apr
This week saw us all celebrating May Day on the 1st. Traditionally this heralded the start of spring and new life where Morris Dancers joined
09
Apr
SATURDAY 9th APRIL 10.30 am INDIVIDUAL WORK 2.30 pm SCRABBLE/BOARD GAMES/PUZZLES
10
Apr
SUNDAY 10th APRIL 10.30 am BINGO SESSION 2.00pm CHURCH SERVICE IN THE SUMMER HOUSE
12
Apr
TUESDAY 12th April 10:30am BEFRIENDING SERVICE 2.30 pm ‘TASTE IT TUESDAY’ INDIAN
13
Apr
WEDNESDAY 13th April 10.30am GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUIZ 2.30 pm BINGO AFTERNOON
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Apr
THURSDAY 14th APRIL 10.30 am INDIVIDUAL WORK 3.00 pm MOVIE AFTERNOON/PUZZLES
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Apr
SATURDAY 16th APRIL 10.30 am INDIVIDUAL WORK 2.30 pm SCRABBLE/BOARD GAMES/PUZZLES
08
Mar
Music Entertainment with Tom Abrahams from 11:00 am Thomas Abrahams is a gypsy jazz guitarist inspired by the great maestro Django Reinhard
17
Mar
St Patricks Day, Arts and Crafts, Baking and a Quiz, followed by a special supper for the residents
18
Mar
Music Entertainment with Geoff Stephens from 2:30pm to celebrate St Patricks Day Geoff Stephens Classic 40's, 50's, 60's, Cou
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Mar
Music Entertainment with Chris Field from 11:00 am Chris Field has been a professional singer entertainer since 2005. Chris started
28
Mar
March GARDEN CLUB 10.30 am There are many studies on the benefits of gardening both for the mind and the body. Simply being outdoors and co
29
Mar
CHAIR YOGA WITH JESSICA Chair yoga is a modification of ‘traditional’ yoga, featuring poses that are adapted so that they can b
31
Mar
Music Entertainment with Jasmine from 10:30 am to celebrate Mothering Sunday Jasmine first came to prominence as a vibrant cocktail pianist
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Mar
With Littlebourne House not being open to visitors at this unprecedented time, our activities team are encouraging residents to take part in more i
28
Feb
Meeting with residents at 11.00 am to discuss any concerns, any suggestions on new activities/entertainment that they would like to ejo
05
Feb
Taste It Tuesday this week is in celebration of the chinese new year so we are having Chinese food
19
Feb
Taste it Tuesday this week is set in Russia, with some delectible Russian quisine
28
Feb
Tea - Party for the residents, including certificates for residents bingo and the Quiz winners.
01
Feb
TUESDAY 1st FEBRUARY 10.30 am PAINTING SESSION 10.30 am BOARD GAMES/INDIVIDUAL WORK&nbs
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Feb
WEDNESDAY 2nd FEBRUARY 10.30 am CHAIR YOGA/GUESSING BOX 10.30 am QUIZ – KING WILLIAM
03
Feb
THURSDAY 3rd FEBRUARY 10.30 am BAKING SESSION/PAINTING 2.30 pm MANICURES 2.30 pm
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Feb
SATURDAY 5th FEBRUARY 10.30 am EXERCISES/BEACH BALL 2.30 pm SCRABBLE/CALL TO MIND/BOARD GAMES
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Feb
SUNDAY 6th FEBRUARY 10.30 am BAKING/PAINTING SESSION 2.30 pm BINGO AFTERNOON
07
Feb
MONDAY 7th February 10.30 am QUIZ 10:30am INDIVIDUAL WORK 2.30 pm BOARD GAMES/PUZ
08
Feb
TUESDAY 8th FEBRUARY 10.30 am EXERCISE CLASS 2.30 pm ‘TASTE IT TUESDAY’ TURKISH F
09
Feb
WEDNESDAY 9th FEBRUARY 10.30 am BAKING SESSION/PAINTING 2.30 pm BINGO AFTERNOON 2
10
Feb
THURSDAY 10th FEBRUARY 10.30 am CREATE YOUR OWN SMOOTHIE 2.30 pm BOARD GAMES/PUZZLES/TOVERTAFEL
12
Feb
SATURDAY 12th FEBRUARY 10.30 am BAKING/PAINTING SESSION 2.30 pm BINGO SESSION
08
Jan
Taste it Tuesday returns for 2019, throughout January we will be trying: New Year Tea Party- pork pie, scotch eggs, salmon sandwiche
22
Jan
Film afternoons in January saw us keeping warm inside watching a few different films: 1.King’s speech Breakf
23
Jan
Tony has been taking us on some fantastic trips in January: Hurricane Museum Manston Wyevale Garden Centre Chartham
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Jan
Fizzy Fridays is a favourite here are a what weve been tasting during Fridays: Prosecco, white wine Coca cola, lemon and l
31
Jan
Throughout January we had a selection of fantastic music entertainment: 9th we had Chris Field, 17th we had Tom Abrahams, 2
23
Jan
Music Entertainment with Jasmine 11.00 am “Through the decades show “ Bingo afternoon Village Hall 2.00 pm
01
Jan
Saturday 1st January New Years Day 10:30 am Chair Yoga 2:30 pm Board Games / Puzzles
08
Dec
Residents and Families Christmas Party Saturday 8th December 2018 Christmas Lunch and&
14
Dec
Fizzy Friday's Throughout December have seen us trying a variety of flavours: White wine, Lemon and lime, Blackcurrant,
18
Dec
Taste it Tuesdays in December saw us taating a variety of different cuisines: Australian- prawn salad and chips, meringue pie and fruits
20
Dec
Throughout December Tony has been busy taking us to some great places: Littlebourne School-Christmas Party Sandwich Littleb
28
Dec
Film Afternoons throughout december have seen us watching some interesting films: Hight Society It’s a wonderful life
01
Dec
Wednesday 1st December 10:30 am Painting Session 10:30 am Befriending Service 2:3
07
Dec
TUESDAY 7th DECEMEBER 10.30 am EXERCISE CLASS 2.30 pm ‘TASTE IT TUESDAY’ FRENCH F
08
Dec
WEDNESDAY 8th DECEMBER 10.30 am CHRISTMAS ARTS AND CRAFTS 2.30 pm BINGO AFTERNOON
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Dec
SATURDAY 11th DECEMBER 10.30 am CHAIR YOGA 2.30 pm BOARD GAMES/SCRABBLE/PUZZLES &
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Dec
SATURDAY 18th DECEMBER 10.30 am BAKING SESSION – GINGERBREAD MEN 2.30 pm BINGO AFTERNOON<
21
Dec
TUESDAY 21st DECEMEBER NATIONAL ROBIN DAY 10.00am TRIP OUT 10.30 am PAINTING SESS
23
Dec
THURSDAY 23rd DECEMBER 10.00am TRIP OUT 10.30 am EXERCISE CLASS 2.30pm SCRABBLE/P
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Dec
FRIDAY 24th DECEMBER 10.30am CHRISTMAS QUIZ 2:30pm FIZZY FRIDAY 3:00pm CHRISTMAS
01
Nov
10.30 am ARTS AND CRAFTS 2.30 pm BINGO 3.00 pm MANICURES-KING WILLIAM
02
Nov
10.30 am EXERCISES AND QUIZ 2.30 pm “FIZZY FRIDAY”-TEA PARTY 3.30 pm SINGING
05
Nov
Music Entertainment with Glenda at 11am Taste it Tuesday this week is Argentinian Food at 2:30 followed at 3pm with travel the world inform
11
Nov
Music Entertainment with Geoff Stephens: Classic 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's, Country, Irish and Easy Listening
12
Nov
Taste it Tuesday this week ventures to Japan followed at 3pm with the world information and quiz about Japan
19
Nov
Taste it Tuesday this week travels to Germany, followed at 3pm with the world information and quiz on Germany
26
Nov
Taste it Tuesday ventures to Romania this week with the world information and quiz following at 3pm
28
Nov
Bingo Afternoon at the village hall at 2pm, refreshments included entry fee of £1
02
Nov
TUESDAY 2nd NOVEMBER 10.30 am BAKING SESSION 10:30 BEFRIENDING SERVICE 2.30 pm &a
03
Nov
WEDNESDAY 3rd NOVEMBER 10.30 am EXERCISE CLASS/GUESSING BOX 10:30am MANICURES 2.3
04
Nov
THURSDAY 4th NOVEMBER 10.30 am PAINTING SESSION 2.30 pm BOARD GAMES/PUZZLES
07
Nov
SUNDAY 7th NOVEMBER 10.30 am CHAIR YOGA 2.30 pm CHURCH SERVICE IN THE SUMMER HOUSE
16
Nov
10.30 am EXERCISE CLASS/GUESSING BOX 10:30 BEFRIENDING SERVICE 2.30 pm ‘TASTE IT TUESDAY&am
17
Nov
17th November 10.30 am ARTS AND CRAFTS/PAINTING 10:30am BEFRIENDING SERVICE 2.30
For more information about the services we provide please contact us or call us on 01227 721527.