Farnham Mill residents celebrated Valentines with a ‘Love and Friendship’ themed week. This meant we had a week of activities centred around not just our ‘sweethearts and partners’, but the friendships we have made and are still making today. We had a visit from one of our amazing singers – Terry Owens, the nursery school also visited us and then at the weekend we played Valentine themed bingo and made jam tarts with heart decorations on. And, of course, on February 14th all our residents were presented with gifts of chocolates, flowers and cards and a special Valentines lunch was hosted in the home for husbands and wives.
Monday 12 February and with the sun shining we took the opportunity of spending time in the garden. Its so lovely to see the daffodils starting to bloom. It really lifted our spirits.
Tuesday 13 February and balloon games were played around the home. It’s a great way to exercise and gives us an appetite for lunch.
Terry Owens performed for us on Tuesday afternoon. It was great to sing along with him and he sung our favourite songs.
Wednesday 14 February and the morning started with music therapy before our monthly residents meeting. Alison always gives the residents an opportunity to give their opinions on food, maintenance, laundry, and activities as well as introducing new staff and residents to the home.
It was then time for our wonderful Valentines lunch where husbands and wives were able to sit together on beautifully decorated tables and it really felt as if they were in a restaurant. It was a time for special moments and just what we like creating at Farnham Mill.
After lunch all residents were presented with a special gift – red roses and chocolates. It was a very touching afternoon.
Thursday 15 February and the lovely children from Tootsies nursery school visited us. We enjoyed making caterpillars using hearts and the residents were able to help them be creative. Our music therapist also popped in and the residents learnt ‘Baby Shark’ song with the actions.
In the afternoon it was our Flower Arranging Club with lots of residents arranging flowers to be displayed in our rooms. Its such a great sensory experience with so many wonderful colours to see.
Friday 16 February in the morning, residents were active playing skittles and ball games around the home.
In the afternoon our chef, Steve, got lots of residents involved in making cheese scones. The smell of them cooking made us all very hungry and they were delicious with a knob of butter while still warm from the oven.
Saturday 17 February and we started the morning with a game of Valentines Bingo. This was a fun game with images of hearts, chocolates, cupid and, of course, kisses. Winners were able to choose from a selection of sweet treats and it was a great opportunity to laugh and make friends.
In the afternoon there was more cooking as a group of ladies made some ‘Jam Tarts for the Queen of Hearts’. They gathered in our activities room and rolled the pastry, cut out the tarts and then spooned different jams in them. They looked delicious and went down well with a nice cup of tea.
Sunday 18 February and our regular book trolley toured the home with a selection of books and magazines. There was also a great selection of sport themed books which proved popular with the gentlemen.
Other residents were able to enjoy a walk outside in the spring sunshine, watching the ducks and other birds in the garden.
In the afternoon we introduced a new activity – Shared Story Telling. This is aimed at those that love reading but find the small print in books hard to read. A nice gathering in our activities room, cup of tea, biscuits, and some short stories from a favourite magazine – The Peoples Friend – proved to be a success and will be a regular event at Farnham Mill.
Our next week is Sweets and Treats theme – please follow us on Facebook ‘Woodlands & Hill Brow Ltd – to see our daily posts.