Happy New Year! Our residents enjoyed a fabulous Christmas at West Eaton. They are still giggling about the staff pantomime – a hilarious version of Hansel and Gretel. We are not sure that residents will ever see the team in the same way again!
We enjoyed a fabulous Christmas, with lots of traditions, crafting and baking in the run up. And special time with family and friends for the BIG day itself. Our cheffing team really pulled out all the stops with an amazing turkey lunch and thank you to all our staffing team who went that extra mile to make Christmas super special for our residents.
Starting the New Year, residents have been reflecting on 2024. A highlight was creating their amazing art installation for The Leominster Priory “Threads Through Creation” Textile Art exhibition. With the help of Olivia from Creative Minds, Hereford, they crafted giant rainbow wings from cut out feathers, each with a hand written message. They really were overwhelmed by the number of people who visited the Priory and added their feather message to the wings. It was such a sense of accomplishment and a proud moment to be involved in this community project.
So, it has been lovely this New Year to reuse the feathers: We wrote down the things we wouldn’t miss(unsurprisingly most residents put the incessant rain!) and the things we were looking forward to in 2025 – including Springtime and some sunshine!
Our staffing team are also proud of their 2024 achievements; being awarded as a Top 10 Care Home in the West Midlands by www.carehome.co.uk for the second year running and winning awards at The Great British Care Awards for the West Midlands.
So, what’s in store for 2025:
Residents are very involved in deciding events, activities and fundraising goals and have a residents meeting in February to make plans!
Residents have already requested more of the same and we are thankful to be continuing our music and movement classes and our sessions with Hereford Growing Point and Creative Minds, Hereford. Also, our relationships with our local schools. It was such a joy having the children of Ivington C-of E Primary and Pre-school and Luston Primary School visit at Christmas to sing carols, read poems and their stories to our residents.
We also love live musical entertainment and will continue to welcome fabulous entertainers; singing every genre of music from every era, playing instruments and delighting our residents – some of whom are also very talented and like to join in.
Burns Night traditionally rounds off January at West Eaton, with an Ode to the Haggis and neaps and tatties. This year we have Scottish dancers coming in. We are also celebrating the Chinese New Year, being the year of the snake.
The RSPB Big Birdwatch Weekend is also coming up 24-26 January, to record bird populations in gardens and open spaces. The RSPB collate the data they receive from the public. Residents like to get involved with the bird count and we will have bird themed crafting.