Spring has sprung and what glorious few days we have recently enjoyed. Residents have been getting out into the garden, wrapped up warm as there’s still a chill in the air. They picked daffodils for our St David’s Day celebration when we had a fabulous visit from singer Tom Sayer. His rendition of Tom Jones was a real hit! There were also celebrations for St Patrick's Day; poems, limericks and musical entertainment from Marianne, who pays the accordion.
Spring events in the sunshine
It was a lovely spring day for National Dog Walking Day. A big thank you to Sarah and Izzy for bringing Ted and Heidi to visit Abberton Manor and to all families who joined us for a walk around our grounds.
The sunshine on Grand National Day was the icing on the cake for our fabulous horse racing event. Thank you to our brilliant team, who dressed up as jockeys, mounted their hobby horses and staged a hilarious re-enactment of the Grand National, much to the delight of our cheering residents.
It was great to all be outside, soaking up the Spring sunshine and having such a giggle. The horse racing theme continued with pin the tail on the horse and horse bingo and we had a Grand National sweepstake before watching the race itself. Lovely to see so many residents enjoying the day with their families.
Intergenerational fun and activities
The Langenhoe Primary School children have joined us this Spring term for baking, including jam and marmalade tarts and pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. Lots of concentration from the children as they learnt how to separate the egg white from the yolk. They visited again in March for Nutrition and Hydration Week and there were some high Jinks at their April Fools Day visit!
After the half term we welcomed a new cohort of Langenhoe children for more baking sessions. Shortbread was the first thing we made together. It has been great to get to know the children and they also learnt more about the role of a carer. We look forward to welcoming the children back after the Easter holidays for Gardening Club. Perhaps we will grow some ingredients to be used at a later cooking club?
We have also made some fabulous local connections through theFaNs Grand Friends network. We have had our first visit from two local childminders and their five pre-school aged children, singing nursery rhymes, reading stories and chatting with residents in the lounge. Everyone had such a good time and the FaNs Grand Friends are now fortnightly visitors.
In other news .....
We had lots of family join us for a Chinese takeaway. Some residents were saying that they missed a takeaway, with Chinese a particular favourite. So, our catering team had the evening off and we ordered in a Chinese for residents, families and our team to enjoy together. Doris recently also said that she missed being able to host in her home, especially to celebrate family milestones – so we arranged a beautiful private celebratory dinner for her daughter Paula's birthday.
Gunni from Kiddleydivey has been keeping us energised with lots of props and laughter in her fitness classes. The Valentine’s themed class with roses and a giant balloon was so much fun. There was love in the air all Valentines week at Abberton, with lots of chocolates and flowers.
We also have regular music and movement with Libby from Musical Moments – the perfect way to get fit without even realising!
Coming up.......
We have lots of Easter inspired craft on our Messy Mondays including clay making and Easter cards.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming back Colchester’sE2-E4 Chess Club who came to the Manor for first time in March. Their wonderful members, who are so generous with their time, played chess with our residents and families. They are happy to play with everyone from complete beginners to grandmasters.
Our armchair adventures around the globe each Thursday afternoon are taking us to Romania, Russia, Germany and Iceland. We have our regular visits from Rob and Ben from Essex Therapy Dogs. There is entertainment with the very talented singer Alex Southgate on 28th April and our Easter Service with Reverend Terry will be at 2.30pm on 15th April.
We are also commemorating the 80 year anniversary of VE Day on 8thMay with an afternoon tea on 8th May. All of our Heritage Manor homes are taking part in this national commemoration. Family and friends are welcome – our chef John does bake the most delicious Victoria sponge cake.