We have been making the most of the summer days at Astley, in spite of the rather inclement weather.
Summer days in the garden and rainy day activities
The month of August plays host to National Allotment Week, running from 7th to 13th August. Residents have started a new vegetable patch project in our garden. They have decided this should be located to the rear of the garden in the spot historically used by kitchen staff as part of the cottage garden. They are working together, supported by Allison, our Lifestyle and Wellbeing lead, to scope out all aspects of the project, from design to implementation and planting. Our new raised garden plots are looking great and we are planting a herb garden. Some of our residents are very green fingered and keen to get stuck in. There is such a sense of achievement in restoring the cottage garden to its former glory.
On the recent rainy days, residents have been enjoying each-others company during some crafting sessions. One resident, Christine, has a creative background and is an excellent painter. She also likes to handmake beautiful, personalised cards for her friends and family. We are having an arts and crafts theme through August, with residents displaying their artwork on our Gallery Wall in our chapel room. This has a vaulted ceiling and is flooded with natural light, so perfect for our art display.
Residents have enjoyed live music from Kim, Ray and JDR. We have also had visits from Astley Church to support spiritual worship.
Our ladies especially love the pampering sensory sessions with June, choosing lovely bright nail polish for their summer manicures. Did you know we also have a dedicated hair salon at Astley and visits from Alison our professional hairdresser, who spends time with our ladies and gentlemen, so they can look and feel their best.
Summer events
Dicky, one of our lovely care staff, is expecting a little boy this October, so we threw her a baby shower and filled a Moses basket with lots of baby essentials and treats! She was very touched.
The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party is our resident Christine’s favourite chapter from Alice in Wonderland. So, we had a themed afternoon tea with lovely sandwiches and cake. Thanks to Lisa, Melvin and Joe for joining in with the fun. The white rabbit fancy dress was hilarious!
Special visits
A big thank you to the pupils and teaching staff from Astley Primary School who visited us at the end of their summer term. We were delighted to listen to samples of their creative writing and catch up over refreshments. We do cherish the relationship we have with Astley Primary and look forward to seeing the children again in the new school year. The Year 6 students who visited us are all moving up to Secondary School. We chatted about their summer plans and new schools and we wish them every success in their futures.
Our residents loved seeing the children from Debutots toddler group for their summer visit. They brought along their teddies for a Teddy Bear’s Picnic, with songs and story time. Thank you, Kirsten and the ladies who supported the session.
We are looking forward to welcoming back the Debutots and Astley Primary School children from September.
In August, we enjoyed a visit from recently elected Mayor to Bewdley, Councillor Sarah Billett. One of our residents, Tony, was also Mayor to Bewdley in 2004, a role he thoroughly enjoyed. He loved the opportunity to chat about the role and reminisce with Sarah over morning coffee. Thank you Sarah for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit us.
Plans for September
Our Macmillan Coffee Morning is on 29th September for residents, their families and our staffing team. We shall be baking for the event – helping make a difference with every slice!
From early September, Astley will be joined on a weekly basis by Dance to Health. They support exercise programmes, which are both fun and stimulating and we are looking forward to trying something new.
Residents also want to support our local food bank over the winter months. To get us started, residents Chris and Alan have been putting together donation boxes. Please do drop in any contributions you have of non-perishable foods and baby items.
