She’s dear to folk throughout the land;
In her is nothing mean:
She freely spreads on every hand
Her petals pale and clean…
(Flower Fairies of the Spring by Cicely Mary Barker)

Welcome to Wardington House’s latest newsletter

Have you noticed the soft pastel primroses basking in parts of the grounds here? Their subtle gentle presence definitely complements Wardington House with its calm, compassionate, kind atmosphere. I’m sure you will agree if Wardington House was a flower, a primrose it would be.

Activities

Where did March go…it seemed to fly by like the speed of some of the staff and residents at the annual Pancake Race! The weather was glorious, the pancakes were perfect and the smiles all around made a delicious day.

Please see the race in action below.

From speedy legs to speedy cars…three lovely volunteers from the British Motor Museum joined us with some interesting motor vehicle memorabilia. It was an afternoon of delightful conversation and reminiscing.

Something a little slower – the residents, as always, enjoyed gentle cuddles and a snuggles with the small friendly animals from Lucia’s Tiny Farm.

A few residents also ventured out to a local pet shop to see some small animals and fish. And of course a quick stop at Marks and Spencers for coffee and cake was a must.

From small animals to small lively leprechauns. Some residents put their fingers to work making a variety of irish themed arts and crafts to decorate the main sitting room for St Patrick’s Day. Shamrock’s and leprechaun’s hats decorated the tables as the residents enjoyed some bright green goodies.

Biscuit decorating also took place this month. To mark the first day of Spring the residents decorated some home made butterfly biscuits with a variety of brightly coloured treats.

The end of March saw a day for all the marvellous Mums – Mother’s Day. A selection of heartfelt pictures, poems and descriptions were shared with many of the residents, creating lovely reminiscing moments as residents spoke about their Mother’s and/or their fond memories of their children.

We have already started April off with a pop and sizzle with the Big Breakfast on the 2nd April. There were bacon and sausages sandwiches galore as well as an amazing variety of mouth-watering cakes. The Tombola and Name the Toy Lamb all went down a treat. Thank you to everyone who helped and attended this enjoyable event. Watch this space in next month’s newsletter for an update on the grand total raised for charity.

Emma’s Update

“March has been a sea of yellow including regular appearances of that big yellow ball in the sky. The primroses, daffodils and forsythia all look extra bright and cheery with the sun on them.

We’ve been making the most of the good weather and have cleaned the fountain, removing all the pebbles, pressure washing them, turning them all over and washing the other side. We were all happy to get back to proper gardening after that job was done.

We’ve been removing rotten edging planks in the bottom garden that have been catching the mower blades and pulling out the nails that blunt our edging shears.

We’ve also been flexing our muscles digging out 3 tree stumps that were in the way of a new garden project we are planning.

Seed sowing of summer annuals has also begun. The warm days and some discarded food boxes from the kitchen have combined to create mini propagators and the seeds are germinating with impressive speed.

With one eye on the Summer garden party we have been digging out and potting up many self seeded plants to grow on and sell on the plant stall. One little lavender seedling was even growing in the carpark gravel – amazing it hadn’t been run over.

You may have noticed that the bottom section of the garden has been briefly blocked off – the grass has been topped dressed with soil and reseeded to make an even smoother lawn for every one to walk on.

Please bear with us – we will open it up as soon as we can. We shall soon be treating the main lawn with a weed and feed mix so those of you who visit with dogs and children please do look out for signage and avoid this area. All other grass areas will be safe for paws and playing on.”

As Spring continues to blossom we will continue with the theme of Spring into April – there is still so much to see and do!

Towards the middle of the month you will probably see more of an Easter theme start to eggvolve, I mean evolve in and outside the house. Creating easter bonnets, easter egg hunts and enjoying chocolate treats will be just a few eggciting activities taking place. Please do bring the children along for an Easter Egg Hunt – please just give us a call before so we can make sure they are hidden and not already been eaten.

The Easter Service will take place on Friday 25th April 2pm.

The 23rd April is St George’s Day so the house will be decorated for the patriotic occasion as well as a coffee morning on the 24th.

Before we know it we will be welcoming May with May Day. On the 1st of May we will have a May Day themed Afternoon Tea. We will be doing May Day themed activities in the build up to the day.

For those of you who love animals as much as the residents, please come along to see the exotic animals Zoolab will be showing on 17th April at 1.30pm. Lucia’s Tiny Farm will next be visiting on the 2nd May at 1.45pm.

The following regular activities will also take place this month: singing with Tristan Pate and Katie Holland; Exercise Class with Alfie; Bonnie the Dog visit; afternoon tea at Harley Equestrian Cafe and in-house Church Services.

Care at Wardington House

If there is anyone you know, who might need our care, please tell them about us and we will be happy to help.

Wardington House Contact Information:

Telephone: 01295 750622

This goes to the office during the working day, or to the nurses’ office during evenings and weekends.

For general or administration queries, please email Jane Worrall at: [email protected]

For Accounts, please email Julie Linzey at: [email protected]

For George Tuthill, please email: [email protected]

Compiled and edited by Gemma Shaw