A full radiant rainbow over the grounds of Wardington House.
“My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky…”
(My Heart Leaps Up William Wordsworth )
Welcome to Wardington House’s latest newsletter.
My heart did actually leap at the sight of this fabulous photo which Emma kindly captured…with the dreary dark weather towards the end of the month, I was patiently awaiting some inspiration and behold the sight of a stunning rainbow over the grounds certainly brightened everything up – magic! Can’t wait to see what magic moments next month has in store.
Activities
We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect start to our wintry theme with some snowy weather ourselves in early January. And through all the chilly weather the spectacular sight of the resilient snowdrops started to show through.
The first snow drop sighting at Wardington House.
We get to enjoy all this beauty from the warmth and cosiness of the home. We especially did at the winter themed coffee morning where hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows made us feel especially warm inside.
Delicious hot chocolate about to be enjoyed.
Winter themed items at the coffee morning.
Some of our animal guests also enjoyed the warmth of our home. Zoolab visited with a selection of exotic creatures – a snake, albino snail and tarantula to name a few, that didn’t necessarily make us all feel warm inside but were interesting nevertheless.
A resident paying attention to an albino snail.
A resident watching a snake.
With Burn’s Night on the horizon, famous poems and poets were our theme at the end of the month. Many residents thoroughly enjoyed our ‘cinema experience’ watching William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet together on TV. They also enjoyed some Scottish themed goodies and a good old reminisce about times in Scotland at the Burn’s Night Coffee Morning.
Resident’s enjoyably engrossed in the film Romeo and Juliet.
All ready for the Burn’s Night Coffee Morning.
Emma’s Update
“January is a gardener’s time for spring cleaning. In the spring, summer and autumn there is always something to do that takes priority over cleaning, tidying and organising. We are using the cold and wet days to wash plant labels, pots and seed trays, to throw away rubbish, organise the potting shed and vacuum up countless dead spiders (and terrify the living ones). With everything ship-shape it makes the big rush of spring much easier to manage.
The greenhouse all tidy and organised for Spring.
We’ve been planning for cut flower beds and summer colour and purchasing seeds that will provide so much colour and joy I can hardly wait to start sowing them.
A laurel that was getting much too big for its position has had a reshape. We are trying to get back the wide paths which allow for walking side by side. There is a patch where the grass has gone but we will buy a roll of turf to cover the bald patch as soon as the weather is warm enough for good grass growth.
The Laurel before its reshape.
The Laurel after its reshape.
The chickens found me doing a bit of edging very interesting, making my work a lot trickier, having to trim cautiously so as not to give either of them an unplanned pedicure.
The chicken’s intrigued by Emma’s work.
The snow drops are looking amazing and if you are lucky enough to visit when it’s not blowing a gale or pouring with rain they are certainly worth a few minutes of your time to enjoy.”
The stunning snowdrops soaking up the sun.
The Month Ahead
Having spoken about hearts leaping, they may very much leap into our mouths this month at the sight of some of the extravagant sports at the Winter Olympics. Our theme for the majority of the month is, you guessed it, the Winter Olympics and also Italy in the winter as this is where it is being held. We will be enjoying some Italian treats at the coffee morning on the 20th February.
From hearts leaping to galloping – the end of the month ‘horses’ will be our theme. Inspired by the fact that the Chinese New Year animal is the horse and so many residents’ love horses, it will be an enjoyable theme with plenty of opportunities to reminisce.
You will see a decorative heart or two around the home as the residents enjoy Valentine’s day themed arts and crafts in the build up to the day on the 14th February. We will be holding a Valentine’s day coffee morning on Thursday the 12th February.
Hearts will then be racing on Tuesday 17th February as it is Pancake Day and the renowned Wardington House Pancake Race will take place. It is also half term, so please feel free to bring along the children to join in the excitement. We will all be on our marks and set at 11am.
Talking of racing we are looking forward to welcoming back the wonderful volunteers from the British Motor Museum and their superb memorabilia and tales of their love for cars and racing. They will be visiting on Tuesday 3rd February at 1.30pm.
The following regular activities will also take place this month: singing with Tristan Pate (weekly) and Katie Holland (monthly); Exercise Classes with Alfie (fortnightly); Josie the PAT dog (fortnightly); afternoon tea at Harley Equestrian Cafe (monthly); in-house Church Services (weekly) and Pamper Mornings.
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 [email protected].
For Accounts, please email Julie Linzey at: [email protected]
For George Tuthill, please email: [email protected]
P.S If you wish to unsubscribe from this newsletter please contact Gemma Shaw at [email protected]
Compiled and edited by Gemma Shaw
