Our Homes Say Happy Chinese New Year!

Two nursing homes, Highbury House in Rottingdean and Freshford Cottage in Seaford, had a great time celebrating Chinese New Year. 2022 is the year of the Tiger. If your birthday falls under this year, you’re said to be a born leader, courageous and inspiring.

To celebrate this special day, residents at Highbury House wrote a note to those they miss, those they care about or those that inspire them. We then turned those notes into beautiful, vibrant Chinese lanterns. Some then decorated their lanterns with tiger faces. Of course, we had a themed meal of Spring rolls and some fortune cookies in there, just for fun.

Freshford Cottage also ushered in the Chinese New Year in style. Residents were helped to write their name in Chinese characters which was very fun and write down what Chinese year they were born in (turns out we didn’t have any tigers). But we did create a tiger-themed tea trolley, bedecked with lanterns and dragons! It went round to all the residents’ rooms, dropping off goodies and spreading New Year festivities.

We hope you all have a prosperous year! To find more about these homes, visit www.southcarehomes.com or visit their Facebook pages: @FreshfordCottage @HighburyHouseRottingdean

Summer Olympics for Freshford Residents

To mark the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Freshford Cottage have started their own tournaments! Our contestants were well-trained and kept staff on their toes! There were plenty of lively activities and even some water sports during the spell of hot weather we had.

Our first round included balloon-tennis and darts. Residents certainly gave staff a run for their money! Balloon tennis was full of laughter and enjoyed by both staff and residents. We also had a darts tournament which really put staff in the hands of residents as Velcro balls were launched at the target (held by a brave member of staff).

Two of our residents enjoying balloon tennis with a diligent umpire helping out.

The day finished with ‘clay pigeon’ shooting… well, rubber duck shooting in our case… with water guns but the concentration levels and competitive spirits were certainly just as high. The sun even made an appearance and residents even braved the pool for our diving competition! Only joking, no diving in paddling pools. But, if there was a competition for relaxing in a paddling pool, though, our residents would certainly get gold! our big Olympic tournament was a grand success, and we can’t wait until next time!

Suns out… guns out!

Everyone enjoyed reminiscing over childhood memories and good times in the sun as well as remembering fun times with their children and grandchildren. We can’t wait until the weather gets better again and we can enjoy some more fun in the sun! 

Pedalling with Passion along the Prom

Freshford Cottage were next up for the Living Our Values Challenge and their take had some amazing results. They focused on our second value, passion. Here’s what it means for us at Southcare:

VALUE 2: PASSION
Love and enthusiasm are at the heart of Southcare Homes– it’s the driving force behind our high-quality care.

Passion, pedals, a pilot, and a pair plucky residents were the ingredients for a cracking day out for Freshford Cottage, thanks to their recent partnership with Cycling Without Age. Freshford Cottage was next up for the Living Our Values Challenge and their passionate act involved something called a ‘trishaw’. What is a ‘trishaw’, you say? Read on to find out.

A ’trishaw’ is a motorised three-wheeled taxi-cab specifically designed and provided for by Cycling Without Age, an organisation focused on increasing the mobility opportunities for the elderly as well as their sense of freedom. Their provision of these ‘trishaws’ are a fun and free way for our residents to meet new people, and feel the wind in their hair once more!

The trishaw trio!
Teresa (activities coordinator) piloting two residents, Jean and Pat, along the front.

‘I have never been on holiday, never flown on a plane, nor had a ride on a boat, but the ‘trishaw’ has given me a taste of how fun it is to travel! I would now like to try a boat trip’.

Jean, resident, Freshford Cottage

Both ladies were so thankful for the afternoon and are looking forward to another trip out. Jean expressed her thanks: ‘I have never been on holiday, never flown on a plane, nor had a ride on a boat, but the ‘trishaw’ has given me a taste of how fun it is to travel! I would now like to try a boat trip’. So watch this space, we’re talking with our local boating company to make Jean’s wish for her and her daughters come true!
It’s truly amazing to see how our team’s passion and living our values helps motivate and inspire our residents to try new things and open up even more opportunities for them in the future.

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