Tuesday 5th July marked another tremendous event at
Market Lavington care home, in Devizes, where Colleagues have been working hard to accommodate person-centred activities that Residents know and love. This time it was a host of garden games which took part in the home’s new beautifully landscaped outdoor area and courtyard. Much to the delight of the Residents!
Riaz Ali and Michaela Swiffen, Wellbeing Coordinators, started the afternoon off with the iconic ‘Parachute’ which involves everyone holding a large round coloured sheet which has a hole in the middle. A ball is dropped on to the sheet and everyone has to work in coordination with each other to stop the ball dropping through the hole! This is always a fun game, but also helps Residents get moving their bodies a little more to maintain movement and fitness.
The group also played dominoes, which is a firm favourite with a number of Residents. The game became quite strategic in parts as Residents Jim Steele and Dennis Scullard, began counting the numbers already played to see if they could ‘block’ the next player! A very tactical move that was much to the amusement of Colleagues and fellow Residents. There were certainly plenty of laughs throughout the day.
Dennis laughed, “I would have won if I had had more dominoes!”
Jim added, “Thank you, it was so good, I enjoyed it.”
Then came out the old classic ‘hoop-a-stick’ where Resident Suzi Hilton scored a whopping 150! This type of game brings back lots of memories and reminiscing from Residents, bringing them back to their childhood and reliving happy times.
Riaz, said “A wonderful afternoon and of course, these kind of games also offer gentle exercise of the hand muscles too which is a bonus and benefit to older people. It’s also a lovely social occasion as Residents may be meeting other Residents for the first time and it’s delightful to hear the conversations that can occur as they share memories of their lives with each other.”