inside gossip - october 2012

GossipISSUE 26 | OCTOBER 2012

ASHMERE STAFF SHORTLISTED FOR CARE AWARD

We’re pleased to announce that we’ve recieved some brilliant news this month. Two members of our staff have been shortlisted as a finalist for the Great East Midlands Care Awards!

A number of Ashmere staff were nominated through requests from Home Managers and Head Office staff however Rosemary Wheeler, The Firs and Kirstie Bowers, West Hallam were two that stood out to the Care Awards Judging Panel.

Rosemary Wheeler, Senior Carer at The Firs Nursing Home was nominated for the ‘Dignity in Care’ Award for all her hard work in the home to ensure the residents are always given the respect and dignity they deserve. She has also recently helped the home get the Derbyshire Council Bronze Standard Dignity Award which has inspired the other homes to work towards recieving the award too.

Kirstie Bowers, Activities Co-ordinator at West Hallam Residential Home was nominated for the ‘Care Home Activity Organiser’ Award. Since

starting her role at West Hallam at the beginning of the year, she has helped to turn the place around. The home is always full of fun and laughter from both the residents and the staff. She’s organised some very successful fundraising events such as the bistro nights and seasonal fetes and the displays she’s created around the home have also brightened the place up.

Both Rose & Kirstie were invited to an interview with the judging panel to explain why they should win the award. They both did an excellent job and spent days organising as much evidence as they could to show the judges what they’ve achieved.

Ashmere have been invited to Care Awards Gala Event on Friday 19th October where they will announce the winners of each award. Rose and Kirstie will be attending the awards along with their Home Managers and staff from Head Office.The evening will be presented by Eastenders & Spandau Ballet star, Martin Kemp. We wish them the best of luck and we’re so proud of them for being selected as a finalist. Congratulations ladies!

IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE...

Why have Staff been dressing up as Cow Girls?...........................................PAGE 9

Which home have been cuddling up to skunks, hedgehogs & dragons?... PAGE 3

Which home have been making yummy Jam Tarts this month?................. PAGE 5Inside

ASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP | ISSUE 26 | OCT 2012

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Ashmere’s Annual Memory Walk

Thank you to everyone who made an effort to attend our Memory Walk this year to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society. Everyone was very lucky with the weather and it stayed dry throughout the 4 mile walk. Everyone who took part recieved a Memory Walk fleece as well as squash and biscuits. A few of our walkers got lost but they soon managed to find their way back to the visitors centre. Well done & Thank you to everyone who supported the event. We’re currently collecting the sponsored money in but if you would like to make a donation for the Alzheimer’s Society. Please pass it onto the Home Manager or pop into the Head Office.

Wanted! Volunteer Minibus Drivers!Could you give a morning or an afternoon of your time to help take our residents out of the home on various trips around Derbyshire or do you know someone who could? We are looking for volunteers who are able to drive our minibus for up to 15 of our residents. We would like to take our residents to various trips out which can range from visiting Matlock Bath, garden centres, the cinema or even a walk in a local park. If you could spare the time to drive the residents and perhaps enjoy the activity or day out with them then please get in touch.

All travel costs are covered and lunch is provided. Any admission fees to attractions visited will also be covered.

ASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP | ISSUE 26 | OCT 2012 ASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP | ISSUE 26 | OCT 2012

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Codnor Park celebrate the 60s!

Codnor Park spent the day partying away with their ‘Swinging 60s Day.’ Relatives, Residents and Staff were all invited along to join in the fun and raise money for their residents fund. Staff dressed up in their best 60s gear and looked wonderful, residents wore the flowers they’d made and everyone had a boogie to the entertainment provided by a lovely singer named Bob Reed. He sang lots of 60s classics which the residents enjoyed singing along to, plenty also got up and had a dance to a few of their favourites. Some of the King William residents and staff also came along to join in the fun and really enjoyed themselves. After a couple of hours entertainment, a buffet was served for everyone & the raffle was drawn. Everyone had a lovely time and Codnor Park are already looking forward to their next fundraising day, Pink Day on Friday 26th October.

Valley Lodge Residents cuddle up to Skunks

After a very popular visit from the Mobile Zoo last month, staff requested another animal visit, this time from Animal Magic parties. Residents were introduced to some very cuddly new friends including Sparkle the Skunk and Chocolate Chip the Chocolate Skunk who were very popular in the home. Animal Magic also brought along a hedgehog, Sugar Gliders as well as snakes, a bearded dragon and a Chameleon. Residents and Staff were absolutely transfixed by all their new friends and were very sad to see them go. Everyone got a cuddle and a stroke of each animal and couldn’t wait to tell their friends and family how brave they had been. Well, its not everyday you cuddle up to a skunk, is it?


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NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWSWhat’s going on where you live?

KING WILLIAM

KIDSLEY GRANGE

Congrats to Ivy & Wilfred Turberville who celebrated their 79th Wedding Anniversary on 23rd September. Their family came to visit to celebrate with them & the staff threw a party at

the home.

All residents loved our Pink Day. Staff dressed in pink items of clothing, we had lots of pink art and craft activities going on including painting hearts for the ‘Pink Day’ display. But everyone’s favourite part of the day was the chocolate fountain with pink cakes & marshmellows. It went down a storm with residents, relatives & staff all getting

stuck in & enjoying it!

Residents have enjoyed some wonderful entertainment this month from David Straker who played the banjo for us, Michael Comley who sang some songs that everyone could sing along to. Our favourite was a visit from Animal Magic. It was a lovely treat for everyone and led to talk about which animal was their favourite. The skunks were very popular!

Some of our residents enjoyed a trip to the Odeon Cinema in Derby to see the film, Anna Karenina starring Kiera Knightley. Everyone really enjoyed the film and recommend that everyone

go and see it!

Our first Bistro Night went down a storm with relatives and our residents. We had an ‘All Things English’ theme and decorated the home with a Union Jack theme. Thank you to everyone who attended, we raised £25 for the

resident’s fund.Our next evening will be a Fish & Chip Supper with Prize Bingo on Friday 26th October from 5.00pm. Everyone is welcome, if you would like to attend, please

contact Ruth Rogan.

We’ll be holding a Body Shop Party for all staff, families and residents on Thursday 4th October. Wine and nibbles will be served from 5.30pm. We look

forward to seeing you there!

Residents have had another busy month with activities in the home. They’ve done some potato printing for our framed art gallery, baking biscuits and cakes and making their own

sandwiches for tea.

VALLEY LODGEOur residents have been trying out different flavoured smoothies . Everyone loved it & were surprised by how much they enjoyed them all. We’ve made a note of everyone’s favourite so we can treat them to a smoothie when they fancy

it.

Happy Birthday to Mary Burke who celebrated her birthday on 26th August & Frank Bown who

turned 92 on 21st September.

We’d like to welcome our newest residents to the home - Gwen, Neil and Avis. We hope you’re all

very happy at King William!

Thank you to those who supported us and braved the walk around Shipley Park. Our home raised £103.40. Thank you

everyone!


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We enjoyed another Dress Up day on 29th August themed, ‘Back to the 80s’ which included lots of leggings, neon colours and crazy hairs do’s especially Lesley in her pink spiky wig! The residents are now judging the

best dressed.

Whilst at the Westfield Centre, Gillian visited her favourite shop to get herself another ‘Build a Bear.’ She enjoyed dressing it up and picking a name for it. She’s called this bear, Jessica & it sits in her room along with her other 5 bears. She’ll soon need another bedroom just for her

teddies!

CODNOR PARKLes was delighted to hear that his grandson, Iain Broome (author of a new book) would be appearing on Radio Sheffield to talk about his journey writing the book. We managed to listen to the interview on the computer and when he heard him, he said, ‘Thats him, I can hear’ as he recognised his grandson’s voice. It was very emotional to watch and we can’t wait to get a copy of

the book, ‘A is for Angelica.’

We’ve had a few birthdays in Codnor Park recently. Happy Birthday to Dorothy, Bill, Winifred and Charles who have celebrated their birthday in September. We hope you all had

a wonderful day!

Residents have been enjoying getting to know our new Activities Co-ordinator, Kayleigh by getting stuck in with a few activities. There’s been a morning of card making and as you can see the ladies did a

brilliant job!

Some of our residents have also enjoyed making Jam Tarts. They enjoyed it so much that they will be making cakes for our next fundraising event.

Residents enjoyed a trip out for toasted tea cakes & a cappuccino at Wetherspoons in Ripley. Everyone enjoyed getting

out despite the miserableweather.

On the 5th September, we had an all day trip into Derby. Gillian, Maisie and Mary enjoyed a full day of browsing round the shops. Maisie enjoyed shopping in Bon Marche as she says that’s where she used to shop. She enjoyed telling us about how she used to run her own shoe shop, it was lovely to hear her reminiscing. Once we were all spent out, we sat in a coffee shop and talked about the lovely day we had before setting off back home laden with goodies.

We were invited to the Rotary Club Annual Event. Eighteen of our residents attended & had a lovely night of entertainment with hot drinks & a buffet which everyone appreciated. A good time was had by all and we were all ready for our bed when we got back at 10pm. Thank you to the

rotary club for our invitation.


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SMALLEY HALL

The residents have recieved visits from Lynsey from B-Unique which they really enjoy and always look forward to. We also had Phil who sang us lots of songs from over the years. Lots of the residents enjoyed a lovely sing a long to many songs they remembered.

THE FIRS

We enjoyed a trip out to Jacksdale Garden Centre with The Firs new Activities Co-ordinator, Laura. We had a look at the winter plants & the Christmas decorations & finished

off with a cup of tea.

The residents have been very busy helping with arts and crafts activities to create new displays

throughout our home.

We’ve enjoyed seeing our neighbours, King William visiting for coffee this month. Its always lovely to see you all and we’re

going to try & visit them soon.

WEST HALLAM

Our Autumn Fair is fast approaching on Saturday 6th October. Come along for a cup of tea and cake and take a chance at our apple bobbing. All are

welcome from 2pm - 4pm.

A date for your diary! On the 26th October, we will be holding a ‘Wear it Pink’ day. All relatives are welcome to come along and

join in the fun!

Happy Birthday to May Perryman. A lovely cake was made by Sally Smith and she recieved lots of presents, cards and some very beautiful flowers!

We would like to thank everyone from West Hallam who took part in the Memory Walk. We are still collecting sponsor money but it was for a fantastic cause & the staff love the fleeces.

The residents loved the Noisy Neighbours who entertained the home this month. Everyone was singing, dancing & playing instruments. Their new group name, ‘West Hallam River Rascals’ works very well for the enthusiasm put into their

performance.

Our residents have enjoyed designing their own mugs & now have their own personalised mug

to enjoy their tea in.

Movie Afternoon this month was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. We played it in cinema style and

served the residents popcorn.

On Friday 26th October, we will be holding a Pink Day from 10.00am with a Clothes Stall, Cake Stall and Tombola. All money will be split between Cancer Research & the resident’s fund. All are welcome to join us!

Happy Birthday to Lillian Chalmers who celebrated her birthday on 12th September. All her family visited and bought a cake. Hope you had a lovely day

Lillian!

We’d like to welcome our newest residents , Dorothy & Mina to Smalley Hall. We’re hope you’re very happy in the home.

On a wet Autumn day, Michaela, our Arts Co-ordinator did an Art Class with our residents. Several of our residents drew sunny & happy pictures to cheer everyone up during our miserable winter. Everyone had a lovely time and there were soon smiles on

everyone’s faces.

Happy Birthday to Jean Davies, Phyliss Lyons & Audrey Marsh. We hope you all have a lovely

day!


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The Firs celebrate with an Edwardian Festival

The Firs struck lucky with the weather and brought the crowds in to their annual summer fete to raise money for the home’s resident fund. The home held an ‘Edwardian Festival’ on Saturday 8th September for residents, staff, relatives and the local community. There was plenty going on including a bouncy castle, cream teas, tombola, a raffle, hook a duck and entertainment from ‘Sweet Honesty’ and Ben the guitarist. Everyone had a brilliant time with the sun shining down in Codnor, residents had a good boogie to the entertainment and loved seeing so many faces visiting their home.Some of the staff even dressed up for the event including a cowgirl and a duck who both suffered a little in the heat.In total, the event raised over £700 for the resident’s fund. All the money will be spent on ensuring all residents have the chance to go out on a trip. Thank you to everyone who made the event such a huge success and thank you to everyone who made an effort to come!

Kidsley residents try Singing for the Brain

Residents from Kidsley Grange visited a ‘Singing for the Brain’ session provided by the Alzheimer’s Society. ‘Singing for the Brain’ is a service which uses singing to bring people together in a friendly and stimulating social environment. The Alzheimer’s Society believe that singing is not only an enjoyable activity, it can also provide a way for people with dementia, along with their carers, to express themselves and socialise with others in a fun and supportive group.The ladies who went to the session had a brilliant time and were very excited to find that the BBC were there filming a piece about Dementia. You can look out for our resident celebrities on the new series of ‘Inside Out’ which is starts this month. Kidsley Grange are looking forward to attending the singing session monthly with some of our residents from The Firs.

STAFF CORNERASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP | ISSUE 26 | OCT 2012

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

West HallamHappy Birthday to Louise Kittenwell! Louise is due to have her baby any day now & the home are all waiting in anticipation for the birth of your baby

girl!

The FirsHappy Birthday to Dawn Mansfield, Charlotte Trueman Michelle Dean, Sharon Smith & Debbie Seal who all celebrate their birthday this

month. We hope you all have a lovely day!

CONGRATULATIONSValley Lodge

Congratulations to Rosa Gregory who completed the Great North Run half marathon!

THANK YOU!King William

King William’s Home Manager, Lesley, woud like to thank all her staff for pulling together over a very busy period and for all the staff who have done

extra shifts!

Kidsley GrangeHappy Birthday to Linda Bardill and Lisa Bailey who both celebrate their birthday this month.

Hope you have a lovely day!

Valley LodgeHappy Birthday to Patrick Marshall for the 27th

September. We hope you had a lovely day!

Codnor ParkHappy Birthday to Gladys, Sarah & Janice.

We hope you all had a fantastic day!

WELCOME!Codnor Park

Welcome to Kayleigh Pearce who has recently started as Activities Co-ordinator at the home.

The FirsWelcome to Erica and Corrine who have started at the home as Care Assistants. Also, welcome to

Laura who is our new Activities Co-ordinator!

King WilliamCongratulations to Tracie & Gemma who have recently become full time seniors. Also, well done to Jessica Holmes who has completed her Level 3

NVQ.

Due to the popularity of our Memory Walk fleeces this year, Head Office are happy to order an Ashmere fleece for anyone who would like one. The cost will be between £10-15 depending on how many fleeces

are ordered & half of the money will be split round the home’s residents fund.

Staff, Residents and Relatives are all welcome to order a fleece with the Home Manager who is currently putting together a list to send back to Head Office.

Ashmere Fleeces

ASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP | ISSUE 26 | OCT 2012ASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP | ISSUE 26 | OCT 2012

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After asking for ideas in the newsletter on how we could get the residents involved in raising money for the home’s residents fund, many liked the idea of a sponsored sing along. It was agreed that the day of the sing along will be Friday 19th October from 10.30am – 11.30am. This will take place in every Ashmere home at the same time.

Everyone is invited to the homes to join in! Look out for posters around each home as they all have various things arranged for the day of the sing along to give the event a party atmosphere! The main reason behind the event is to make the residents feel that they’re doing something positive and for the good of the home.

Songs we’ll be singing along to include, ‘Bless ‘Em All’, ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend’, ‘Its a Long Way to Tipperary’ and plenty more...

All the residents who want to take part in the event should have a sponsor form so they can ask their family, friends and staff to sponsor them. All money raised will go to their home’s resident fund. Residents will also recieve a certificate after the event. There will also be a prize for the resident in each home who was the best singer. A prize will also be awarded to the resident who has raised the most money for their home.

S ng Along Sponsored

King William’s Summer Fete

On the 31st August, we held our Summer Fete and were overjoyed at the amount of people who turned up. We were blessed with fine weather all day long so we could hold the event outside. So many people came to enjoy the bake sale, card stall, sweet game, Raffle, teddy game, find the £5 and the children really enjoyed the lucky dip and were kept entertained by the balloons and hoopla game. We had hot dogs and burgers with onions and mushy peas. Thank you to our kitchen staff who also laid on a lovely buffet and made lots of contributions to the bake sale. We also had a fantastic entertainer named Andy from Fantasia Entertainments who set up outside and performed under the gazebo. He was so good, some people inside thought it was a record playing so we’ve booked him for our Christmas party! Thank you to everyone who attended the fete and supported us, we raised a brilliant £205 for the resident’s fund!

By Jessica Holmes, Activities Co-ordinator


PUZZLE CORNER

Name........................................................... Home.............................................................

Fancy winning a special prize? Simply fill in your details below once you’ve completed the Wordsearch and hand it to your Activities Co-ordinator or Home Manager.

We’ll choose a winner on the 19th October. Good Luck everyone!

R E M M U S T I U R F T L V VP I E S T A E H W Y H F E U RF J H J E S N O S A E S T N EA H A A Q L R W N U M Q T M BR I Y R R E B K C A L B U U MM O S O T V S A L R J K C T UE W T N T G E A T S O N E U CR N I C I A V S N E O P I A UB W R V A I M P T I G P S P CZ F I O T R O O N C Z E A H YS N W S C T T O T T H R V E SG V E C A B B A G E S U L T NX F E T A P P L E N T R R B MQ R O S W E D E I U A W V C YC A R R O T P P W B O M Q P H

APPLEAUTUMNBARLEY

BLACKBERRYCABBAGECARROTCHURCH

CORNCROPS

CUCUMBER

FARMERFESTIVAL

FRUITHARVESTHYMNS

LETTUCEOATS

ONIONPARSNIP

PIES

POTATOSEASONSSUMMER

SWEDETHANKSGIVING

TOMATOTRACTOR

VEGETABLESWHEATWINTER

Harvest Festival Wordsearch


THEASHMERE

RIDDLE

Empty as space, Scary as a ghost, I appear every night. What am I?

Can you guess the answer to this month’s halloween related riddle?

The answer will be in next month’s newsletter.

Answer to last month’s riddle: Q: What can give you lots of work to do at school but can also give you punishments? A: A Teacher

PUZZLE CORNER

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Congratulations to Madge Straw from West Hallam who won last month’s Puzzle Corner. She had a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered to her as her prize which she absolutely loved!

It’s never too late! How many of us have always fancied following up on a talent we have or wished we had taken another subject at school? Well, it really is never too late!

To brush-up my skills and make sure I produce the best murals for Ashmere, I started an evening class at Alfreton Adult Education in January this year. As a result of kickstarting my education after the best part of some 30 years(!) I was encouraged by the tutor, local artist Wanda Brookes, to take a formal art qualification. I have been mainly self taught up until now and developed my skills as I tried new projects.

Well, the long and the short of it all is that following interviews, I was offered a place at Chesterfield College to study an Art & Design Foundation Diploma. It’s a part time evening course so the wonderful part about it is that I will be able to continue working with all the lovely residents and friends I have made at Ashmere. So far I have had 2 weeks at college and apart from getting dreadfully lost a few times around such a large college it is all going fabulously…. I’m loving it! I’m so absorbed in the work that the 3 hour classes speed by in a heartbeat.

So, if you have ever thought about furthering your education or following up on an interest just to learn more for the pleasure of it then I heartily recommend having a go.

MICHAELA’S MUTTERINGS

By Michaela Greensmith, Arts Co-ordinator

A piece of art Michaela has worked on since she went back to education!

Michaela has painted murals in 5 of our Ashmere homes.

It’s Never Too Late To Learn...


Ashmere Derbyshire

90 Glass House HillCodnorRipleyDE5 9QT

Phone: 0845 602 2059Fax: 01773 749 259E-mail: [email protected]

care homes for loved ones.

Ashmere have been caring in Derbyshire for over 25 years. The business has been family owned and run across three generations.

We aim to provide the very best care for residents, providing a range of care from residential, nursing and to Dementia care in our extra care units.

In addition to long term care, we also provide respite care and day care to assist those who are still able to live at home.

If you would like any additional information about the company or services on offer, please contact Rebecca Jones using the details provided on the left or visit our website - www.ashmere.co.uk

West Hallam’s Bistro Night was a massive success and the Olde English theme went down a treat. All our residents and their guests really enjoyed the meal. They were served Stew and Dumplings with creamy mash potato for their main course. For pudding, they enjoyed a delicious Sticky Toffee Pudding. As always it’s a pleasure to see families spending time with each other. Thank you so much to all who attended, we raised a brilliant £56.00 for the Resident’s Fund.

Also, thank you to Mel and Sue who prepared and cooked the meal and all the staff who helped to serve the meal.

Look out for our next Bistro Night with a very ‘spooky’ theme. For more details and to book a table, please see Kirstie Bowers.

By Kirstie Bowers, Activities Co-ordinator

West Hallam’s Olde English Bistro Night

inside gossip - october 2012

Documents

home managers

firs nursing home

west hallam residential

head office staff

number of ashmere staff

care awardwere

care awards judging

kirstie bowers