inside gossip september 2012

GossipISSUE 25 | SEPTEMBER 2012

KIDSLEY GRANGE CELEBRATE SUMMER!

To celebrate the August Bank Holiday, Kidsley Grange held a bumper Summer Fun Day & invited residents, families and friends. They had a brilliant turnout and couldn’t believe how many people made an effort to come along. Ruth, our Activities Co-ordinator was feeling very nervous as it was the first event she had organised for the home but she needn’t have worried. She did a brilliant job! They had stalls such as Hook a Duck, Hoopla, Face Painting and an excellent cake & sweet stall which went down really well! They also had something to suit all ages at the book,

jewellery and toy stall. Their cook did an excellent job selling yummy cheese burgers, hot dogs, ice cream, lollies and drinks.Entertainment was provided by Kevin & Marie who performed a funny summer holiday show to fit in with our theme for the day. Claire, one of our lovely care assistant’s also decided to make a surprise entrance dressed in a sumo suit which made everyone giggle.Thank you to everyone who came and made the day a success. In total we raised an amazing £185 for the resident’s fund!

IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE...

Which home has Michaela put her artistic touch on?.....................................PAGE 8

Which home has been the first to recieve the Dignity Bronze Award?......... PAGE 2

Inside Gossip is your newsletter so we want your contributions! Residents, relatives and staff are all welcome to write in. Whether its an article on a trip or event that’s

happened at your home, perhaps you’d like to write about something you’d like to reminisce about with others, you might want to write a letter to get your view across about something you feel passionate

about. What about something you’ve made that you’d like to share with everyone at Ashmere? You could even put together a quiz or riddle for puzzle corner. Just hand it in to the Activities Co-ordinator at your

home & we’ll make sure its in the next newsletter!

WRITE FOR THE ASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP!

Which homes have been getting friendly with creepy crawlies?.................. PAGE 2Inside

ASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP | ISSUE 25 | SEPT 2012

PAGE 2

The Firs recieve the Dignity Bronze Award!

We’re pleased to confirm that The Firs Nursing Home have become our first Ashmere home to recieve the Derbyshire Council Dignity Bronze Award.

The Award is to ensure the home treats every resident with the respect and dignity they deserve by making staff aware of the 10 point Dignity Challenge advertised by the council. Staff can also put themselves forward as Dignity Champions to ensure their colleagues stick to the challenge. To recieve the award, Dignity Champions have worked on an action plan to look into how they can improve the service that residents and their relatives recieve from the home.

We would like to thank Rose Wheeler, Senior Care Assistant, for all her hard work to ensure all staff at The Firs play a part to ensure the residents are treated with dignity to recieve the Bronze award. David Poxton, Partner of Ashmere presented Rose with the certificate in front of all her colleagues and our residents. Rose has already started working towards the Silver Dignity Award, we’ll have a Gold Award in no time.

Our other homes are now working hard towards their Dignity Bronze Award with the hope that all our homes will have recieved the award by the end of the year. Good luck everyone & Congratulations to The Firs!

Zoolab visit King William & Kidsley Grange

A mobile zoo named Zoolab visited our residents King William and Kidsley Grange on the 27th July. Zoolab offer care homes animal therapy sessions which have been said to improve physical, psychological and social wellbeing, allow residents of all ages and abilities to interact with various animals introduced to them.Residents were a litle bit wary of the animals as

they were expecting cuddly animals instead we had lots of insects and reptiles visiting the home. Everyone enjoyed learning about the animals brought in. Some of the staff were brave enough to hold a snake, a giant millipede and a bearded drag-on. Residents and Staff definitely felt like the visit was definitely an experience however I doubt we’ll be inviting them to our home in the near future...

ASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP | ISSUE 25 | SEPT 2012 ASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP | ISSUE 25 | SEPT 2012

PAGE 3

Valley Lodge have a visit from the Mini Zoo

Ashmere’s Annual Memory Walk

Here’s a date to put in the diary, our annual 4 mile Memory Walk will be taking place on Sunday 16th September at 11.00am at Shipley Park. If you would like to take part, please ask the Home Manager, Activities Co-ordinator or Head Office for a Fundraising Pack. All money raised will go to the Alzheimer’s Society. It’s £5 entry to join the walk or sponsorship of £5 and over will waive the fee. Please join us for a worthy cause, you are more than welcome to bring the family & your pet dog along. Whether you are staff, a resident or family, everyone is welcome to join us. All participants will receive a free fleece for the walk and lunch.

We’ll be putting on a separate fundraising event for all our residents to ensure they don’t feel left out. Keep your eyes peeled for our Sponsored Singalong taking place in all homes on Friday 19th October!

Residents & Staff at Valley Lodge had a great time when the Mini Zoo came to visit them this month. From rats to rabbits to lizards and even snakes, everyone got the chance to have a cuddle of a creature and were thrilled. Some brave residents even had a couple of lizards sitting on their laps! The zoo even visited those who were confined to their bed which really put a smile on all our resident’s faces. Staff and relatives were chuffed to see the residents so happy. Thank you very much to Kylie & Sam for bringing your mobile zoo to visit Valley Lodge. Everyone spent the rest of the day talking about what a wonderful visit it was.


PAGE 4

NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWSWhat’s going on where you live?

We held a Pyjama Day at the end of July to raise money for Cancer Research. All the Staff & Residents enjoyed dressing up & supporting the charity. We’re looking forward to our next theme day on the 29th August which is themed ‘back to the

80s’.

KING WILLIAM

Happy Birthday to Tom Smith & Mary Burke! We hope you had a

lovely day!

KIDSLEY GRANGE

Our residents have had another busy month again. Residents have been getting their sewing kits out to make their own cushions. They’re all doing very well as you can see from the

photo below.

We’ve been baking cakes this month. Residents have been enjoying seeing them cook and tucking into them once they’ve cooled down.

Residents have enjoyed a trip out to Bakewell. All our residents enjoyed the nice weather by sitting next to the river and had

an ice cream.

Some of our Dementia Residents will be attending a ‘Singing for the Brain’ session on Tuesday 18th September which has been organised by the Alzheimer’s

Society.

Our residents have had a trip out to Masson Mill in Matlock. Everyone had a lovely time and it was nice to get out and about.

Our next Bistro Night will be held on Friday 5th October, 5.00 -7.00pm. Our first theme will be All Things English. If you would like to attend, please contact

Ruth Rogan at Kidsley Grange.

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!

Happy Birthday to Les who turned 89 on 16th August. The home celebrated with a birthday buffet and entertainment. We

hope you had a great day, Les!

We’ve got quite a few birthdays taking place at Kidsley Grange. Happy Birthday to Ruby on the 26th August, Hazel on the 22nd September, Dorothy on the 23rd September and Terry on the 24th September. We hope you

all have a lovely day!

We’ve enjoyed a crackers, wine and cheese afternoon this month. It was brilliant to do something a little different and try out the wide variety of

cheese.

A big thank you to Ros for all the donations from Ken Smith’s funeral. We are hoping to purchase a water feature for our residents to enjoy in the garden.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Summer Fun Day on the 25th August. We had a lovely time and raised an amazing £200 for the residents

fund!


PAGE 5


We are currently redecorating a room upstairs next to the hair salong into ‘Jessica’s pamper parlour’ come along and have your nails polished and hands

massaged.

We enjoyed a trip to West Hallam on the 20th and saw our friends there and had a cup of tea and a chat. Thank you for having us.

We’ve had a lovely trip out to The Firs and enjoyed a garden party whilst the weather was pleasant. Thank you to everyone at The Firs for having us. We had

a lovely time.

Happy Birthday to Winifred Saunders and Faye Bickley who have both celebrated their birthdays. We hope you had a

wonderful day!

SMALLEY HALL

All our residents have really enjoyed watching the Olympics this month. Everyone got into the spirit and were really pleased

with how Great Britain did!

Thank you to everyone who attended our Summer Fete at the end of July. We raised an amazing £200 for the

residents fund

We’ve enjoyed our 2 clothes parties at our home recently and residents enjoyed spending some money and treating themselves.

VALLEY LODGE

Residents have enjoyed lots of various entertainment this month including the Noisy Neighbours who asked the residents to join in with tambourines & maracas. They’ve

also had a puppet show from Frankie Fortune, a Mobile Zoo visit and an exercise session from B-Unique. Its been a very busy time for all our residents.

Friday 31st August is our summer fete. Everybody is welcome to

join us!

Our residents have been getting artistic recently by helping our arts co-ordinator, Michaela decorate the new Activity Room. As you can see, its looking fab now & we can’t wait to start

using it.

Congratulations to Marjorie’s Granddaughter who got married on the 28th July. We hope it was a special day for

everyone involved.

Jack recently caught the bus upto Ripley with our activities co-ordinator, Jess and had a walk round Lidl and bought some sweets. Jack said he could remember shopping there with his wife, Freda. He enjoyed pay-ing for his goodies with some

money.

Residents enjoyed doing their chair exercises this week. We’re looking forward to the next visit

already!

We’ve had trips out in the Minibus driving around Nottinghamshire & Matlock recently. We also visited Derby Museum which we all really

enjoyed!

Thank you to Jessica from King William who has been helping us

with activities recently.


PAGE 6


THE FIRS

We’ve got our Edwardian Festival on Saturday 8th September from 2.00pm. We’ll have lots going on including a Bouncy castle, Ice Cream Van, Cream Teas, Cakes, Tombola and much more! Everyone is more than welcome to come & join us!

We’ve enjoyed a singalong from Jules the accordionist this month. Everyone loved having a

good old sing.

We had a fantastic Mexican themed Bistro Night again this month. It was lovely to see some new faces and everyone enjoying a meal with their families. Out next bistro night will be on the 26th September. It will be an Olde English Theme with Stew & Dumplings. Anyone who would like to attend, please

speak to Kirstie Bowers

WEST HALLAM

Happy Birthday to Phyliss Elliott who celebrated her birthday on 10th August, Joyce Riley who celebrated on 17th August and Ronnie Clarke who celebrated on 21st August. We hope you all had a wonderful day!

We have had our Karaoke Machine on this month with

residents practising their singing techniques.

On Friday 24th August, 6 residents went to Codnor Park Reservoir and Jacksdale Garden Centre where they enjoyed Coffee & Cakes. Again, the rain kept away and a great morning was had by all.

Here’s a date for your diary! We’ll be holding an Autumn Fair on Saturday 6th October, 2.00 - 4.00pm. Everyone is welcome to

come along!

CODNOR PARK

Residents enjoyed a day out to the Westfield Centre in Derby this month. We all enjoyed some retail therapy and then stopped

off for lovely pub lunch.

On 12th August, an open air Pie & Pea Supper was held for Residents & Relatives. The evening was a beautiful warm one and the entertainer played in the garden.

We had a lovely trip out to Bardills Garden Centre having a look at all the brightly coloured fish. Joan loved looking at the fishes and it made her day! We finished the day off nicely with a piece of cake and a cup of tea.

As its been such lovely weather, we thought we’d take our activities outdoors. Residents have been playing dominoes, 4 in a row, skittles and other games in

the glorious sunshine.

Our residents have loved watching the olympics, keeping all the staff up to date with hat’s happening and when Team GB are winning. We can’t wait for

the Paralympics to start!

Everyone is welcome to Codnor Park’s Swinging 60s Day! Get your 60s outfits on and come and party with us on Friday 14th September from 10am. We’ve got entertainment and a buffet lunch.

On 21st August, residents enjoyed a trip out to Little Eaton Garden Centre for a coffee and a

cake.

We have entertainment from Michael Comley on Thursday 6th September at 10.30am. Everyone is more than welcome to join us

for a good old singalong!

We’re looking forward to our new Activities Co-ordinator, Kayleigh starting with us on 10th September. Residents can’t wait

to meet her!


PAGE 7


Well what a funny old summer we have been having!

I have had a change of location and am now at Smalley Hall adding some colour and fizz to their activity room. So even if it is wet and dreary outside, its bright and cheerful inside.

As you can see the Smalley Hall residents have really got involved in designing and choosing the colours for each of the squares. We have had some courageous residents who have painted their own designs straight onto the walls. They quickly discovered the delight in wall painting, an activity which is usually discouraged from a very young age, here they were able to get creative and not only had “permission” to

draw on the walls they were even being assisted – OH WHAT FUN WE HAD!

Special thanks must go to April (Activity Co-ordinator) and Sophie (Work Experience) who both contributed above and beyond the call of duty with their artistic endeavours on behalf of the residents. And also BIG thanks go to staff who contributed when their care shifts had ended…. we began to worry

that they had no homes of their own to go to!

A REAL TEAM EFFORT – WELL DONE EVERYONE!

I have had some special experiences during this project with residents who have been very generous with their memories. One lady was able to describe the square she wanted in great detail, almost as if she were giving a written dictation, I became simply the means of applying paint onto the wall. But what a privilege! I felt as if I was seeing the South African Desert exactly as she was seeing it in her minds eye from her memories of growing up there as a young girl. We had such a lovely time reminiscing about her parents

and the exciting places she had visited.

Another resident had memories of being a May Queen and we spent a very companionable afternoon completing a square depicting a maypole and dancers. Her memory was beautifully clear even down to the colours of the hair ribbons. She herself had dark auburn hair as a girl and her best friend was very blonde so we really had to paint our two main dancers likewise. We had some chuckles over her

memories of school and the fun she and her best friend had together.

MICHAELA’S MUTTERINGSBy Michaela Greensmith, Arts Co-ordinator

STAFF CORNERASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP | ISSUE 25 | SEPT 2012

PAGE 8

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Kidsley GrangeHappy Birthday to Toni, Amanda, Claire and Shirley who are all celebrating their

birthday. Hope you all have a lovely day!

West HallamHappy Birthday Dawn Turton, Julie Page & Tracey Harris who have all recently celebrated their

birthdays. We hope you had a lovely day.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FIRS!We’d like to start Staff Corner off with another huge congratulations to The Firs for recieving the Bronze Standard in the Derbyshire Dignity Challege. Thank you very much to Rose Wheeler, Jayne Heaton, Jane Phyllis for all their hard work and effort to recieve the award. Also, thank you to all The Firs staff for all working towards ensuring that all our residents are treated with the dignity and respect that they

deserve. Well done everyone!

WELCOME!

CONGRATULATIONS

King WilliamWelcome to Claire Gates and Heather Packham,

our new carers who are settling in very well.

King WilliamCongratulations to Kay Smith and husband, Terry

on your 40th Wedding Anniversary.

GOOD LUCK!We’d like to say goodbye and good luck to Sheila Wardman who has recently left her role as Home Manager at Kidsley Grange. She will be missed by everyone at Kidsley and we wish her the best of luck in her new

role.

King WilliamHappy Birthday to Kay Smith & Chris Gilbert! Hope you all have a lovely day! We also want to send a huge Happy 60th Birthday wishes to Judith

Brentnall. We hope you had a wonderful day!

Valley LodgeWelcome to Gary and Wayne who have both started as new carers this month. Also, welcome to Shaheen, our new volunteer who has been

helping with activities in the home.

Valley LodgeHappy Birthday to Hilary Colson-Osbourne for the

10th August. We hope you had a lovely day!

The FirsWelcome to Angela Warley, Alice Taylor and Jodie

Jameson who have all started as carers for us!

Codnor ParkCongratulations to Linda Bexton who has become

a grandma to Joseph, born 2nd August.

Kidsley GrangeWelcome to our new kitchen assistant, Sally

Dawes!

Codnor ParkHappy Birthday to Joanne Woolley, Charlotte Heenan & 60th Birthday wishes to Carol Bannister

ASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP | ISSUE 25 | SEPT 2012ASHMERE INSIDE GOSSIP | ISSUE 25 | SEPT 2012

PAGE 9

Wanted! Volunteer Minibus Drivers!Could you give a morning or an afternoon of your time to help enrich the lives of elderly people in your area? 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 locations from Matlock Bath and garden centres, to local cinemas and parks. If you could spare the time, any time at all, 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 provided. Any admission fees to the events attended will also be covered.

King William’s Swimming Trip

Residents at King William enjoyed a trip out to the Ashmere Swimming Pool this month. Staff and Residents had a lovely time having a swim about whilst other residents decided to go along and watch instead while enjoying a cup of tea and a few biscuits.

All our residents are able to use the Ashmere Swimming Pool, if you would like to go for a swim, why not mention it to your Activities Co-ordinator?


PUZZLE CORNER 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 21st September. Good Luck everyone!

B U P X K C T H B D A C S R CT L L E W R I E N O L L R E HN M A K N S O O C A O M O H AI A Y C T G S W S N L K S C LA X G O K S L S E I E X S A KP E R K E B R I P M T I I E LY Y O L X O O U S R O G C T DP L U V O N P A A H T H S S GJ E N M Y H P A R G O E G N F

M K D P E N C I L D L I I T RC R A Y O N S Z S E J L A A IG N I D A E R U A H L O W B EH C N U L W H R E E T X Q L NR U L E R T N Y P K S A X E DE T I R W J Q S G Y M R M I S

ARTBLACKBOARD

BOOKSCHALK

CLASSROOMCRAYONS

DESKENGLISH

EXAMFRIENDS

GEOGRAPHYGYM

HISTORYHOMEWORK

LEARNLESSONLUNCHMATHSPAINTPENCIL

PLAYGROUNDPUPIL

READINGRULER

SCIENCESCISSORSSPELLING

TABLETEACHER

WRITE

Back to School Wordsearch

Congratulations to Minnie Lee from Smalley Hall who won last month’s Puzzle Corner


THEASHMERE

RIDDLE

What can give you lots of work to do at school but can also give you punishments?

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

The answer will be in next month’s newsletter.

Answer to last month’s riddle: Q: You might love me in summer but I never like the sun. The hotter the weather, the softer I get. What am I? A: An Ice Cream

PUZZLE CORNERBack to School Crossword

PAGE 11


PUZZLE CORNER

Across1. Transport that brings children to school6. Device for connecting to the internet8. Tools for Colouring9. Person in charge of a school11. Item that helps remove mistakes12. Subject in which you learn about numbers15. Look at works and understand them.16. What you do with your brain17. Afternoon Meal18. Person who plans lessons and helps you learn

Down2. To put a point on a pencil3. People you like being around4. Used to stick paper together5. Subject where you learn about chemistry.7. Place where children learn10. Tool for Writing11. Measuring Tool12. Subject in which you learn about songs 13. Another word for quiz14. Place where books are kept


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

POETRY CORNERA Nurse’s Reply

What do we see, you ask, what do we see?Yes, we are thinking when looking at theeWe may seem to be hard when we hurry and fussBut there’s many of you and too few of us.

We would like far more time to sit by you and talkTo bath you and feed you and help you to walkTo hear of your lives and the things you have doneYour childhood, your husband, your daughter, your son.

But time is against us, there’s too much to do -Patients too many and nurses too fewWe grieve when we see you so sad and aloneWith nobody near you, no friends of your ownWe feel all your pain, and know of your fearThat nobody cares now your end is so near.

But nurses are people with feelings as wellAnd when we’re together you’ll often hear tellOf the dearest old Gran in the very end bedAnd the lovely old Dad and the things that he saidWe speak with compassion and love, and feel sadWhen we think of your lives and the joy that you’ve had.

When the time has arrived for you to departYou leave us behind with an ache in our heartWhen you sleep the long sleep, no more worry or careThere are other people, and we must be thereSo please understand if we hurry and fussThere are many of you and too few of us!!

Last month, we had a poem called ‘See Me’ written by an elderly lady. This month we have a reply to the poem from a nurse who wants to explain her side too.

Author Unknown

inside gossip september 2012

Documents

ashmere home

silver dignity award

dignity champions

gold award

firs recieve

firs nursing home

relatives recieve

point dignity challenge