2019 has been a very busy year at Fairdene Lodge and we have enjoyed getting involved in lots of new activities and initiatives as well as some old favourites. We’ve had visits from birds, animals, dancers, singers, a nursery and more… plus our regular personal training sessions, pamper events and dental visits.
We took part in a number of awareness days, from read a book day to Alzheimer’s awareness, and held a number of cake sales to raise funds for charities close to our hearts. Our largest charity event was a sponsored bike ride where we had exercise bikes in the garden and raised money for Pedal People, you can still donate to help get more elderly out on bikes.
Pedal People is a firm favourite with our residents, with lovely cycle rides along Hove seafront – there’s nothing better for the soul than a bit of sea air and even better if someone else is doing the pedalling!
In the summer we had one of our more unusual evenings when we headed down to Hove Lawns to experience the Ladyboys of Bangkok. Some of us enjoyed it more than others, but it was definitely something different on our activity programme!
October saw the arrival of our very own minibus, this was so exciting for us and the residents, as it enables us to get out and about a lot more and also, we can travel a little further afield. Our first trip was to M&S on Western Road Brighton, where a number of our residents used to spend many an afternoon browsing and buying so it was lovely to be able to take them somewhere familiar and have a little browse ourselves!
Our Make a Wish programme has continued to delight residents with a visit from Elvis, some Bengal Cats and a number of other resident wishes granted over the summer. We are looking forward to continuing this next year.
Everything got funny in November when we tried some laughter yoga – and what a laugh it was, staff and residents got involved and really loved the funny activity.
We continually try to include our residents in the running of the home, whether that’s choosing the food we order from the supermarket, helping with the chores or looking after the garden. However they would like to be involved, we are delighted to have the help.
And now at Fairdene we have welcomed a new chef who is very onboard with the research around nutrition and dementia, and being Spanish is very experienced in the Mediterranean diet ensuring all our residents have access to fresh fruit and veg and that we have a selection of quick grab healthy foods available for those who would prefer not to sit and eat a meal.
And with an activity packed 2019 drawing to a close, we look forward to 2020 and all the activities it has to offer!