💛 Life at the Home

August was a particularly enjoyable month at Old Hastings House, filled with a lovely summer atmosphere, shared experiences and plenty of opportunities for residents, families, friends and staff to come together.

One of the highlights of the month was our Old Hastings House Grand Summer Fayre, which was a fantastic success and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who attended. The event brought a wonderful sense of community to the home, with lots of laughter, conversation and happy memories being made together.

We were delighted to raise an impressive £1,034.34 through the Summer Fayre. This fantastic achievement would not have been possible without the incredible support of our residents, families, friends, staff and, especially, our wonderful volunteers.

We would like to extend a very special and heartfelt thank you to every volunteer who gave their time, energy and support to help make the Summer Fayre such a memorable occasion. From helping with preparations to supporting the event on the day, every contribution made a real difference.

Your generosity, enthusiasm and willingness to get involved helped create such a warm and enjoyable atmosphere, and we truly appreciate everything you did to make the day such a great success.

The fantastic support from our wider Old Hastings House community made the event truly special and demonstrated the wonderful sense of togetherness that exists within our home. August was a month of celebration, connection and shared experiences, creating many memorable moments for our residents and everyone around them.

🎨 Activities & Wellbeing

August was another busy and enjoyable month at Old Hastings House, with residents taking part in a wonderful variety of activities designed to encourage creativity, movement, social interaction and, most importantly, enjoyment.

Some of the activities our residents enjoyed throughout the month included:

• 🎵 Music & Move – an enjoyable session combining music and gentle movement.

• 🎨 Drawing Group – a relaxing and creative session giving residents the opportunity to express themselves through drawing.

• 🚌 Minibus Outings – residents enjoyed getting out and about, having a change of scenery and spending time together away from the home.

• 🌀 Plate Spinning – a fun and engaging activity that encouraged concentration, coordination and plenty of smiles.

• 🌿 Gardening Club – residents enjoyed spending time with plants and taking part in gardening activities.

• 🍬 Making Fudge – a lovely hands-on activity where residents could get involved in making a delicious treat.

• ✂️ Arts & Crafts – residents enjoyed being creative and working on a variety of craft projects.

• 🐢 Tortoise Meeting – residents enjoyed spending time meeting our new Old Hastings House family member, Miguel the tortoise.

Alongside these activities, residents also enjoyed gentle exercise sessions, chair yoga, ball exercises, quizzes, word games, bingo, carpet bowls, mosaics, flower arranging, knitting and sewing, card making, baking, reminiscence and poetry groups, current affairs discussions, manicures and one-to-one sessions.

Music also continued to be a favourite, with karaoke, Name That Tune, sing-alongs and a special live guitar performance from Tim.

Our regular Fizzy Friday trolley and Tuck Shop trolley also continued, giving residents opportunities to make their own choices, enjoy their favourite drinks and treats, and spend time chatting together.

A particular highlight was our Old Hastings House Grand Summer Fayre, which brought residents, families, friends and staff together for a wonderful afternoon of fun and community spirit.

With such a varied programme, there was something for everyone throughout August, whether residents wanted to be creative, stay active, enjoy music, get out and about, spend time with others or simply enjoy a meaningful one-to-one activity.

❤️ Health & Care Updates

The health, comfort and wellbeing of our residents continued to remain a key priority throughout August.

Our dedicated team continued to provide person-centred care and support, working closely with residents and healthcare professionals to ensure individual needs were met with dignity and compassion.

Residents benefited from regular visits from our visiting professionals, with the chiropodist attending on 20th and 27th August and our hairdresser visiting on 5th, 11th and 19th August.

These services continue to support residents’ personal care, comfort and overall wellbeing.

We remain committed to providing a safe, caring and supportive environment where residents feel listened to, valued and well cared for.

🔧 Maintenance within the Home

We are pleased to share several positive maintenance updates from August.

Service User Guides have now been fully installed throughout the home, ensuring that all residents have access to the relevant information within their rooms.

Following the accidental damage to the wall at the front of the home, we are also pleased to confirm that the wall has now been fully repaired, restoring the area to a safe and presentable condition.

We have also received the new shed, which is currently being assembled and will be ready for use shortly. This will provide additional storage and support the ongoing needs of the home.

👥 Staffing & Community

August saw further growth within our team as we welcomed two new Care Assistants and one new Housekeeper to Old Hastings House.

We are delighted to have them join our team and look forward to their contribution to the continued care, support and smooth running of the home.

We warmly welcome our new colleagues and wish them every success as they settle into their new roles.

🌻 Looking Ahead

As we look ahead to September, we will continue with the important fire alarm system upgrade, with works progressing throughout the home.

We will also continue developing our new shed, which is currently being assembled and will soon be ready for use.

Alongside these improvements, we will continue with our programme of room-by-room upgrades, making gradual improvements to residents’ rooms to ensure they remain comfortable, welcoming and well maintained.

Our varied activities programme will also continue throughout September, with residents able to enjoy music, exercise, creative sessions, outings, reminiscence, social activities and many of their regular favourites.

We are also excited about our plans for the future of our activities programme. The money raised through our Grand Summer Fayre will be used to help transform the Magdalen Lounge into the “Heart of the Home” — a dedicated activities hub for our residents.

We look forward to working closely with residents to shape this space around their interests, preferences and ideas, creating an environment where everyone can enjoy even more opportunities for fun, creativity, social interaction and meaningful activities.

The Magdalen Lounge has also welcomed a new member of our Old Hastings House family — Miguel, our tortoise! 🐢

We are delighted to have him join us and look forward to seeing him become part of everyday life in the home.

We hope this new space will become a vibrant part of everyday life at Old Hastings House, bringing residents together and giving everyone even more opportunities to enjoy activities and make happy memories.

💙 Thank You

Thank you to all our residents, families, friends, staff and wonderful volunteers for your continued support, kindness and involvement.

The success of our Summer Fayre and the wonderful community spirit throughout August show just how special the Old Hastings House community is.

We look forward to continuing to create meaningful experiences, happy memories and plenty of opportunities for everyone to come together in the months ahead.