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Baldy Holly revisits us for a rock and roll afternoon

Baldy Holly revisited us for a rock and roll afternoon last weekend. Baldy performed a variety of classic songs, and our residents loved the music and danced, clapped and sang alongside Avril, our volunteer.

The residents were thrilled with the musical afternoon and thanked Baldy for his performance. “It was so much fun to listen to the music and sing along,” said Margaret. “It brought back a lot of memories.”

Birgit said, “I haven’t danced in ages, but the music made me want to get up!”

Thank you to Baldy for coming to see us again – he’s a definite favourite at Charlotte Straker House.

May enjoys her day at Charlotte Straker House

May recently joined us at Charlotte Straker House as a Day Care resident. When she arrived, May joined in a session of “armchair travel” to Wales, plus a lively coffee morning with our other residents. Then she enjoyed a delicious two course lunch followed by a fun and active game of balloon tennis, followed by her choice of home baked cake and tea.

May’s daughter Gillian said, “The day care service at Charlotte Straker House is becoming a lifeline for my Mum. Charlotte Straker Day care offers a holistic approach which helps in many ways, not only with personal care but also helps her to become happier and more engaged in life. It has given her the opportunity to socialize with other people, to participate in activities that she enjoys, and to stay mentally and physically active. Thank you to Charlotte Straker for giving us this resource to support our mum’s wellbeing and for the wonderful staff who make it possible.”

Our Summer Newsletter: Not much Sun but loads of fun!

Please find enclosed our Summer Newsletter packed with our latest news, trips and days out and fundraising events:

Summer Newsletter 2023

 

Family History Research with Volunteer Sue

Thank you to Sue for volunteering to come and talk to our residents about family history. Sue organises regular family history discussions and uses an online genealogy website to research residents’ family trees.
Sue spent the morning showing her own family heirlooms that dated back to the 1800s. One of her ancestors was apprenticed to Robert Stephenson as a “locomotive engine builder” – Robert was a relative of the famous George Stephenson. She also showed us his commemorative mug which included a frog on the inside!
Muriel said, “I found the morning very interesting, and I’d like to learn more about my own family history”.

A Memorable Day by the Seaside

A group of residents had a wonderful day out at the seaside last week. They enjoyed a day of walking along Tynemouth beach, eating fish and chips and just watching the waves and enjoying the sea air. Claire’s daughter arranged for our residents to use some special beach buggies – these were great fun and the big tyres meant they were able to get onto the sand and right down to see the waves!

It was also a chance to celebrate Colin’s 90th birthday. We all visited Crusoes Restaurant on the beach and over some delicious fish and chips we watched Colin open his presents and cards. Our team gave him some model making kits of a ship and an aeroplane as Colin is such a talented model maker. He opened his cards, we all sang happy birthday and he told us that he was looking forward to a slice of his home made birthday fruit cake when he went home.

Colin had a go in the beach buggy and said “it’s wonderful to get to the water’s edge but I don’t fancy putting my feet in there today!” He added “Thank you to everyone for making my day so special, including the staff at Crusoes restaurant. I can’t believe I’m 90! It’s great when you have a party as everyone comes together, and it was lovely to spend my birthday with my family and friends”

Margaret G said “The seaside brings back lots of memories, especially because we all used to swim here once a week when I was at school.”

Ernie said “It was a lovely day, especially spending it with my niece. I’m tired now but I think that’s down to all the seaside air.”

Claire told us “I loved being in the buggy and walking along the beach with Kate. We used to do this all the time and its wonderful I can do it again.”

John added “We should do this more often! I didn’t want a go in the beach buggies myself, but they are marvellous.”

Thank you to everyone who helped us on our visit – relatives, staff and volunteers – this trip has been the highlight of the summer holidays!

Win an Apple MacBook Air when you play the Northumberland Lottery

The rain might be putting a dampener on your summer – but we’ve got something to brighten your day! By playing Northumberland Lottery during August, you will be in with a chance to win a fantastic Apple MacBook Air in their very first Super Draw!
With a slim profile and all day battery life, anything from working on the go to professional-level video editing and action-packed gaming will be a breeze – and it comes at the perfect time for the new year of school or university! Get your tickets now to be in with a chance to win this amazing prize.
Every ticket you purchase helps us as well as making a difference to the Northumberland community. Sign-up for only £1 a week, and you get the chance to win cash prizes up to £25,000 every week. We get 50p from every £1 ticket and a further 10p goes to other good causes in Northumberland.

Pampering Bliss: a Relaxing Foot Spa Experience

Our residents regularly enjoy complementary therapies with Jodie MacDonald, our qualified therapist, and Jodie recently gave our residents a special foot spa treatment. The foot spa was set up in their rooms and they were able to relax and enjoy the soothing bubbles and massage, which included essential oils and rose petals.

“This was a wonderful treat for our residents,” said Cheryl Kennedy, our Home Manager. “Many of our residents have mobility issues, so this was a great way for them to relax and feel pampered. The treatment has many benefits for the residents, as it helped to improve circulation, relieve pain, and reduce stress.”

“I really enjoyed the foot spa,” said Margaret, “It felt so good to have my feet massaged, and it helped me to relax.”

Spreading Smiles and Creating Memories – a visit from Corbridge First School

A group of pupils from Year 4 at Corbridge First School had a very successful visit recently when they came to meet our residents. We organised a selection of board games and everyone absolutely loved chatting to each other as they played Jenga, dominoes, snakes and ladders and Connect 4.

All the children were very helpful and polite, and our residents loved explaining the rules of the games, as well as chatting to the children about their day to day lives at school and at home.

Birgit said “the children were so well mannered and polite! I love playing board games so I really enjoyed the games of dominoes”. Muriel added “It was lovely to see the children in our home and get the chance to have a good chat to them. They were all so polite.” Margaret said “The children were so chatty and made me laugh. I had a great time teaching and playing the games with them.”

Thank you to Corbridge First School for their visit – it was a wonderful chance for the pupils to meet us and learn about our home and it was also a chance for our residents to have some fun and make new friends.

Employee of the Month – Cook Helen Coombes

We are excited to announce that Helen Coombes has been named Employee of the Month for July!

Helen works in our kitchen and is always willing to go the extra mile to make sure that our residents are happy and satisfied, as well as accommodating special requests and creating new and creative dishes to keep our residents’ taste buds entertained.

In addition to their culinary skills, Helen is also a wonderful team player, always has a positive attitude and is always willing to help everyone out.

Cheryl Kennedy, Home Manager, said “We would like to congratulate Helen on being named Employee of the Month! Helen is an asset to our team, and we are so lucky to have her – we are so grateful for her hard work and contribution to The Charlotte Straker Project.

Mocktail Afternoon Delight!

We had a very refreshing day last week at Charlotte Straker House as we organised a Mocktail Afternoon, filled with laughter, tapas and delicious non-alcoholic drinks.

Our residents watched Jayne, our Activities Coordinator, and volunteer Jen create three special mocktails – a Mojito with crushed mint, a Strawberry and Apple Punch and a Ginger ale Bellini. To accompany the mocktails Jayne and Jen made a selection of different tapas, including olives and cheeses and bread sticks.

The residents said it was a lovely afternoon, and their favourite mocktail was the strawberry and apple punch. Birgit said, “I’ve really enjoyed myself. I like the mojito, but I prefer it without the chopped mint.” John told us that the drinks were “very tasty”, and Clare said, “I don’t really like the tapas, but I love coming to chat with everyone.” Margaret G and Margaret S told us “the cocktails were lovely, and the food was nice but when you’ve just had lunch it’s a bit too much and you eat for eating’s sake.”

The afternoon was a great success, and almost all the mocktails were drunk – we’ll definitely organise another mocktail session, but fingers crossed next time we’ll be able to sit outside in some sunny weather!