A Glimpse into Military Life

Pam, our Registered Manager, brought in an interesting item to show everybody at a coffee morning last week. She was given an example of a 24-hour ration pack for a British soldier, and thought it was a great opportunity for our residents to look through contents of the pack. Sally, the Marketing Manager and Laura, a Domestic Assistant, helped share the contents so that everyone could see.

Our residents were fascinated by how everything was carefully packed including matches, energy drinks, meals and snacks. Sally explained how one pack was designed to sustain a solider out on a 24 hour exercise, and the meals were nutritious and easy to eat but definitely lack something in the presentation department!

Claire tasted the oat biscuits and said “they’re quite nice – dry but still tasty”. Muriel sampled the cheese spread, and said it was “smooth and a bit plasticky”, whilst Colin happily ate the peanuts and chatted about how rations had changed since the 2nd World War. Our day care resident Arthur talked about how soldiers heated up their meals in the trenches in World War 1 which led onto a group discussion about how soldiers boil water for tea or coffee whilst out in the field.

Thank you to Pam for bringing in the rations – they gave our residents a glimpse into military life, as well as being a great way to spark conversation and learn more about their experiences.