St Patrick’s Day celebrations were full of fun andexcitement this year at Harper Fields. Our regularaccordionist David McFegan came to perform a St Patrick’s Day themed concert. The residentsenjoyed dancing to some popular famous Irish jigsand were in great spirits as they embraced the fancydress, this greatly amused the residents and theirfamilies. Hillary Morrow, whose roots go back toIreland said: “This certainly takes me back to myyounger days; it’s lovely to see everyone dressed inthe colours of my country".

Our Head Chef Barry made green and whitecupcakes and Guinness was available for theresidents for this special occasion. We love tocelebrate the Saints’ days and cannot wait forour St George’s Day event in April.

St Patrick’s Day Celebrations

Spring

NewsletterHarper Fields

Harper Fields Care Home724 Kenilworth Road, Balsall Common, CV7 7HDTel: 01676 531 800 • www.barchester.com

Dates for your

1st Church of England service, 11am5th Tony Sparks concert, 2.30pm5th Minibus trip – Notcutts Garden Centre 6th Minibus trip – Leamington Spa7th Minibus trip – Coventry Memorial Park8th Methodist Church service, 11am8th King and Rackham Duo concert, 3pm 12th Minibus trip – Abbey Fields 12th Circle Singers concert, 7pm13th Minibus trip –‘Mary Poppins’ – The Hippodrome14th Minibus trip – Solihull shopping15th Linda Williams’ concert, 3pm19th Minibus trip – Packwood House (National Trust)20th Minibus trip – Jepheson Gardens21st Minibus trip – Coventry Transport Museum22nd Church of England service, 11am22nd Michael Davis singer, 3pm25th Simon Watts Wildlife presentation, 3pm26th Minibus trip – Stratford-upon-Avon27th Minibus trip – Charlecote Park (National Trust)28th Minibus trip – St Nicholas Park Warwick

April

3rd Minibus trip – Blooms Garden Centre4th Minibus trip – Baddesley Clinton (National Trust)5th Minibus trip – Melbicks Garden Centre6th Wild Bill here for armchair line dancing, 3pm9th Paulo Pinto, 3pm10th Minibus trip – Solihull Shopping11th Minibus trip – Mary Ardens Farm12th Minibus trip – Hatton Country Village13th Methodist Church Service, 11am17th Minibus trip – Notcutts Garden Centre18th Minibus trip – Stratford Butterfly Farm19th Minibus trip – St Nicholas Park Warwick20th Chris Cook and his Music Workshop, 3pm23rd Adrian Wylde Keyboardist, 2.45pm24th Minibus trip – Oaks Farm Shop25th Minibus trip – Startford-upon-Avon26th Minibus trip – Abbey Fields27th Church of England Service, 11am27th David Knowles concert, 3pm31st Minibus trip – Brueton Park

Weekly activitiesPet therapy Skittles challenge Tai Chi Mindfulness andMeditation groupEarly Risers exercise groupMovie afternoonsMinibus trips Seasonal arts and craftsSilver Surfers computer club

Quizzes and sensory gamesChurch servicesMassage therapySharing memorabilia Professional manicures Walks around ourbeautiful groundsMusic therapyVarious concerts

June1st Belle Harmonie concert, 3pm2nd Minibus trip – Warwick Park3rd Linda William’s concert, 3pm7th John Richards’s concert, 3pm7th Minibus trip – Solihull shopping8th Minibus trip – Charlecote Park (National Trust)9th Minibus trip – Coventry Memorial Park10th Methodist Church Service, 11am10th David McFegan accordionist concert, 3pm14th Minibus trip – Jepheson Gardens15th Minibus trip – Packwood House (National Trust) 16th Minibus trip – Abbey Fields17th Minibus trip – ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ The Hippodrome18th Harper Fields Summer Fayre & National Care Home Open Day20th King and Rackham Duo, 2.30pm21st Minibus trip – Notcutts Garden Centre23rd Minibus trip – St Nicholas Park24th Church of England Service, 11am28th Minibus trip – Leamington Spa29th Minibus trip – Stratford-upon-Avon30th Minibus trip – ‘Mamma Mia’ – The Hippodrome

May

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We were so pleased to be invited again to the annual seniorparty at our local senior school 'Heart of England'. The schoolchildren put on a great show with performances on the guitar,violin and clarinet. We also enjoyed watching the tap dancerand listening to the beautiful singers as we tucked into fingersandwiches and home-made cakes made by the children intheir food technology class. As an extra treat, all of theresidents that attended were given a small bunch of daffodils to take away with them.

News in and aroundHarper Fields

Greek Day

Heart of EnglandAnnual SeniorParty

Residents were thrilled to see a brand newexercise class added to our weekly activitiesschedule. Early Risers exercise group wassuggested by the residents at their monthlymeeting as an addition to our Tai Chi,Mindfulness and Meditation group and Skittlesthat occur weekly with ‘Embrace’. BarbaraChattaway said: “Emily is so full of life; shemakes exercising fun for my friends and I”.

Early Risers Exercise Class

This quarter we have awarded twocertificates and prizes as we havehad so many nominations! ZowieBailey has been nominated for herhard work, care and compassiontowards the residents and for beinga fantastic member of the team.Epsom Team have also beenawarded for how well they worktogether as a team, to provideoutstanding person-centered care to our residents.

Debbie, our General Manager,awarded Zowie and the Epsom teamwith a certificate and hampers filledwith exciting treats.

StaffMember/Team ofthe QuarterWe like to celebrate the different

cultures of our wonderful staff at Harper Fields, from Diwali to Caribbean, from Italy toRomania there is always acelebration going on. Last week we decided to paya tribute to one of the activities team members’ heritage byhaving a Greek party. Hannah and Stella dressed in Greekattire and Stella taught residents, staff and family members a typical dance from her country. The residents devoured the food at the Greek buffet which included halloumi, olives,hummous and pitta bread. Harper Fields Greek day was ahuge success!

Garden Centre Days OutThe garden centre trips are always popular withresidents here at Harper Fields. There is so much to see and this always prompts memories anddiscussions with the residents. We are lucky to haveso many garden centres within close proximityto Harper Fields and we take full advantageof this. We have regular trips to Blooms,Melbicks, Wyvale and Notcutts and we love to seethe seasonal changes that take place throughoutthe year.

It is commonly known that practising meditationhas many benefits which include: emotionalbalance, lowers blood pressure, improvesfunctioning of the brain, increases attention span,helps sleep and helps people feel more connected.

Realising these benefits we decided to start our ownMindfulness and Meditation Group at Harper Fields. To create the right ambiance in the room we used ourcinema screen to project moving images of waves lappingagainst the shore. The tranquil music was playing as theresidents sat in recliner chairs absorbing the calmingatmosphere we had created. When asked during thesession how they felt, the residents used words such as'warm’ and ‘safe'. The Mindfulness & Meditation Groupswill continue on a weekly basis, as it has proven to bevery popular and the benefits are endless.

Mindfulness &Meditation Group

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