Residents at five County Durham care homes: Abigail Lodge, Barrington Lodge, Brockwell Court, Hollie Hill and Redwell Hills have taken part in their own Olympic Games while supporting Team GB in their quest for medals in Paris this month.
The care homes’ Magic Moments Coordinators have devised a series of activities designed for residents of all abilities to take part in, including egg & spoon races, armchair archery, balloon volleyball, seated basketball and wheelchair breakdancing.
In the lead-up to the games, residents created Olympic torches, flags and banners in their arts and crafts activities to decorate their homes. Reminiscence sessions have been triggering memories from previous Olympics with some favourite moments being Mary Peters winning the gold for pentathlon at Munich 1972, David Wilkie’s gold-winning 200-metre breaststroke at Montreal 1976, and Tessa Sanderson’s gold medal for Javelin at Los Angeles 1984.
“This has been great fun. I won a medal for the egg and spoon race so I’m really happy.” And resident Audrey, at Abigail Lodge Care Home, said: “It was great to have a go at something different like this, it was a really fun afternoon.”
Resident, Jeanette, who lives at Redwell Hills Care Home
“Everyone is really getting involved in our Olympic activities and we’re handing out lots of medals to our residents who are a very competitive bunch! Our fun-filled fortnight will culminate with closing ceremony parties so we can celebrate everyone’s participation with a French feast and a glass or two of fizz.”
Leanne-May Walsh, who heads up the Magic Moments activities programme for the care homes
Abigail Lodge, Barrington Lodge, Briockwell Court, Hollie Hill and Redwell Hills care homes are part of Four Seasons Health Care www.fshcgroup.com
