GossipISSUE 40 | DECEMBER 2013

King William’s Christmas Fete!

IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE...

InsideWhich home has been transformed into a cinema?...................... Page 2

Which home had a visit from Santa?...................................Page 6

Which home has enjoyed a trip to the Derby Panto.?.........................Page 8

Ashmere Derbyshire Ashmere_DerbysHear the latest news &

events from Ashmere online:

Our Christmas Fete started at 2pm on Wednesday 11th December. We had a Cake Stall selling Fairy Cakes donated by a staff member, Birds Mince Pies & Birds Fruit Cakes kindly donated by Neil Ross. Bread kindly donated by Corrine and Shortbread Biscuits made by our residents in Baking Club.

Our Kitchen staff, Mark and Andy made a wonderful Christmas Pudding for our ‘Guess the Weight’ Competition which was won by our staff member, Judith Brentnall. We also had a ‘Guess the name of the Elf,’ whose name turned out to be Freddie and was won by George. There was ‘Guess how many Decorations on the Christmas Tree’, there’s 58 and our resident, Dorothy won with the closest guess of 57. We had a Card Stall selling some beautiful cards donated by a relative and our Raffle. Prizes included a large hamper won by Judith Waterfall, a medium hamper won by Maisie’s family, a small hamper won by Jackie Fenn plus lots more of lovely prizes.

We had some animals visit from Animal Magic and the residents and families loved seeing the weird and wonderful as well as the cute and fluffy animals. The skunk, sugar gliders and meerkats were a big hit.After our animal fun, we had a splendid buffet tea put on by the kitchen staff, everyone commented on what a lovely spread it was.

To finish the evening, entertainer, Tanya Adele performed for us which got everyone singing and dancing, Bernie did a fantastic job on Karaoke too.All in all we had an amazing time and I would like to thank EVERYONE who came and took part. We raised a fab £202.25 which will enable the residents here at King William to enjoy the money on activities to enrich their lives here.

I would like to mention that none of this would have been possible without our brill manager, Lesley, so on behalf of all her friends (staff, residents and vistors) A BIG MASSIVE THANK YOU!!

By Amelia Croft, Activities Co-ordinator

Codnor Park News Tel: 01773 74111188 Glass House Hill, Codnor, DE5 9QT

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Codnor’s Christmas PartyOn Friday 13th December, we had our Christmas Party. A good time was had by all with the Ripley Infant School Choir, Play your Cards Right and Musical Bingo. After a fantastic buffet tea (thank you Liz), Santa visited and gave all the residents a gift. All this was topped off by staff singing karaoke leaving a lot of very tired eyes on Friday evening.

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Upcoming EventsTuesday 7th January

Colin Jackson2.00pm

Colin will be entertaining us all with a variety of songs for all to

sing along to!

Marie’s Christmas Spectacular!

Christmas Crafts

All our residents love Kevin & Marie’s shows and on the 6th December, as Kevin was in pantomine, Marie entertained us all with her Christmas special. Everyone really enjoyed it and

had a good sing a long!

The residents have been busy with their arts & crafts skills getting all Christmassy with a winter scene in the Dining Room and a life like fire place in the lounge. We also had a fun morning making Christmas table

decorations.

White Christmas!As if all the lovely Christmas decorations that Debra and Lyn put up throughout Codnor Park wasn’t enough to get everyone in the Christmas spirit. On Monday 9th December, we had a large screen cinema showing of ‘White Christmas.’ Everyone had a fantastic time with popcorn,

sweets and mince pies.

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The Firs News Tel: 01773 74381090 Glass House Hill, Codnor, DE5 9QT

The Firs Disney Wonderland

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Everyone had a ball at our Christmas Fete this year. The residents, family, friends and staff enjoyed talking to our local Councillors, getting to tell Santa what they want for Christmas and a small service by the Vicar to bless the prayers on the tree. A lovely buffet was available alongside helpings of mulled wine and mince pies. A number of stalls and games were provided to help raise money for the Residents Fund.

A small play involving staff dressed up as Disney characters was acted out with our talented Joan taking the spotlight for her performance of Teddy Bears Picnic and Connor being The Firs Little Father Christmas. Well Done to you all!

A big thank you to our special guests: Councillors Angela and David Ward, Father Ken, owner David Poxton and to Paul, who stood in last minute to provide us with some acoustic songs and carols. Thank you to everyone who attended our Christmas event and those who donated prizes/cakes for the stalls. We raised a wonderful £297.57 for the Residents Fund, we could not achieve this without your support and ofcourse, a massive thank you to all the staff of The Firs who helped to make the day a success.

Flower Arranging

A Choir Visit!

Upcoming EventsTuesday 24th December

Christmas Fuddle11.00am - 2.00pm

The Firs will be holding a small party to get everyone in the Christmas spirit with party games, food and drink & ofcourse, a good old sing a long

to those well known tunes!

Joan & Betty helped with arranging Christmas flowers for the dining tables and came up with some lovely displays.

Thank you ladies!

We had a very lovely visit from St James’ Choir to sing Christmas Carols to our residents. It was a lovely night and all our residents joined in with the carols. Thank

you very much to St James’.

Kidsley Grange News

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Happy Birthday!Happy Birthday to Les

Sidebottom & Doris Purnell. We hope you have a great

day!

Happy Birthday to our volunteer, John Hilton. Hope you have a great birthday!

Birthdays

Horsley Woodhouse School visit

Residents really enjoyed a visit from Horsley Woodhouse school. The children loved singing all their Christmas songs and the residents joined

us. We were all feeling very festive especially after our Mince Pies.

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A big thank you to Donna for preparing the residents Christmas buffet and to all staff who have helped on

trips.

Thank you!

Upcoming Events

160 Heanor Road, Smalley, DE7 6DX Tel: 01773 769807

Thursday 30th JanuaryPamper Session

10.30amHeanor Gate Beauty School will be visiting to give our residents

a good pampering!

Thursday 27th FebruaryPoetic Therapy

2.00pmJoin Mary De Ville for some poetic therapy. All Welcome!

Lots of trips to be confirmed. Any suggestions or helpers

welcome. Please see Ruth.

Christmas PartyWe had our residents Christmas Party on Saturday 14th December. Families and Residents loved listening to Razzle Dazzle perform and the Buffet tea was amazing! A big

thank you to all who helped!

Christmas ShoppingResidents loved their trip to the Derby Westfield Shopping Centre for their Christmas Shopping. We also visited Asda and took Irene out for the first time! She had a

wonderful day out!

Well Done to Kidsley Grange for a fully compliant CQC inspection. A big thank you to all the staff for all your hard work and support. Thanks girls! From Rachel, the home

manager.

Well Done Kidsley

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King William News

Christmas at King William

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We have been very busy getting prepared for Christmas. Our residents have made special Christmas decorations, done a sing-a-long Christmas, watched a few Christmas films, made paper chains for the home, made Christmas cards and painted our salt dough decorations. We’ve still got lots more to look forward to including our Christmas Party and a trip to Valley Lodge to sing Carols around the Christmas

Tree with the Darley Brass Band.

Staff BirthdaysHappy Birthday to Sam and Stacey on 5th January. Also, Happy Birthday our Activities Co-ordinator, Amelia who turns 21 on

20th January.

Happy Birthday!We’ve got lots of birthdays coming up after Christmas! Wishing a very Happy Birthday to Minnie, Gillian, Jane, Neal and Jean who all celebrate their birthday in January. Hope you all have a

lovely day!

Lowes Hill, Ripley, DE5 3DW Tel: 01773 748841

Upcoming Events

Wednesday 29th JanuaryKatie Rebecca

2.00amKatie will be visiting the home to sing some old favourites for all to sing along to! Everyone is

welcome to join us!

Monday 20th JanuaryTouring Local Cinema

We’ll be enjoying another classic film as our lounge is transformed into a cinema with

popcorn too! All Welcome!

Thank you!Thank you to our lovely manager, Lesley with regards to Christmas for the staff. The meal she made was fab & we all had a great

time!A visit to Ripley Rotary Club

We had a lovely evening at Ripley Rotary Club for their Christmas party. We sang hyms, listened to a performance by St John’s School Choir, watched some entertainers and had a sing-a-long. We even won a toy monkey in the raffle! Everyone enjoyed the homemade Mince Pies and Cups of Tea. Thank you very much for making us feel so welcome and thank you to Alan, our minibus driver for giving up his

Saturday night to take us! A wonderful time was had by all!

Smalley Hall News

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A trip to the Panto Smalley’s Christmas Party

For our Christmas Party, we had Razzle Dazzle perform a pantomime, ‘Jack & the Beanstalk’ in the morning, they also stayed for dinner with us. In the afternoon, they performed a Christmas Sing along show. Then we enjoyed lots of festive food treats, crackets, family, songs and bubbles. To top it all off, we had a visit from Santa Claus! He stopped by and chatted with every resident so a big thank you to the Rotary Club for arranging that. A good time was had by all & we had a

wonderful festive day!

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School Visit

Main Road, Smalley, DE7 6DS Tel: 01332 882848

Smalley Shoppers!This month has been Shop, Shop, Shop. The residents have made several trips to Nottingham and Derby to buy Christmas presents and see all the decorations. They have really enjoyed all they have seen and the smells too! From perfumes to gingerbread and hogroasts to floral garlands! Then ofcourse, there’s the tasting! They have tried wild boar pate, Cinnamon Latte, very very hot Gingerbread, a variety of cheeses and to top it all off Christmas Pudding flavoured Ice Cream. Yummy! So with Christmas tunes playing all around, its been a great warm up for the big day! Everyone is most definitely feeling the Christmas

spirit!

Scout VisitThe Cub Scouts came to sing and perform a play for us. After their wonderful performance, they chatted with the residents whilst enjoying some pop and cake. Residents said it took them back to

when they were in the scouts!

Lila enjoyed going to the Derby Assembly Rooms to see the pantomime, ‘Jack and the Beanstalk.’ A trip shared with West Hallam, she had a lovely day and enjoyed making some

new friends!

Morley School Choir paid us a visit and sang lots of Christmas songs. They also played their ukeleles and spent a long time

chatting to the residents.

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Valley Lodge News

Christmas Fete

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Valley Lodge held their Christmas Fete on Saturday 30th November and people poured in to pick up bargain Christmas gifts, home baked cakes

and have a go on the raffle full of brilliant prizes.

The home raised £150 for their Residents Fund which will go towards Christmas gifts for the residents. Thank you to everyone who made an effort to come, you started the Christmas celebrations off for the residents wonderfully!

BirthdaysHappy Birthday to Audrey Gregory for the 22nd December and Monty Turberville who will be celebrating his 106th birthday on 5th Jan. Hope you both have a lovely day!

Betty’s a Star!!!

Bakewell Road, Matlock, DE4 3BN Tel: 01629 583447

Good Luck!Doris will be retiring at the end of the year. All the best Doris and thank you for your

long service at Ashmere.

Good Luck to Michelle, our laundry lady in her new job. All the residents will miss

you Michelle!

Guinea PigsWe had a surprise this month, we have another four baby Guinea Pigs born. If anyone would like to take one home at no cost, let Jan, our Activities Co-ordinator know. They will be ready to leave on the 14th January.

Thank you!A huge thank you to Maisie Goodall’s cousin for donating a wonderful £200 to our Residents Fund. We have bought lots of new Christmas decorations, they

look lovely!

Room ChangeOur Activity Room has changed rooms! Our Activity Room has done a swap with the lounge, we are trying it out and seeing

how it goes!

Valley Lodge resident, Betty Cole is in the running to become Care Home Idol 2013 through a competition being run by

website, carehome.co.uk.

Betty beautifully read an Autumn Poem to the camera which we all agreed was definitely worth entering in the competition.

We’re now asking for everyone’s help to vote for Betty’s video and share it with their friends and family to crown her a Care Home Idol.

All winners will receive a trophy as well as a cash prize.

Please visit www.carehome.co.uk/idol and vote for Betty’s ‘An Autumn Poem’ video.

West Hallam News

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Happy Birthday!Happy Birthday to Majorie

Colson, Flora Smith and Doreen Shaw! We hope you

have a lovely birthday!

A trip to the Panto!

We enjoyed a lovely trip to Derby Assembly Rooms to see ‘Jack and the Beanstalk.’ In total, there were 10 of us, it was a really fun day and the residents really enjoyed all the shouting, ‘He’s behind you’ and seeing the famous people they recognised. The main person being Heather Trott from Eastenders. It was a wonderful day out and we’re looking

forward to the Spring to see Bobby Davro in Peter Pan next!

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Xmas Bistro NightOur Christmas Bistro with entertainment was a huge success, we raised a wonderful £84. Everyone enjoyed their 3 course meal and Colin Jackson put on a brilliant

performance.

We’d like to say goodbye to our Home Manager, Kate

Leivers who has taken on a new job managing Ashmere’s

Extra Care Units. Hopefully see you very soon!

Goodbye!

8 Newdigate Street, West Hallam DE7 6GZ Tel: 0115 944 0329

Congratulations!Congratulations to our new manager, Michelle. We’re

looking forward to working with you!

School VisitWe have had both local Primary schools, Scargill and Stanley Common come in to visit us and sing some Carols for our residents. Thank you to all who visited us, we loved seeing

you all!

Christmas CarolsOn the 11th December, Marjorie Colson and May Perryman went to the local Methodist Church for Carols and Coffee with Katie, our Activities Co-ordinator. It was very nice as the local Mayor of Erewash was there too. We felt very welcomed and had a lovely afternoon. We felt very festive once we were back at West Hallam and couldn’t wait to tell everyone about it. Thank you to everyone who spoilt us and

made us feel very special.

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Secret Santa Competition

Can you guess the famous people dressed up as Santa? Have a go & ask your home’s Activities Co-ordinator to pass it to Head Office. The person with the most correct answers will win a special New Year gift.

Closing Date is Friday 10th January. Good Luck!

Name: ____________________________ Home: ____________________________

____________________________ ____________________________

____________________________ ____________________________

____________________________ ____________________________

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Ashmere Derbyshire

90 Glass House HillCodnorRipleyDE5 9QT

Phone: 0845 602 2059Fax: 01773 749 259E-mail: rebecca.jones@ashmere.co.uk

care homes for loved ones.

Ashmere have been caring in Derbyshire for over 25 years. The business has been family owned and run across three generations.

We aim to provide the very best care for residents, providing a range of care from residential, nursing and to Dementia care in our extra care units.

In addition to long term care, we also provide respite care and day care to assist those who are still able to live at home.

If you would like any additional information about the company or services on offer, please contact Rebecca Jones using the details provided on the left or visit our website - www.ashmere.co.uk

Merry Christmas!!

We’d like to wish all our residents, relatives, friends and staff a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Ashmere.

A few of our homes have still got Christmas events taking place over the Christmas period that everyone is welcome to join us for.

Friday 20th Dec, 10.30am, Smalley HallRobert Davidson

Robert Davidson will be joining us for a good old singalong with his accordion.

Friday 20th Dec, 2pm, Valley LodgeDarley Brass Band

We’ll be singing Christmas Carols around the Christmas tree with Darley Brass

Band.Friday 20th Dec, 5pm, West Hallam

Christmas PartyCome & join us for some fun & games &

festive treats.

Friday 20th Dec, 5.30pm, West HallamBistro Night

Enjoy a Xmas meal with your loved ones with entertainment from John Drinkall.

Mon 23rd Dec, 2pm, Kidsley GrangePet a Pony

Enjoy some mulled wine & mince pies & meet a Pony!

Tues 24th Dec 11am, The FirsChristmas Fuddle

Come and join us for some fun & games. We’ll also have a buffet for everyone!

Tues 31st Dec, 2.30pm, Kidsley GrangeNew Years Eve Party

With entertainment from Roy Kelly and a buffet tea for £2.00.

All Welcome! See you there!