In tune with the whole world’s excitment, August’s theme at Hill House was ‘Rio Olympics 2016’! Apart from our regular daily activities and outings, our residents enjoyed our very own mini Olympic games, Brazilian fruit tasting and a Zumba dance session sponsoring our Charity ‘Families Supporting Care’.
On Wednesday the 17th we sampled some of the fruit indigenous to Brazil – papaya, pineapple, mango, banana, avocado and kiwi amongst others, and it’s fair to say, we very much enjoyed the ‘fruity’ interlude! The residents also learned about the health benefits of the fruit they tasted. Many tried fruit they had never had before, and of the fruits sampled most seemed to like the sweet papaya and pineapple most of all.
The Mini Olympics took place on Friday the 19th. No less than 20 residents (with help) took part in the throwing of the discus, javelin, mini basketball and some beach ball games, which eventually resulted in 2 worthy gold medal winners! Each winner was duly acknowledged with the traditional flying of the Union Jack and singing of the National Anthem by all assembled! Residents enjoyed tea and cake afterwards. Many said afterwards how much they had enjoyed their very own version of the Olympics!
We cannot miss to mention Barry Buckley who sang for us on Tuesday 23rd August. The residents sang along and danced, to some well-known songs including ‘Cabaret,’ ‘Strangers in the Night’ and ‘New York, New York’.
On the 25th a group of our residents went to Crondall Vicarage Garden Party. It was such an enjoyable afternoon, with delicious food and sweet chat with the friends of Hill House and our dear Vicar Tara who also joined at the table. Special thanks to Monica Cheeseman for her kindness and hospitality. We look forward to host your next ‘Sing for Fun’ event at Hill House!
The most enjoyable of all was the ‘Zumba for Charity’ event on Friday 26th August. Blessed with a beautiful sunny day at around 2pm in the afternoon, a group of enthusiastic staff participated in a Zumba session in the main car park, led by our Zumba expert staff member Jay-Jay. This event was to raise money for our very own charity ‘Families Supporting Care’, so each person had to pay £5.00 to take part. A large group of residents came outside and enjoyed the sunshine and the colourful musical spectacle, even though not quite all the moves were totally synchronized!!
After, residents enjoyed watching staff doing their own Mini Olympics sports competition with events such as ‘Hug-A-Balloon’, ‘Egg and spoon race’ and others. Residents laughed at the antics of the staff and the very competitive streak that was soon evident! The sports culminated in a grand ‘Tug of War’ with both staff and managers pulling with all their might, until eventually the proprietor’s husband’s team were the overall winners.
To finish it all, participants and residents then enjoyed a delicious buffet of sandwiches, canapes, and some lovely traditional Nepalese and Portuguese food, with authentic Brazilian Samba adding to the atmosphere. The afternoon concluded with staff doing a Brazilian style Conga led by our own version of ‘Carmen Miranda!’
