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ET VOILÀ! BEARSDEN CARE HOME RESIDENTS


LEARN FRENCH Residents at a care home in Bearsden, Scotland, are proving it’s never too late to learn a new language by taking up French lessons.


Meallmore care group’s Antonine


House care home has teamed up with Glasgow-based social enterprise Lingo Flamingo, who visit once a week to provide interactive language classes.


Language learning in later years has been shown to have a number of benefits and it is believed that speaking multiple languages can delay the onset of dementia by up to five years. The classes help to improve residents’ cognitive ability, communication skills and wellbeing, as well as build their confidence.


The course material is designed to be accessible and the classes are very interactive, focusing on speech as well as using props to introduce sensory learning through touch and smell. Through the topics covered, such as food and


PENGUINS VISIT CARE HOME TO SURPRISE 92-YEAR- OLD


RESIDENT Residents at a brand- new Care UK care home


got a flipping good surprise when two penguins waddled in for a visit.


The team at Mountbatten Grange care home in Windsor, which opened to residents just before Christmas, organised the visit as part of Care UK’s wishing tree initiative to surprise Annie Thelwell, a 92-year-old resident, whose wish was to feed a real penguin.


A lifelong animal lover, Annie always wears a penguin-shaped pendant and has filled her memory box with photos of the friendly animals. Annie, one of the first residents in the new Windsor care home, had made a wish on the home’s wishing tree to see penguins, but wasn’t expecting to be able to meet them up quite so close.


Many Care UK care home teams arrange visits from other animals, including dogs, alpacas, donkeys, goats and lizards,


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drink, travel and school, residents are inspired to share their memories and stories. They also enjoy singing French songs together, such as Frère Jacques.


Bobby Dougan, Care Home Manager at Antonine House, said: “We run a number of activities in the care home to encourage residents to interact and have fun and there is no doubt that the French language workshops are one of their favourites.


“We have had 16 lessons so far and it has been wonderful to see residents become more and more engaged as the weeks have gone by. As well as learning the language, they have also found it really interesting to learn about French culture and customs.


“We’re committed to providing exceptional standards of care at Meallmore and this is just one of the ways in which we look to enrich our residents’ lives.”


Judith Eck, French Tutor from Lingo Flamingo, said: “One main benefit of language learning for the residents is that it gives them a ‘mental workout’ and reignites language that they may have learnt in school.


“The group really enjoy the lessons and they participate well. It’s also a great social hour – they love getting together and sharing their stories and memories and it’s a real privilege for us to hear them.”


www.meallmorelodge.co.uk


but this is the first time in the provider’s 30-year history that penguins have been on the visitor list.


The team at the home is led by Saad Baig – who, as home manager at another site, made the headlines by arranging for a Catholic priest to visit the pope and for a lady in her 80s to have her first driving lesson.


The hand-reared Humboldt penguins, named Pringle and Charlie, were brought into the home by a company called Amazing Animals which provides animals for things like film work. The penguins were friendly, relaxed and used to human contact. Both were happy to walk around the home and took the liſt in their stride. One even settled down for a nap aſter enjoying a hearty lunch of fresh fish from the residents at the home.


When not out ‘working’ Charlie and Pringle live in a specially- constructed enclosure, including a swimming pool, pebbled beach and penguin house at Heythrop Zoo and live together in a breeding group to ensure regular social interactions.


Home manager Saad Baig said: “Annie talks about penguins with a passion, so we were really excited to be able to make her dream of seeing one up close come true.


“We managed to keep the visit a complete surprise, so it was incredible to see her face light up when they waddled into the care home – they are truly wonderful creatures and it was a fantastic moment for everyone involved.”


www.careuk.com/mountbatten-grange - 7 -


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