Last week Birch Green residents Bob and Royce were invited to a pole fishing taster session at the Eco Centre in Wigan.

Cast North West helps young people achieve through the sport of angling, horticulture and work based learning – the centre often runs fishing sessions for older people in the community.

Bob is an active fisherman and spent many years taking part in the sport while Royce hadn’t practised his skills for some time, although after catching his first fish it was like riding a bike.

The pair caught a selection of carp fish including Mirror, F1, Idle and Common Rudd.

Bob shared his hints and tips with Royce, but kept his secret bait recipe close to his chest – between them they managed to catch a whopping 14 fish.

They can’t wait to return for another visit soon.

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Last week Birch Green was joined by Anna Beaumont, a local singer who regularly comes and performs old-time favourites at the home.

Residents and staff enjoyed singing along to some 40s and 50s classics, including some iconic movie songs from the era – Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Hey Mambo were a huge hit with residents.

A selection of war songs were also included in Anna’s set from It’s a Long Way to Tipperary to The White Cliffs of Dover, as made famous by Vera Lynn.

Everyone had a fabulous afternoon, and some of our ladies and gentlemen could not wait to get up and show us their dance moves. 

We look forward to welcoming Anna back to the home soon for more singalong fun.

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Birch Green Care Home has partnered up with a leading specialist to enhance the mental, physical and emotional wellbeing of its residents.

Birch Green, part of Springhill Care Group, will work with Oomph! Wellness to implement a wellness project and deliver a range of activities for residents with a focus on positively changing the impact of ageing.

Employees at each home will attend development sessions which aims to enhance activity provision for residents, while an exercise leadership in care settings course, endorsed by Active IQ, will also be undertaken by Springhill’s lifestyle team to allow staff to run inclusive exercise sessions.

Oomph! Wellness was set up in 2011 and works to improve the wellbeing of care home residents and older adults in communities.

Donna Briggs, Managing Director at Springhill Care Group said: “Springhill aims to provide a life not just a service with a focus on enhancing the mental, physical and emotional wellbeing of our residents. Over the next few months, Springhill will start to implement a whole-home wellbeing culture which will see all of our staff getting involved in some way.

“We look forward to our residents feeling the benefits of our partnership with Oomph! as we work to further develop our person-centred service, complete with a range of fun activities.”

Matt Hamblin, Senior Business Manager at Oomph! said: “Our team of dedicated experts will work closely with the Birch Green team to positively change the impact of ageing and provide innovative exercise and activity solutions, as well as a range of workshops and trips out.”

“Working with Birch Green gives us the opportunity to enhance the lives of people living in care homes - no matter how old they are, we can ensure they live a full life, for life.”

Oomph! Wellness will also be working with the other care homes operated by Springhill Care Group around the country including; Springhill Care Home, Accrington and Riversway Nursing Home in Bristol.

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A special celebration was held recently at Birch Green Care Home to mark the birthday of Pam Travers’ – Australian-born British writer, best known for the Mary Poppins series of children’s books.

To celebrate Pam Travers’ birthday, first we had a mini history lesson where we learnt about her life. Then we enjoyed an afternoon watching the movie – Mary Poppins – with all the traditional cinema trimmings of popcorn and crisps.

Everyone at Birch Green had a lovely time discussing their favourite childhood stories.

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