Our May update from our activities co-ordinator; Louise

At last we have had some warm weather to make us feel relaxed in the garden and have managed to do a few of our activities outside in the morning, under the shade of the trees. We read poetry outside and had a variety of games outside, boules, hoops, balls, tin cans and bean bags and made it into a competition. There was a gardening session, planting up a few remaining plants that we had grown from seeds into our specially made planters. We put in a lot of plants so hoping it will eventually look very lush and full of flowers for cutting for the dining tables.

In art and craft we did some pottery, rolling clay, cutting it into a shape to roll around a jar, sealing it together with water and moulding a base on. Residents then decorated it with different shapes, attaching by wetting the clay surfaces. They were air dried for a week, so now they are ready to paint in our next session.

It is great to see a steady flow of visitors coming into the home now and sitting in the garden, it makes a difference to everyones lives. Birds and squirrels have been busy at our feeders and we are waiting to see if the pheasants will reappear with a new family this year. We had hoped to have the music in the garden this month but the weather was not quite settled so we've enjoyed it inside. Other fun games with charades, numbers, life story and board games happen on most days, with lots of chatting, smiles and laughter.

We hope you're all enjoying this summer, and reuniting with friends and family.