At Orford House, our Coulsdon-based residential care home, the residents and care team are travelling back to the 1950s and hosting a fantabulous, fun-filled ‘Daddy-O’ afternoon to celebrate this year’s Care Home Open Week.
On Thursday 27 June from 1:30pm, the ‘groovy’ 50s event will also incorporate an Open Day which will give visitors, prospective residents, respite guests and their families the opportunity to see and experience, first-hand, the wide range of great facilities on offer at the care home.
“Our 1950s Rock n’ Roll event will be a wonderful inclusive and interactive afternoon for everyone,” said Michelle Kennett, the Registered Manager at Orford House.
“Our beautiful grounds will be transformed into a 50s fun park, complete with top tapping music, our very own ice cream parlour and plenty of fun activities for everyone to get involved with.”
Mary Kennedy, The Lawn’s Activity Coordinators will be hosting the proceedings. “To set the 1950s theme, the care team will transform into The Pink Ladies and The T-Bird Teddy Boys who were made famous by the film and Broadway show Grease,” added Mary; “and our 1950s ice cream parlour will be serving up delicious ice cream sundae cones which can be crowned with an array of different toppings including sprinkles, flakes, chocolate buttons and jellies – which we are sure everyone will enjoy.”
However, that’s not all. The care home’s picturesque gardens will be home to a wide variety of games for everybody to play.
“We’ll have a paddling pool with magnetic rods for ‘Catch The Fish’, games of Pétanque (Boules), Giant Dominoes, ‘Pot The Ball’, and races including the old favourite The Egg and Spoon Race,” Mary continued.
Finally, what 50s-themed summer outside event wouldn’t be complete without the ‘Soaking Board’ attraction? “We have a traditional Seaside Soak Board, which the Orford House management team will stand behind, placing their heads through the comically-designed face holes. It’s then down to our visitors, residents, family and friends to try to soak them as much as possible. We are hoping for great weather, so they can dry off quickly,” Mary added.
“We are all looking forward to celebrating Care Home Open Week 2024 and by hosting our own 1950s Afternoon and Open Day, it will give us a wonderful opportunity and to engage with our local community and be able to demonstrate and showcase how the compassionate care team here is devoted to supporting those they care for, every hour of every day,” continued Michelle.
“I will be on hand to give tours of our lovely care home to visitors, potential residents and respite guests. The tours will take in all of Orford House’s spacious, elegant and airy rooms, our cheerful communal areas – which are great for entertaining family and friends – and our cosy, relaxing lounge. Visitors may also get a glimpse of deer roaming around our stunning woodlands which surround the care home.
“With members of our caring and kind care team also being on hand to answer any questions visitors may have and show how devoted they are to delivering high quality care, we hope that on Thursday 27th June, our 50s Afternoon Extravaganza and Open Day will demonstrate that the wellbeing, care and safety of each of our residents and respite guests is at the heart of all we do,” concluded Michelle.
To find out more about Orford House care home or about the 50s Open Day, call 020 8660 2875 or email enquiries@fote.org.uk.