Just the thicket - Worcester care home residents revisit favourite hobbies

Residents at a care home in Worcester have been revisiting their favourite hobbies and shared their skills with the younger generation.

Residents at Care UK’s Perry Manor, on Charles Hastings Way, have been stepping back in time to enjoy gardening as part of a nationwide initiative – Long Lost Hobbies. 

 

The ‘Long Lost Hobbies’ initiative sees residents in Care UK homes across the country share their favourite hobbies and try new pastimes with younger generations after a national survey found 77% of adults feel technology is the cause of traditional skills being lost, including flower arranging, knitting and woodworking.

To ensure the hobbies of older generations are not forgotten, residents at Perry Manor, have been getting to the knitty-gritty and unwinding what makes their favourite pastime so enjoyable. 

As part of the initiative, residents got stuck in for an afternoon of gardening, from flower arranging to vegetable growing in the home’s garden, sharing their best tips with members of the Perry Manor team.

Katherine Matthews, Home Manager at Perry Manor, said: “We had a fantastic time taking part in vegetable growing and flower arranging here at Perry Manor.

“For those living with dementia, revisiting a past hobby, such as gardening, can help bring back memories, as well as providing an enjoyable way to connect with others through a familiar activity that once brought joy. These positive feelings gained from revisiting fond memories can help decrease stress, reduce agitation, and provide a feeling of success and confidence. 

“Residents at Perry Manor have loved revisiting their favourite hobbies and interacting with younger members of the team and sharing gardening advice as the nostalgia of gardening came back for many through this therapeutic act. It has been wonderful to hear residents talking about how they first discovered their favourite hobby and the fond memories this interest created.”   

Perry Manor is a state-of-the-art Care UK home, which provides full time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short term respite care. Rated outstanding by the CQC, the home is designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own cinema, cafe and hair salon, with plenty of space both indoors and out for relaxation and recreation.

To find out more about Perry Manor care home email Donna Townley, Customer Relations Manager, at donna.townley@careuk.com or call 01905 886 715.

For more general information, visit careuk.com/perry-manor.

For top tips on how you and your loved ones can revisit forgotten pastimes, please visit: careuk.com/long-lost-hobbies.

TOP 50 LOST SKILLS AND HOBBIES

1. Writing letters
2. Map reading
3. Knowing proper grammar
4. Mental maths
5. Remembering phone numbers
6. Using a compass
7. Handwriting
8. Handwashing clothes
9. Making a fire from scratch
10. Stamp collecting
11. Sewing/making clothes yourself 
12. Spelling
13. Wiring a plug yourself 
14. Calligraphy
15. Preserving food – such as pickling
16. Sewing on a button yourself 
17. Making your own jam
18. Making your own cheese
19. Tying knots
20. Knitting
21. Identifying different plants, trees or insects
22. Changing a tire yourself 
23. Making your own bread by hand
24. Remembering addresses
25. Using an index in a book
26. Giving directions
27. Remembering dates
28. Reading music
29. Carpentry
30. Baking a cake by hand 
31. Pottery making
32. Storytelling
33. Cooking something from memory
34. Reading
35. Putting up a shelf yourself 
36. Critical thinking
37. Time keeping
38. Caring for chickens
39. Speaking/learning another language
40. Budgeting
41. Creative writing
42. Finding facts
43. Following instructions
44. Caring for plants
45. Gardening
46. Following a recipe
47. Drawing
48. Fishing
49. Taking photos
50. Editing photos yourself