Market Harborough care home creates spectacular recycled poppy display

 

A care home in Market Harborough has been getting creative using recycled materials to mark Remembrance Day. 

Residents and team members from Care UK’s Oat Hill Mews, on Leicester Road, worked together to create a show-stopping poppy display from recycled plastic bottles.

Made of an estimated 200 poppies, all of which were created out of plastic bottles painted red and garden twine for the black centres, the display was built over the course of four weeks, by the ‘poppy project’ club. 

After completing the display, residents and team members tucked into poppy cupcakes served with a cup of tea. Everyone will also enjoy a Remembrance Day quiz and watching a service together in the lounge.

Residents Marjorie, 89, Hannah, 88, Fran, 83, Val, 82, and Margaret, 85, said: “We enjoyed making the display, it's important to reuse anything as it can save the planet. We must remember those who sacrificed their lives for us to live”

Susanne Stevens, Home Manager at Oat Hill Mews, said: “We are so proud of the team, residents and everyone who has worked tirelessly to create such a beautiful display.

"Crafts, as well as other creative activities, have many therapeutic benefits for older people, particularly those living with dementia, by providing a sense of purpose. More importantly, Remembrance Day holds a very special meaning to residents, as many of them may have served in the forces or lived through World War Two and heard stories from their parents or older siblings.

“We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who contributed to our beautiful display by creating a poppy display; every single one of our visitors has been absolutely amazed by the result. We’d like to invite everyone to come and stop by to see it for themselves.” 

Designed to enable residents to live active and fulfilling lives, while also promoting independence, the new care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities.