HUNDREDS of care home residents across the south found heartfelt ways to have fun on Valentine’s Day.
At Colten Care’s The Aldbury, a dedicated dementia care home in Poole, the residents’ garden group took the lead with an art project involving 100 pebbles.
These originally formed one of a series of installations that residents worked on to coincide with King Charles’ Coronation last year.
Several weeks ago, the group decided to repurpose the stones, paint them red and white and invite fellow residents and staff to inscribe and sign personal thoughts on them for loved ones to read when they visit the home.
Rearranged in a heart shape ready for Valentine’s Day, 70 of the stones are painted red and carry the words and signatures, with 30 coloured white and positioned around the outside.
At Bourne View in Poole, a ‘production line’ of residents and team members created 50 individual cards in the run-up to Valentine’s.
Two of the home’s couples, June and Keith Osborne and Margaret and Albert Langworthy, were also treated to chocolates, tulips and special greetings to help them celebrate. June and Keith’s card featured a black and white photo from their wedding day.
Among Valentine’s parties elsewhere at Colten Care, dementia care home Fernhill in Longham, Dorset, held an afternoon of ‘music, dancing, flowers, chocolate, romance and celebration’.
At Avon Cliff in Bournemouth, Valentine’s was celebrated with a ‘personality of the year’ competition designed to recognise what people love about themselves and what makes them unique. The winner was Judy Price.
And at Abbey View in Sherborne, couple Roy and Barbara Carne, who have been married for more than 67 years, enjoyed a specially laid-on romantic lunch for Valentine’s Day.
