January Highlights

Where did January go? Swarthmore activities continues to celebrate memorable dates with our residents throughout the month. Here's a summary of what we celebrated in January:


New Years Day  We celebrated with a wonderful feast and a glass of wine to bring in the New Year.  Happy New Year to Everyone.

Elvis Presley - January 8th   We celebrated Elvis Presley’s birthday today. The ‘King of Rock and Roll’ was remembered at Swarthmore Residential Care Home. He was one of the most revolutionary cultural icons of the 20th Century, his musical and theatrical legacy continues to rock the world today. His first single ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ 1956, began a string of number one hits that radically changed the American music. Elvis became the forefront of Rock and Roll. In 1958 he was drafted into the army and served in West Germany. Some time later, he began an acting career which then pushed him to perform live on stage. We have many fans of Elvis hear at Swarthmore including staff. An afternoon of songs and dancing was held in the lounge, who could resist a little boogie!!! I can name one lady who would definitely be on the dance floor! We had an afternoon of residents and staff appearing around the home wearing an Elvis face mask to help celebrate.

International Flower Day – 19th Jan   International Flower Day promotes the connection that people share with each other and to show love and appreciation towards friends, family and even strangers, expressed through the gift of flowers. It all began in Tasmania, January 2013 when a father and daughter (Rohan and Brooke Levy) were strolling through a market in Hobart and were stopped by a stranger, who gave them a bunch of flowers. This act of kindness took them completely by surprise and they in turn spent the rest of the day giving flowers to more than 280 complete strangers! Flowers brighten a person’s day they do not need to be in a bunch of flowers, it could be a plant or shrub in your garden. Each time you see a flower, it may bring back memories that bring joy. Memories of your wedding, birth of a child, a place or just that special scent from a particular flower.  What is your favourite flower?  Next time you see a flower make sure you research its meaning. Make someone smile by sending flowers ………

Burns Night – 25th January   A Burns Night supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns, 1759-1796. Burns suppers may be formal or informal, ranging in full costume with traditional dancing and music or a gathering for a family dinner. A typical supper includes a haggis (traditional Scottish dish) which contains sheep’s pluck (heart, liver and lungs) minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices and salt mixed with stock encased in the animal’s stomach. This is often substituted by an artificial casing. The dish is normally served with neeps and tatties. The evening is usually celebrating with a sounding of the bagpipes too. The residents enjoyed a lunch together which included haggis. The afternoon was then spent reading poems and watching a DVD ‘White Heather’ tour. This was all presented by our very own Scottish Ann Marie.

Winter Scenes – 26th January Snow arrived for the second time this year. Beautiful scenes from the bay windows at Swarthmore. We also asked others to send in their wintry scenes. We didnt get enough snow to make a snow man, maybe next time.