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Townfield staff enjoy a winter wonderland at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel

Friday night saw the return of the staff Christmas Party, This year it was a winter wonderland theme at the Mecure Dunkenhalgh Hotel. The evening included a delicious three-course dinner, an entertaining DJ to ensure a fabulous evening, Winter Wonderland themed room dressing a fabulous party until 1am.

Townfield staff enjoying the Christmas Party 2015

ELMS nursery children sing Christmas Carols

15 Children from the ELMS nursery on Lowerfold in Great Harwood visited the home on Thursday to perform for the elderly residents and leave a Christmas message with their audience and to help the children spread some Christmas cheer.

Townfield presented a cheque for £1177.81 to Macmillan cancer support yesterday.

The fundraising took place earlier in the year at a Coffee morning and prize raffle. Sue Chairperson of Hyndburn Macmillian Cancer Support thanked the company saying “With this donation we have now raised £52,000 this year for Hyndburn Cancer support, which will go directly into helping the nurses and people in the local area.

Pictured is Managing Director of Townfield and Coach House Michael Timmins presenting the cheque to Hyndburn Macmillian Cancer Support Chairperson Sue Johnson at the peel park pub where she is landlady.

‘Memory boxes’ are proving an effective therapy for residents and a useful tool for staff and carers at Townfield and Coach House.

The under bed boxes filled with keepsakes designed to rekindle special memories have been introduced for residents at Townfield and Coach House residential home, in Great Harwood, which cares for up to 24 older people suffering with dementia in various forms.

John Timmins, who runs the Townfield with his brother Michael, explained: “We had read about the benefits of memory boxes and talked about introducing them.

“We previously ordered storage boxes for our kitchen from online retailer PlasticBoxShop, who sponsor our local football team, Accrington Stanley. We went on their website and found some under bed boxes with lids which we thought would be ideal, so we decided to try out the idea with three of our residents.

“When the boxes arrived our Activities Co-ordinator, Maria, set about filling them with a few carefully chosen items. Maria knows these three ladies well, so we thought we could start off the boxes and they could add other items over time.”

First to open her memory box was 86-year-old Nelly, who found flower seeds and gardening tools, knitting wool, a sewing kit and swimming goggles, all reminding her of former pastimes and some she still enjoys. A book on Lancashire’s cotton mills brought memories of her working life, while a scrapbook on the Lake District had happy connotations: “We had a caravan up there,” exclaimed Nelly, “this brings back a lot of memories, oh yes it does.”

Next was Hazel who, at 90, was the eldest of the three friends. Her memory box held reminders of foreign travels, including photos and postcards from Australia and New Zealand, and a world atlas. “I’ve been very lucky. I’ve been able to travel to a lot of places,” said Hazel, whose keepsakes also included a golf ball, reminding her of “happy times” when her husband was Captain of their local golf club.

Finally came a pair of tap shoes: “I used to go tap dancing a lot leading up to the war,” remarked Hazel as she caressed the shoes and smiled. “I loved it. I could still do it now if you wanted!”

Dancing shoes also featured in 84-year-old former mill worker Cath’s memory box, again triggering happy memories: “These were only for wearing at the weekend,” she told Maria. “It was clogs during the week. We used to look forward all week to Saturday night when we could put these on and go up the dance hall.”

A black and white photo of Cath on a night out with her late husband brought a happy tear, while a bag of coltsfoot rock – her favourite sweets as a child – made her laugh. One of the strangest objects was an offcut of carpet, but for Cath it brought the memories flooding back: “Ooh… the carpet factory at Rishton!

“I worked there 34 years, it was lovely. I was a wool winder. It was a heavy job, but I loved every minute of it.”

John Timmins said: “After seeing the effect that the memory boxes had with these three ladies we decided to roll out the idea to all our residents. As well as holding happy memories for them, the boxes will help with regular activities such as our reminiscing events.

“They help our carers engage with residents and find out who they are and how their past has shaped them. All our residents are individuals, with unique needs, and these boxes help our carers – and even family members – understand them better and make a connection.

“People with dementia can become confused, agitated and upset, but often sharing a special memory with them can be a comfort and a calming influence. Sometimes it’s as simple as having an object to focus on, to ask a question about and get a conversation started.”

Latest figures from the Alzheimer’s Society show there are now 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form, affecting 62% of those diagnosed. As people live longer the number of those with dementia is set to top one million by 2025, affecting one in six people over the age of 80.

The Alzheimer’s Society advocates using a memory box for people with dementia because they can:

• Help people recall fond memories of youth, personal interests and pastimes, holiday or working lives
• Inspire conversation with caregivers, children or grandchildren
• Exercise touch and other senses which people increasingly rely on as dementia progresses
• Spur creativity in the desire to add to the memory box, or make a new one
• Give relatives a clearer insight to their loved one, both through searching for keepsakes and talking about them.

The boxes used by residents at Townfield and Coach House were 32-litre Wham Crystal under bed plastic storage boxes with lids, sourced online at www.plasticboxshop.co.uk
Michael and John Timmins talk about why they have introduced memory boxes for their residents visit:

Watch the ladies opening their memory boxes and how the items inside sparked their recollections:

Great Harwood Christmas Lights Switch On – Friday 4th December 6:30pm

Once again Great Harwood will be switching their Christmas Lights on with the help from BBC Radio Lancashire Presenter Stephen Lowe.

The towns Christmas Lights will be switched on at 6:30pm on the Town Hall Square. The towns Councillors, with help from local volunteers, have arranged for the town’s Primary Schools to come along and entertain with their singing of Christmas Carols. Father Christmas, with the help of the Rotary Club, has arranged to be there and refreshments will be available on the night and will be served by volunteers from Great Harwood’s community groups.

Everyone in invited to turn up and start the festive season in style

Care Assistants Sign up for Diploma’s in Health & Social Care

Learn Direct were at Townfield and Coach House today to sign up some of the new carers to their Diplomas in Health & Social Care and also check on the progress of some of the existing learners.

This nationally recognised qualification proves you can deliver health and social care to a required standard. The training is designed to teach you how to deliver an excellent level of care, develop a clear understanding of your specific role and responsibilities, create a safe and healthy environment for yourself and those you care for, and have your achievements acknowledged.

Kath the registered manager at Townfield and Coach House said “Its fantastic for the carers to be able to extend their knowledge beyond the training that we provide in our care academy. Health & Social Care has changed over the years and now it is being seen as a good career choice either as a foundation for a nursing career or to progress in the social care sector”

If you are interested in starting a career in Health & Social Care and wish to apply to join our team then you can fill in an application form online, call in to collect one or download one to complete in your own time.

Pat Forsyth working on the Health & Social Care Diploma with her tutor from Learn Direct

The Macmillan Coffee morning raffle prizes have now been claimed by their winners.  The first prize was two tickets to watch Manchester United at Old Trafford and a Meal at Hotel Football which was won by Susan and Ronnie Jarrett. (Pictured Above)

Susan and Ronnie picked the Manchester Derby and although the result was 0-0 they really enjoyed their meal at Hotel football and the atmosphere at the game.

Listed below is a full list of all competition winners and also the people or companies who donated the prizes. Thankyou again to everyone who donated or supported the event.

The afternoon involved a guess the number of 100s and 1000s on the cake, plenty of tea or coffee and a wide selection of cakes as well as the draw for the raffle. Entertainment was provided by a Robin Darcy a local vocalist from Colne and Cooper Critters who visited the home with a wide range of different animals and critters.

The Mayor of Hyndburn Marlene Haworth and Mayoress Dorothy Berry attended the afternoon as part of their challenge to visit as many Macmillan coffee events as possible. (Pictured Below: Steff Wells, Mayoress Dorothy Berry, Mayor Marlene Haworth, Kath Howard, Mikala Edwards)

Kathleen Howard the registered manager said “I would like to thank all of the local companies who donated a prize for the raffle and all the volunteers, staff and visitors who helped raise an amazing £1177.81 for a cause close to everyone’s hearts.”

Competition Winners

Remember Remember the 5th of November!

As Bonfire Nights comes closer preparations have begun for the annual firework display at Townfield and Coach House and Sherwood House. Every year we hold a small firework display in the grounds of the residential homes to ensure that no one misses out on this Great British Tradition. Service users will enjoy treacle toffee, a home made potato pie supper followed with a slice of parkin whilst watching the fireworks from the warmth and safety of the dining room.

Townfield and Coach House service users and staff received a unexpected treat over the weekend!

Maria Payne one of our long standing employees entered the care home into a Facebook competition to win some spooky cupcakes and a Halloween hamper.

Clayton Park Bakery announced the winner on their Facebook page on Friday evening, the cakes and hamper where delivered on Saturday morning for everyone to enjoy.