Bottoms up – these residents at a Poole care home won’t have to wait until May for a pint

Home news

Mar 11, 2021

There is still one pub unaffected by current restrictions – and it’s in a Poole care home.

Aptly named The Lockdown Arms, the pub has opened its doors in Care UK’s The Potteries care home, on York Road, and seen its first pints pulled for residents.

Current restrictions mean residents aren’t able to leave the home, so when they started missing their local, team members at The Potteries got busy turning one of the home’s activities’ area into a special venue to bring the pub to them.

The home now hosts regular ‘pub nights’, which sees team members turn into bartenders and play music to recreate the real atmosphere of a pub, complete with events such as karaoke nights, themed music evenings and quizzes. Other features of the Lockdown Arms include a pool table, dartboard, vintage radio and disco lights.

The home’s team also hosts fortnightly pub quizzes, complete with traditional pub grub including chicken or scampi with chips served in a basket.

Dr Jane Hargreaves, a resident at The Potteries, said: “What a wonderful idea and thing to do for us.’’

Zita Turner, Home Manager at The Potteries, said: “We all miss going to the pub, and in these challenging times there’s nothing like catching up with an old friend over a drink or two. When residents told us they missed their local, we thought we’d bring it to them instead, with amazing support from independent local pubs.

“For many residents, the pub is associated with a lot of positive memories from their younger years, from their first ever drink, to countless hearty meals with family or friends and everything in between. The Lockdown Arms’ opening was a huge success and residents left with a smile on their face. 

“It turns out we may be among the only punters in the UK who won’t have to wait until May to enjoy their local, so we’re looking forward to our next pub night!”

The Potteries is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own cinema and hair salon, and there is plenty of space, both indoors and out, for relaxation and recreation. The home has a comprehensive activity programme, offering a mix of themed events, group activities and days out.

For more information about The Potteries please call Customer Relations Manager, Caroline Hearne, at caroline.hearne@careuk.com or call on 01202 069 835.

For more general information, please visit: careuk.com/the-potteries