A real check mate – Bracknell care home residents revisit favourite hobbies

Residents at a care home in Bracknell have been revisiting their favourite hobbies and shared their skills with younger generations. 

Residents at Care UK’s Bickerton House, on Warfield Road, have been stepping back in time to enjoy traditional games as part of a nationwide initiative – Long Lost Hobbies. 

 

The ‘Long Lost Hobbies’ initiative sees residents in Care UK homes across the country share their favourite hobbies and try new pastimes with younger generations after a national survey found 77% of adults feel technology is the cause of traditional skills being lost, including flower arranging, knitting and woodworking.

To ensure the hobbies of older generations are not forgotten, residents at Bickerton House have been getting to the knitty-gritty and unwinding what makes their favourite pastime so enjoyable. 

Residents enjoyed teaching team members how to play traditional garden games including skittles and bowls, and even shared their top tips for chess with the younger team members.

Erika Smith, Home Manager at Bickerton House, said: “We had a fantastic time taking part in a fun day of traditional games here at Bickerton House.   

“For those living with dementia, revisiting past hobbies, such as bowls and chess, can help bring back memories, as well as providing an enjoyable way to connect with others through a familiar activity that once brought joy. These positive feelings gained from revisiting fond memories can help decrease stress, reduce agitation, and provide a feeling of success and confidence. 

“Residents and team members at Bickerton House have loved revisiting their favourite hobbies and discovering new ways to pass the time from younger generations. It has been wonderful to hear residents talking about how they first discovered their favourite hobby and the fond memories this interest created.”  

For top tips on how you and your loved ones can revisit forgotten pastimes or discover new ones, please visit: careuk.com/long-lost-hobbies.

Bickerton House has been designed to encourage residents to live active and fulfilling lives, while remaining as independent as possible in a safe environment. The state-of-the-art care home, which opened last year, provides full-time residential, nursing and specialist dementia care, and features a bar and café, cinema, hair salon, activities room and garden.

For more information about Bickerton House, please call Customer Relations Manager, Jo Anderson on 01344 989943 or email Jo.Anderson@careuk.com, or visit careuk.com/bickerton-house.