Basingstoke care home residents’ team up with local Brownies for an arts and crafts project

A care home in Basingstoke has joined forces with their local Brownies to have a wool-ly good time with some arts and crafts.

Residents at Care UK’s Dashwood Manor, on Bradley Way, have been rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck into some hands-on crafting all in the name of sharing skills with the next generation.

As part of Care UK’s ‘Fixer Uppers’ programme, at Dashwood Manor, residents and 2nd Hatch Warren Brownies came together to create to wool and cardboard creations to decorate the home. The creations were little woolly Santa decorations, made from recycled wool, toilet rolls, tights and stuffing, and will be hung on this year’s Christmas trees.

Resident William Jeram, 92, said of the activity: “We had a lovely evening! It was the first time the Brownies have visited Dashwood Manor. It was a great opportunity to mix with the community, recycle and enjoy an activity with the children. They came out with phrases we had never heard of, which made us chuckle! My late wife Jean was a Brown Owl herself and absolutely loved her role, so spending time with the Brownies brought back lots of special memories of her.”

Frankie Veramu, Home Manager at Dashwood Manor, said: “Residents have honed their creativity and crafting skills over a lifetime, and the Fixer Uppers’ project has been a fantastic way for them to connect with young people and the community and share practical knowledge in a meaningful way.

“It was wonderful to see everyone fully engaged and residents swapping stories, learning from one another, and genuinely enjoying the process.

“We’d like to thank 2nd Hatch Warren Brownies for coming to the home to join the residents for some arts and crafts. It was a brilliant evening, and we look forward to many more visits in the future.”

The ‘Fixer Uppers’ initiative aims to revive traditional repair skills – such as fixing furniture, mending clothes and tackling small maintenance jobs – and celebrate the invaluable knowledge older generations can pass on while promoting sustainability.

To find out more about Fixer Uppers, please visit: careuk.com/Fixer-Uppers 

Dashwood Manor is designed to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives while also promoting independence. The new care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities with luxury facilities, including a café, hair and beauty salon, cinema, bar and gardens.