News

Butterflies bring a taste of summer indoors

13 July 2020

The creative talents of residents at our St Catherine's nursing home in Newcastle have really taken flight with their latest project.

Using watercolours and coloured pens, our residents have been supported by our home's activities co-ordinator, Zaeley, to produce a kaleidoscope of beautiful 3D butterflies to decorate their conservatory and lounge.

“We love watching the butterflies in the garden,” said Zaeley, “so we thought it would be lovely to bring that magic inside, too. Now, no matter what the weather, we have our gorgeous summer butterfly collection to enjoy.”

We’re so moved by acts of kindness

10 July 2020

We continue to be bowled over by the kindness and generosity of individuals, groups and organisations as restrictions remain in place for our service users due to the pandemic.

Massive ‘thank yous' go to Morrisons of Seaham for the incredible afternoon tea they sent over for residents at our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland and to Asda for the donated clothing they provided for residents who were evacuated to our home following an emergency.

Thanks, also, to our Senior Finance Officer, Lesley, and local sewing group, Sewing for the Frontline, who have made a selection of cotton facemasks and practical, yet colourful, scrubs bags for our nursing home staff. Uniforms can be popped straight into the bags at the end of the day then straight into the washing machine, helping to reduce any risk of contamination.

Every single act of kindness is massively appreciated and makes such a difference.

Coffee mornings still feel special

8 July 2020

Residents living in our home for adults in Alnwick have continued to enjoy hosting coffee mornings, despite being unable to invite people into their home at the moment.

Many of our home's residents and staff have struck up close friendships over the years, so lockdown has simply meant taking it in turns to be hosts or guests.

None of the fuss and attention to detail has been relaxed, however, with special baking sessions still going ahead in preparation for the occasion. Jam tarts are a favourite with everyone, so with a freshly baked batch and a full pot of tea all that was needed was lots of lively chat.

“We enjoy a good get-together,” said manager, Susan, “so we don't really mind that we are just treating each other to coffee mornings at the moment. There is still the anticipation of a good time ahead and who can resist the delicious smell – and taste - of home baking!”

Glamorous ice cream creations

6 July 2020

National Creative Ice Cream Day gave our Holy Cross nursing home residents a great excuse for creating their own amazing sundaes.

Starting with a choice of vanilla, strawberry or chocolate ice cream – or even all three – the sensational sundaes began to take shape as our residents selected their favourite toppings from a host of edible embellishments.

Toffee sauce, wafer curls, sprinkles and squirty cream made sure their creations were worthy of even the best ice cream parlour.

“We all loved letting our imagination loose,” said the home's activities' co-ordinator, Vicky. “Our taste buds were very thankful.”

Staying safe but staying busy

3 July 2020

Residents at our Alan Shearer Specialist Residential Home have been spending time exploring lots of new and favourite activities to keep them occupied during lockdown.

For resident, Rachel, that has meant exploring everything from braiding and painting to paper mosaic and gardening.

With her new-found skills, Rachel made a beautiful braided bracelet for herself, an intricate mosaic of a tiger's head to hang on the wall and a stunning, hand-crafted postcard to send to her mum.

“We took advantage of the good weather to get out into the garden, too,” said Recreation Assistant, Heather, who is supporting Rachel. “We planted some seeds that were kindly donated to us and Rachel has been out to water them every day. All of that TLC is really paying off and we have some more lovely, healthy plants to brighten up the grounds.”

Single-handedly, Rachel has made quite an impact on her surroundings!

All in a doggie day’s work

26 June 2020

Friendly pet dogs have been sharing workspaces around our charity as our staff and service users enjoy taking part in Bring Your Dog to Work Day.

Annie, who is owned by our Chief Executive, Moira, and our Marketing Manager's dog, Maggie, are both well-known and popular visitors to services around our charity and are part of a team of visiting pets who help to spread smiles wherever they go.

Young people at our children's home in Newcastle are also animal fans and recently celebrated a special day for their canine visitor, Cody, who belongs to a member of their staff team.

“They held a party for Cody for what they call his ‘gotcha day' – the anniversary of the day he was adopted,” said manager Kerry. “To say he lapped up the attention is an understatement!”

Dogs aren't the only animals to visit our services, however. Recently, one of our Newcastle nursing home residents was thrilled to receive a visit by some prize-winning budgerigars and residents at our Sunderland nursing home look forward to their regular visits by a team of miniature ponies.

Pictures: Bottom left – Julie with Maggie; Top left - Linda with Director of Care, Amanda and her dog, Marley; Centre – Moira with Annie; Top right – Cody celebrates; Bottom right – Marketing Manager, Nicola with her dog, Maggie.

Our Young Ambassador is still spreading smiles

25 June 2020

Although visits from our St Catherine's nursing home Young Ambassador remain on hold for now, it hasn't stopped her finding new ways to keep in touch.

Thanks to the wonders of video calling, eleven-year-old Autumn has still kept up her regular chats with our residents via mobile phone and tablet.

The generations have been bridged with common topics of conversation and, as with her visits in person, Autumn's calls brought ready smiles to the faces of our residents.

“I'm really proud of my role,” said Autumn, “and if I can make everyone I speak to smile, that's a job well done, I think.”

Autumn became Young Ambassador to our St Catherine's nursing home more than a year ago, acting as a positive representative for our older people and our home.

Sharing FaceTime birthday greetings

24 June 2020

It's not much fun when you have a birthday to celebrate and you can't share it with your friend because of lockdown … but there's usually a way to solve any problem.

For Carolyn and her good friend, Linda – who both live in our independent living service, but in separate houses – it was a simple matter of catching up with lots of girly chat via their mobile phones in a video chat.

Although the friends miss being with each other, Carolyn was happy that she could at least share news of her birthday gifts with Linda, although she could only show her the delicious cakes that had been made specially for her!

Celebrating friendships during Learning Disability Week

19 June 2020

Some of our service users have really embraced Learning Disability Week's theme of friendship by getting creative around their homes.

Cooking in the kitchen has been incredibly popular, with delicious scones and fudge turning out perfectly and just right for sharing. For others, their creativity was expressed through gardening or with paint and paper as they crafted beautiful pictures, cards and cut-outs for the special people in their lives.

Our residents in Alnwick even turned their hand to making personalised friendship flags which they plan to post out to a friend or their family or share in a video chat.

One thing's for certain, the special tokens have been made with lots of love and appreciation for the friendships they all share.

Learning Disabilities Week – our walk filled with surprises

17 June 2020

With the focus currently on Learning Disability Week, we'll be taking a look at the activities some of our service users have chosen to take part in.

At our Sherringham House independent supported living apartments, Linda, Julie and David have enjoyed taking part in a nature walk and scavenger hunt supported by our staff.

The nearby country fields and open spaces provided a real tonic in the sunshine and there were more than a few exciting discoveries on the way.

From a friendly horse to a stunning wildflower meadow, our adventurous trio took their time to soak up everything they saw on their walk.

“They had a brilliant time,” said manager, Angela. “In fact, they found so much to see and do that they stayed out a few hours. They'd certainly worked up a healthy appetite by the time they returned.”

Cheers! to our cheese and wine evening

15 June 2020

National Rosé Wine Day gave residents at our home in Alnwick just the right reason to get together for a social evening.

Our residents love a gathering and, although they aren't able to extend their usual hospitality to friends and relatives at the moment, they made the most of the opportunity to get together themselves.

“Along with the essential bottle of rosé wine to mark the occasion, we snacked on some delicious cheese and crackers,” said manager, Susan. “It was so nice to meet up and catch up and a very enjoyable evening was had by all.”

Celebrating Best Friends’ Day

11 June 2020

Staff and tenants at our Sherringham House independent supported living apartments found a way to mark National Best Friends Day - despite social distancing.

With tables carefully placed and everyone respecting the 2m distance rules, it was still possible to come together in their spacious lounge for a chat and a cuppa.

“We do have regular afternoon chats,” said manager, Angela, “but we made this one a little bit special by adding a quiz, too. One of their favourite TV programmes is Tenable, so we gathered some questions from the show and had loads of fun answering them. My! They were good!”

Song recalls special memories

9 June 2020

Our charity ‘Song for the Day' - each one chosen in turn by our one of our services to lift spirits during lockdown - is helping to bring back fond memories for some of our nursing home residents.

Jeanne, who lives in our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland, was delighted when she was asked to pick a song for everyone to enjoy and shared the memories it recalled with our home's activities' co-ordinator, Vicky.

“Jeanne chose When I Fall in Love by Nat King Cole because it has such a special place in her heart,” said Vicky. “She thoroughly enjoyed listening to the song again and telling me how her husband used to sing the song to her at night. Sharing that moment of recollection with Jeanne was really touching.”

Many more of our staff and service users around our charity are finding that our ‘Song for the Day' is helping them to recall happy memories that they then enjoy sharing together.

Volunteer week – a big thank you!

5 June 2020

Many of our residents have been hard at work this week, making cards to say thank you to all our extra special volunteers.

Our volunteers freely give some of their precious time, often it's just a cuppa and chat but it makes the biggest difference.

“People choose to volunteer for a whole host of reasons and, for many, it provides a sense of purpose," said Volunteer co-ordinator, Nicola Milne. “Volunteering is hugely important to our charity as it enables us to provide that little bit extra to our residents and we can't thank our volunteers enough.”

If you would like to know about how you can volunteer, please contact Nicola direct on 0191 224 4809 or email nicola.milne@stcuthbertscare.org.uk

Volunteer Week – Sharing talents and friendship

4 June 2020

Our newest volunteer, James, has been sharing his skills across our services and making friends wherever he goes.

James has been particularly involved with gardening at our home for adults with disabilities in Alnwick, close to where he lives. But it's not just the garden that has been benefiting from James' visits.

Resident, Hughie, has been an exceptionally keen student and has now added gardening to his many other hobbies and interests.

“Hughie and I have known each other for some time,” said James, “but it's been great to have the extra time to spend with him in the garden. We've shared flasks of coffee and Hughie is now such a keen gardener that he has appointed himself as head gardener.”

Everyone at our home has been so grateful to see their garden bloom under the care of James that they got together to thank him with a hand-made card.

“It's been an absolute pleasure helping out,” added James, “and I'm sure Head Gardener, Hughie, will have plenty more projects for me.”

If you would like to find out about volunteering for our charity, please contact Nicola Milne by email at nicola.milne@stcuthbertscare.org.uk or ring her on 07824 452885.

Support Volunteer Week – volunteer for us

2 June 2020

If you're looking for a good cause to support this Volunteers' Week, why not get in touch to find out about volunteering for our charity.

There is a range of volunteer opportunities available across our charity, so if you have time to give or a skill to share, we'd love to hear from you.

“Our wonderful volunteers play such a key role in adding those extra little touches to our services that really make a difference to people's lives,” said Relationships Manager, Nicola Milne. “I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who freely gives their time and look forward to welcoming lots of new volunteers to our team.”

If you would like to volunteer for St Cuthbert's Care, contact Nicola by email at nicola.milne@stcuthbertscare.org.uk or ring her on 07824 452885.

Thank you.

Our tree of happiness

28 May 2020

Service users at our Sherringham House independent living apartments have created some artwork to remind them all of the happy things in their lives.

Over the past week, our staff have been on hand to help construct the ‘Happy Tree' which features dozens of colourful, hand-crafted leaves, each one bearing a personal reminder of something that makes our service users smile.

Now, whenever someone needs a little boost, the ‘Happy Tree' is there to help them out and remind them to think about things like their favourite strawberry ice cream, the luxury of a bubble bath, relaxing in the sun or watching Coronation Street.

“How could anyone walk past this amazing tree and not feel happy,” said our Director of Care, Amanda Head.

The race is on for tallest sunflower

21 May 2020

Residents at our home in Bailiffgate in Alnwick love being outside, so, as the lockdown continues, they have been making the most of the good weather in their garden.

Everyone was delighted to see that the seeds planted a few weeks ago are growing well, which provided the inspiration for a little more green-fingered work – potting on the seedlings.

With giant sunflowers among the many plants thriving thanks to all the TLC, there's already quite a bit of excitement building about how tall they might grow.

Let’s bake for National Chocolate Chip Day

15 May 2020

The fact that today is National Chocolate Chip Day hasn't escaped the notice of residents living in our home for adults in Alnwick.

Planning ahead with the support of our staff, any remaining Easter eggs in the home were ‘repurposed' with the help of a rolling pin and lots of laughter to provide the necessary chocolate chips for a batch of cookies.

“Most of our residents love baking,” said manager, Susan, “but with extra fun ingredient of making their own chocolate chips, this cookery session has probably been one of our most popular!”

And, after the effort of making all those chocolate chips, sampling the results with a nice cuppa was a pretty popular choice, too.

Loving thoughts sent by Royal Mail

14 May 2020

Virtual hugs, a special message and a photo of their loved ones – all contained in a perfect heart - will be winging their way to relatives and friends of residents living in our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland.

Our residents were invited to join the home's activities co-ordinator, Vicky, in creating the tokens of affection as part of their regular craft activities and were delighted with the idea.

“Seeing as we can't hug our friends and relatives in person, I thought it would be nice for them to receive a virtual hug in the post,” said Vicky. “It really helps our residents feel they are sharing their affection for the special people in their lives.”

Special video brings colour and cheer

12 May 2020

Residents and staff at our St Catherine's nursing home in Newcastle have been cheered by a beautiful gift of art, music and poetry sent to them via video.

Made specially for our residents by families and children of City Church Newcastle, the bright and cheerful video features paintings, drawings and photos of local landscapes, as well as a poem about hope. Lasting just over five minutes, the entire video is set to the tune of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Our residents were thrilled to see the video and so moved by the amount of work that must have gone into making it for them. They would like to return the good wishes of everyone at City Church and say a massive thank you each and every person involved.

On the 75th anniversary of VE Day, we remember

7 May 2020

Although our usual get-togethers aren't possible this VE Day, preparations are well underway around our services to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of this remarkable day in our history.

Union Jack bunting and doves of peace have been lovingly created by our nursing home residents; hand-crafted giant poppies adorn the garden wall of our residential home in Alnwick and many other tributes are planned in song and music to mark the special anniversary.

Along with the celebrations, however, there will also be times to reflect on the lives that were given in the fight for our freedom.

We will remember them.

Banner bears special message

5 May 2020

The acts of kindness shown by so many people have been such a comfort to our Holy Cross residents in Sunderland that they have put up a special message outside their home.

With the support of the home's activities' co-ordinator, Vicky, our residents have made a giant ‘Stay Safe' banner to display their own good wishes to visitors and passers-by.

“People have been so kind and thoughtful,” said Vicky. “We've received children's drawings, cakes, toiletries, lots of lovely, positive messages - and more besides. Every gift is so gratefully received and our banner will, hopefully, let everyone know we are thinking of them, too."

Garden wall is blank canvas for rainbow art

30 April 2020

Our home in Bailiffgate, Alnwick, now has a rainbow at the bottom of the garden, thanks to the artistic talents of one of our residents living there.

After the garden wall had received a fresh coat of white paint – thanks to the time given by our Chief Executive's better half, James – resident, Kate couldn't resist asking if she could add a giant rainbow to the blank canvas.

“James was more than happy to see his painted wall given the rainbow treatment,” said manager, Susan. “The garden is looking wonderful after all his hard work and the rainbow adds a special finishing touch.”

As a symbol of hope that can inspire every day, rainbows have been springing up everywhere, and now everyone living in our Alnwick home has one of the biggest rainbows around.

The chalk design will last as long as the rain stays away – then it will be time to create a new rainbow of hope.

Acts of kindness mean so much in these difficult times

28 April 2020

Around our services, gifts have been arriving from generous companies, organisations and well-wishers and we'd like to take this opportunity to say a massive ‘thank you' to you all.

As lockdown continues, many of our service users are missing their trip to the coffee shop or the little extra treats brought to them by their families, so every gift received is a big occasion for them.

Residents at our St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle were over-the-moon when a basket of beautifully wrapped fruit and hand creams arrived from Newcastle RVI, closely followed by a delivery of delicious chocolate Easter eggs from a mystery donor. Whoever you are, everyone is very grateful and sends their thanks.

Meanwhile, across the region at our home in Alnwick, residents were able to enjoy a café experience in their own garden thanks to a donation of indulgent Yum Yums by Greggs.

“We often pop out to the local café for coffee and cake,” said home manager, Susan, “so to be able to set up a café-style get-together – even if we had to be a little more distant from each other than usual – really brightened everyone's day.”

There have been so many wonderful acts of kindness across our services and each one has spread a great deal of joy and boosted our service users' spirits knowing their local communities are thinking of them. Thank you.

Pictured is Sarah enjoying a Yum Yum in their garden ‘café', and St Catherine's Manager, Gill (front) with duty manager, Bev, and the fruit basket and mystery Easter eggs.

A helping hand from Hughie … or maybe another cuppa??

24 April 2020

Our residents and staff team at our Alnwick home were delighted recently when our CEO's better half, James, formally volunteered his time to the charity during these difficult and restrictive times.

James was immediately assigned to gardening duties at our Alnwick home, (heeding appropriate distancing measures of course) where he got to work on clearing away the winter weeds and gave the grass its first cut of the summer. To brighten up the garden further, James whitewashed the back wall, fixed the pergola and fence, and now has a further list of jobs from Susan, registered manager:

‘It's great to have James here – and not costing us a penny either. We've got big plans for the garden and I hope James will be able to help us out with them all.

‘Hughie loves his newly assumed role of Head Gardener! He missed being able to sit on his bench at the front door. So now, he's got his bench in our sunny, tidied, back garden, where he keeps James company all day long with his banter.'

James said: ‘I've met Hughie many times before and we get on really well. I bring my flask with me and Hughie even brought his flask out earlier in the week to be the same – he's a real character. It was lovely yesterday as all staff and residents came out to have lunch in the garden as I pottered on. It's a privilege for me to be able to help in any small way possible during these worrying days and weeks.'

Staff share talents to spread some cheer

23 April 2020

With our Holy Cross nursing home closed to all but essential visitors at the moment, our staff have been coming up with ingenious ways to keep our residents entertained.

To keep spirits bright, our home's activities co-ordinator, Vicky, thought some musical entertainment would be welcomed – and set about becoming a travelling musician.

Armed with her Karaoke machine, Vicky popped into each room to see if there were any special requests residents wanted her to sing. She then delighted each one by giving them their own, personal performance.

The Beatles, Elvis and Abba were among the most popular requests, but Vicky took the varied selections in her stride.

“Obviously I had to sing We Could Be Heroes, too,” said Vicky. “That was for all of our wonderful staff who are doing a fantastic job in these difficult times. I'm so proud to be part of the Holy Cross family.”

And the Holy Cross family are very grateful for you sharing your talents, Vicky.

Gill celebrates 30 years of service with a slice of cake.

23 April 2020

Our Director of Compliance, Gill Ennis, today celebrates 30 years of service with St Cuthbert's Care.

Gill started work with the Charity on 23 April 1990 as the Assistant Manager of Lemington Hall, Alnwick. Gill has held various roles within the charity, before becoming the registered Manager of St Catherine's Nursing Home when it was in Sandyford. Since joining the Senior Management Team, Gill's focus has been risk and compliance but she has never lost her passion for elderly care.

“I am genuinely delighted and thrilled to have spent my career with the charity. I love my job, especially now that I am once again the registered manager of St Catherine's” Gill said over her slice of cake. “My grandmother was my inspiration and I used to volunteer with her at Doxford Hall Care Home, was I was only 14 years old. I feel privileged to share my delicious cake, made by Colin, our very own chef, with the residents of St Catherine's.

Here's too many more years Gill, hopefully we will all be able to celebrate with a glass of fizz soon.

Garden club has sights set on summer

22 April 2020

Our green fingered residents living in our home in Bailiffgate, Alnwick have been weaving more of their gardening magic.

Inspired by the sunny weather to make their garden the best it can be as the summer approaches, our residents have been raking and hoeing, clearing and planting.

“Everyone has enjoyed helping outside so much that we've formed a little gardening club,” said manager, Susan. “We can each work on gardening tasks regularly that will make our outside space really special.”

And one of the most popular garden activities is to sit back and admire their hard work with a cuppa and a biscuit. Well deserved it is, too.

School shares joy and hope with their rainbows

17 April 2020

Residents at our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland were delighted when they received a special message and pictures from their friends at a local primary school.

Richard Avenue Primary School is running a childcare service during the current lockdown and students thought some of the colourful rainbow paintings they'd made would help to cheer up our residents.

The paintings arrived at Holy Cross with a wonderful message which read:

“We have been painting in our childcare at Richard Avenue today and thought we would share these paintings to help spread a little rainbow joy. We hope you are all well and we hope to be able to see you soon. Love from your friends at Richard Avenue Primary School.”

Our residents would like to pass on their grateful thanks to everyone at the school for their kindness and are also looking forward to the time students can visit again.

Meanwhile, their paintings and message are displayed in our home where they are spreading smiles each day.

Virtual chat brings real smiles

16 April 2020

Our staff are making the most of modern technology to make sure our service users don't miss out on family time during the current lockdown.

For Beth, who lives in our Alan Shearer Specialist Residential Home, daily visits from her mum and regular visits from other members of her family were a huge miss.

But, with the help of Beth's smartphone and the support of our staff, virtual visits are now taking place regularly with video chats.

“Beth has acquired brain injuries and is unable to understand the complexities of the government guidelines,” said manager, Gareth. “Knowing how much Beth was missing her mum and how much her mum was missing her, we wanted to reunite them in any way we could. It was a joy to see Beth so happy again when the first video call took place with her mum.”

And we're spreading the joy here with this beautiful photo of Beth's smiles.

Big plans for little seeds

15 April 2020

Residents at our home in Bailiffgate in Alnwick have been exercising their green fingers with a spot of gardening.

Enjoying the spring sunshine from the warmth of indoors, our residents have planted a variety of seeds that they will nurture excitedly until the plants are big enough to continue their growing season outside.

Pansy, lettuce and parsley are destined for great things in their home with plans for colourful hanging baskets and healthy cookery already in the pipeline.

“Our residents will make sure the little seeds are tended every day,” said manager, Susan. “There's nothing that says ‘spring' quite as much as when new shoots appear. We might have a few weeks to go, but our seeds already have the best sunny spot in our kitchen to start working their magic.”

It will be good to catch up with the finished result.

More reasons to make it a Happy Easter

14 April 2020

It's been a happy, active Easter around our services with lots of cards being made, special messages being sent and a generous gift of chocolate eggs and grocery essentials received from Morrisons' Blaydon store.

We'd like to thank Susan and Ragen from Morrisons for taking time out to deliver five huge boxes of chocolate eggs and for their kindness in bringing along treats for our care staff as well as some fresh fruit, toiletries and other essentials.

The chocolate eggs and groceries have been shared around our services, helping to spread some welcome Easter cheer.

Meanwhile, our nursing home residents in Sunderland and Newcastle made Easter cards with personalised messages to send to their families. With visits still on hold during the current lock down, their cards are just one of the ways our home is helping to keep everyone in touch.

Young people in our children's residential home in Sunderland have also contributed to the many acts of kindness being shown around our services by making beautiful, hand-crafted cards specially for our nursing home residents.

It's lovely to see all the different ways everyone is finding to support each other and spread some happiness.

A message from Canon Robert Spence - Easter Sunday

12 April 2020

Canon Robert Spence is resident in our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland and would like to share with you a message for Easter Sunday.

Every time Jesus met someone after this happiest of days, he greeted them with the single word PEACE.

This word is the key word in today's celebrations. We can't, at the moment, embrace one another, or exchange a kiss or handshake, instead we substitute a big warm smile at the one two metres away from us.

We wish a deep down Easter Peace to all those whose lives we touch – especially those who are sadly bereaved and those caring for us so generously. Peace be with you all.

A message from Canon Robert Spence - Good Friday

10 April 2020

Canon Robert Spence is resident in our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland and would like to share with you his message for Good Friday.

The name of our care home in Sunderland is Holy Cross. Today, Good Friday, is our big day. As you walk into our home you see that Holy Cross presiding over the sanctuary of our lovely chapel.

Jesus, today's hero, is stretching his arms on that Holy Cross in an embrace for every single man, woman and child. He assures us that, although suffering and death are very real, they are not the end. Looking down from the Holy Cross he says to his Mother and best friend – “Make sure you look after one another.” May God bless you all.

A message from Canon Bob Spence - Maundy Thursday

9 April 2020

Canon Robert Spence is resident in our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland and would like to share with you a message for Mandy Thursday.

Today tells us what life is all about. We see Jesus down on his knees washing the feet of his friends. These feet are sweaty, un-sanitised. He acts out his own words “Love one another as I have loved you.”

We are lucky that we see all around us so many caring people putting words like Love and Care into practice. That's why we will all be out as usual at 8pm clapping our thank yous to you all. May God bless you all.

Holy Week – A different week

8 April 2020

Canon Robert Spence is resident in our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland and he would like to share with you his message for Holy Week.

It's so easy during these difficult days to think that every day of this lockdown is monotonously the same. But here at Holy Cross it won't be like that. We have already, in our imaginations, waved our palms as we greeted Jesus riding into Jerusalem; as if he was bringing the cup back from Wembley.

On Thursday, Friday and Sunday we'll be making those days different as we remember with love and gratitude all those heroes who are caring for us all so generously. As always, I remember you all in my prayers.

Holy Cross residents share picture messages

7 April 2020

As everyone continues to be confined to home during the current pandemic, residents and staff at our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland are finding lots of ways to lift each other's spirits.

When our residents chatted to our staff about how much they were missing their families, the conversation quickly inspired a new project that would cheer everyone up.

With pens, paper and creativity at the ready, everyone designed and made their own personal message artwork. Photographed by our staff, each picture will be sent to friends and relatives to let them know their loved one is safe and happy.

“Our residents loved chatting together as they worked,” said the home's Activities Co-ordinator, Vicky. “They swapped stories about how the current situation reminded them of wartime, and, before long, everyone was singing one of the most popular and optimistic songs from that time – ‘We'll Meet Again'.

As the photographs show, it certainly managed to spread lots of smiles.

Song of the Day

6 April 2020

Today's song is … Reach for the Stars by S Club 7.

The song was chosen by Fostering NE. Enjoy.

Our Song for the Day is helping to bring some cheer

3 April 2020

Every day for the last week, our staff and service users have been enjoying an uplifting song, each one chosen in turn by one of our services.

Our charity ‘Song for the Day' is being sung or listened to right across our charity, and, wherever people can't get together in groups, it's bringing people together in voice if not in person.

We'd like to share our songs with you, too, and hope it helps to bring some cheer and comfort in these difficult times.

Our song selections so far have been:

· Don't Worry Be Happy – Bob Marley, chosen by our Chief Executive

· Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves, chosen by our Marketing team

· Don't Stop Believin' – Journey, chosen by our Finance team

· You Are my Sunshine – Elizabeth Mitchell, chosen by St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle

· You Can't Touch This – MC Hammer, chosen by Auton House

· With a Little Help from my Friends – The Beatles, chosen by Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland

· My Sharona – The Knack, chosen by Auton Sunderland

· She Loves You – The Beatles, chosen by our residential home in Bailiffgate, Alnwick

And this is what we'll all be singing this weekend:

· Three Little Birds – Bob Marley, chosen by Sherringham House Independent Supported Living

· Spice up your Life – The Spice Girls, chosen by Auton Darlington

We hope you enjoy joining in with a tune or two.

Cheers, applause and music show support

3 April 2020

Our service users from Sherringham House independent supported living apartments in Kenton were proud to lend their support to the nationwide ‘Clap for Carers' tribute.

Clapping and cheering from their windows and balconies, everyone found the tribute to be moving and heartfelt as they each acknowledged the crucial work of their own carers, too.

Music enthusiast, Peter, chose a drum to boost his tribute and entertain local neighbours at the same time.

Tributes took place right around our services and we're incredibly grateful to our staff as well as everyone else working in the front line as the fight against coronavirus continues. Thank you.

For extra happiness, just add one dog

2 April 2020

As the world marks World Autism Awareness Day, staff at our specialist residential home are pulling out all the stops to support residents with the condition in these difficult times.

Keeping to the rules of social distancing has been hard to understand for residents Rachel and Jordan, but staff have been determined to keep them happy AND safe.

As well as exercising in the home's private, expansive grounds and gardens, adding a staff member's dog to the mix has certainly been a hit with Rachel and Jordan.

“Rachel and Jordan live incredibly active and structured lives,” said home manager, Gareth. “The major disruption to their routines caused by the behaviour changes needed to guard against the spread of coronavirus are difficult for them to understand.”

So, when a member of staff thought bringing in her dog might help, it couldn't have been a bigger success.

“Rachel and Jordan love it,” added Gareth. “It encourages them to get out into the fresh air and gives them that all-important interaction that they are missing.”

It looks like Daisy the dog will be a regular member of the team from now on.

A Message from Canon Spence

2 April 2020

I'm a resident at Holy Cross in Sunderland. Friends find it amusing that I'm now living near the Stadium of Light when I've spent so much of my early life at St James' Park! But I feel very much at home here.

We're all very well looked after here, although we're, like many of you, missing our families and friends.

I enjoy walking in our lovely garden and saying a prayer at our Lourdes grotto. Looking at the statue of Mary, this is the sort of prayer I would say:

“Mary, mother of Jesus, ask him to look after us, our families and friends and all the generous people who are caring for us.

Mary, we ask you to smile on all the terrific people who are being so unselfish in these hard and puzzling times. Please ask Jesus your son to be as caring to all of us as you were to him when he was a young lad growing up in the north of your country.”

Continuing my walk in the garden, I pray “Jesus, help us to keep cheering one another up!”

I'm off now to watch Judy Garland in ‘Meet me in St Louis' over a cup of tea and cake in the comfortable residents lounge. I will continue to prayer for you all.

Take care

Fr Bob

Can you volunteer to help us?

1 April 2020

As precautions to guard against coronavirus remain in place for the foreseeable future, we are appealing for volunteers to help across our services.

Our services provide care for some of the most vulnerable members of our communities with the majority of our staff teams offering 24-hour support. As such, we are planning ahead in an effort to maintain this support should our services be affected by high numbers of staff being unable to work.

If you are well and healthy, we would be grateful if you would consider volunteering for our charity.

We are hoping to build teams of volunteers who are able to fulfil a range of roles, such as food preparation, cooking, laundry work, housekeeping and cleaning, administration and IT support, indoor activities with residents and gardening and maintenance.

If you feel able to help or would like an informal chat to find out more, please contact Nicola Milne at nicola.milne@stcuthbertscare.org.uk

Your support in these difficult times will be much appreciated. Thank you.

Our uplifting rainbows of hope

31 March 2020

Residents and staff at our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland have made special symbols of hope to decorate their home.

As the pandemic continues, colourful rainbows and prayer hands have been added to the home's windows and notice boards and prayers and songs are being dedicated to everyone around the world enduring these worrying times.

The rainbows, carrying the uplifting message: ‘watch for the rainbow', are clearly visible from outside the home.

“Posting the rainbows in our windows means everyone passing the home can enjoy them and know that we are all in this together,” said the home's Activities Co-ordinator, Vicky. “We hope they will bring a smile to everyone who sees them, especially in these difficult times.”

Happy St Cuthbert's Day

20 March 2020

Today is the Feast of St Cuthbert – the patron saint of our Diocese and the namesake of our charity - and for many of us it will be the last time we come together to worship for a long time.

St Cuthbert was born in 634AD. One day when tending sheep in Scotland, he had a vision of St Aidan being carried to heaven by angel. This inspired him to become a monk and one of the great evangelists of early Christianity, spreading the word of the gospel to all.

St Cuthbert sought solitude and peace on the Inner Farne Island, living in great austerity and dedicating his life to prayer.

St Cuthbert's name symbolises centuries of faith and devotion in the North of England and embodies the wide scope and nature of our purpose: ‘Working for the common good by enabling people to develop to their personal potential.'

This is going to be a difficult time for us all. We ask that you remember our charity in your prayers. St Cuthbert - pray for us.

St Patrick’s Day celebrations

18 March 2020

Residents in our nursing homes in Newcastle and Sunderland made the most of St Patrick's Day with a packed calendar of activities.

Our Holy Cross home in Sunderland held an Irish Pub Quiz covering topics from general knowledge to identifying photos of pubs and bars, with lots of friendly competition between the teams.

A delicious assortment of good food was enjoyed at both homes, including traditional Irish soda bread and Irish stew - and no St Patrick's Day would be complete without a little taste of Guinness, too.

Irish songs completed the line-up, with memories flooding back during a sing-along featuring popular tunes such as Danny Boy and Sweet Molly Malone.

It was another day of fun and laughter, much of it reserved for Holy Cross activities co-ordinator, Vicky, who delighted everyone with her Leprechaun outfit.

Residents recall their past with fun and laughter

17 March 2020

Residents at our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland have enjoyed sharing their memories and re-visiting some favourite childhood pastimes.

Stories flowed in the popular reminiscence session as everyone recalled some of their favourite times – from school days, to receiving special gifts from special loved ones.

There was plenty of laughter, too, when our residents swapped tales of their childhood phobias.

“Maureen remembered being scared of spiders,” said the home's Activities Co-ordinator, Vicky, “so when I mentioned I'd once had a pet tarantula, it didn't really impress anyone!”

The afternoon wrapped up with our residents enjoying a memory game challenge that many remembered from their childhood. After being shown a collection of items on a tray, some items were secretly removed and the task was set to remember what was missing.

The game was a huge hit and drew plenty of fond comments about simpler times.

Spring has sprung at Parkhead

12 March 2020

Regular service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington are able to experience a perfect spring day, whatever the weather.

If it's rainy or cold outside, inside, our service users will always be able to enjoy perfectly green grass, cloudless blue skies and colourful spring flowers, thanks to their latest collaborative artwork.

Their 12ft x 4ft mural is a striking feature in the dining room at Parkhead and is an instant pick-me-up on even the dullest day.

Of course, whenever the weather permits, our staff and service users love to make the most of their gorgeous grounds and, on sunny days, everyone is eager to get outside to see their cheerful flowering bulbs in all their glory.

Parkhead Manager, Claire, said, “We planted lots of bulbs last autumn, so it has felt like a long wait, but Parkhead is definitely in full bloom now – both inside and outside.”

Help us to help others during Free Wills Month

10 March 2020

The ability to carry out our charitable work to help vulnerable people across the region depends heavily on donations gifted to us and we would warmly welcome your support during Free Wills Month this March.

Every day, our charity works to support and enable people to reach their full potential, focusing on those least able to help themselves. Currently, our areas of work include residential care for children; fostering; care for people with a range of physical and learning disabilities, nursing and residential care for older people and supporting those in need in our local communities.

“Our services have often been described as a lifeline,” said ? “Beyond the direct help we are able to offer those in our care the benefits of our work also extend to their families and friends, often improving life immeasurably for everyone concerned.”

If you would like to help St Cuthbert's Care, we offer a free, professional will-making service using a reputable firm of solicitors to draw up your documents, ensuring the wishes expressed in your will are legal and valid.

For more information or for an informal chat, please contact Marketing Manager, Nicola Milne on 0191 228 0111 or email nicola.milne@stcuthbertscare.org.uk.

Thank you.

Amazing adventures with virtual reality

2 March 2020

Wow! Fantastic! Beautiful! Incredible! These were just some of the expressions from our St Catherine's Nursing Home residents as they shared in their first virtual reality experience.

Wearing the special headsets and guided by our home's activities co-ordinator, Zaeley, our residents were able to get close to a herd of elephants, watch waves break on the shore and enjoy seeing the world through the eyes of a soaring eagle.

The 360 degree view and real life sounds gave a truly immersive experience and everyone responded with looks of amazement and surprised laughter.

Now that our residents have had a gentle taste of the virtual reality experience, quite a few can't wait to try a rollercoaster ride or a parachute jump from an aeroplane

Super science for our service users

28 February 2020

Service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington stole an early march on British Science Week when they were visited by a fun scientist recently.

Neil Harrison's Big Bang Science workshop had everyone fascinated as they launched into some fizzing, fragrant and bubbling experiments that they could take home to enjoy.

There was lots of laughter and shouts of excitement as their successful experiments - using safe, store cupboard ingredients - produced colourful, working lava lamps, fizzy sherbet and delightful bath bombs.

“We had a fantastic morning, with Neil showing us what to do, and we were all amazed with the results of our experiments,” said Parkhead Manager, Claire. “To top it all, everyone loved that they had something fun they could show off when they returned home.”

They may well still be talking about it all when Science Week arrives next month.

Memories rekindled at museum cottage

19 February 2020

Residents from our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland became time travellers as they enjoyed one of the region's best-loved tourist attractions.

Stepping into Orchard Cottage at Beamish Open Air Museum, our residents were immediately transported back to the 1940's when they were children or young women.

Memories came flooding back as everyone sat around the kitchen table, chatting about their childhood and their families.

It was all about re-living experiences, too.

With bread expertly placed on a special toasting fork, more stories were shared as they toasted bread on the open coal fire then spread the slices with greengage preserve to enjoy with a cup of tea.

Staying in the bygone era, they washed their cups in a bowl of soapy water and dried them with tea towels, laughing at how a woman's work is never done.

More memories were recalled as they were shown a variety of household items such as curling irons, hair clippers and darning mushrooms.

The whole afternoon was rounded off with a rousing sing-song around the piano.

“Everyone had a fantastic time remembering the past,” said Holy Cross Activities' Coordinator, Vicky. “It was fascinating to see what life was like in those days and to hear about it first hand from our residents. They really seemed to enjoy seeing the look of disbelief on our faces at some of the stories, too!”

Love is all around

14 February 2020

Our services are bustling with pampering preparations and filled with hearts, flowers and tempting treats as celebrations get underway to mark the romance of February 14th.

Residents in our nursing homes – St Catherine's in Newcastle and Holy Cross in Sunderland – are spending time with our staff and each other reminiscing about how they met their wives and husbands.

And the treats on offer are as sweet as the stories everyone has been swapping with a beautifully presented afternoon tea fit for any romantic tryst.

A Valentine-themed quiz covering film, music and general knowledge wrapped up the afternoon, providing fun and a few surprises, too.

Meanwhile, staff at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington have been helping their regulars prepare for an evening of romance with pamper sessions and manicures for all to make sure everyone is looking their best.

“We've made special cards for that special someone,” said Parkhead manager, Claire, “and, after a bit of a pamper, everyone is looking – and feeling – well groomed and ready for romance.”

Parkhead’s five a day is a work of art

13 February 2020

Regular service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington have combined two of their favourite things to create a colourful work of art.

Delicious food and the natural environment would definitely appear in the top ten favourites of our service users at Parkhead, so manager, Claire, cleverly combined the two topics into one fascinating activity.

Our service users were asked to think of all the different ways nature provides food for us, then to choose some of the healthy options to draw and colour to create a vibrant collage for the Centre walls.

Kiwi fruit, oranges, watermelons and apples were soon under everyone's attentive gaze alongside some of nature's more exotic produce such as papaya and passion fruit

“We were struck by how many colours and patterns there were when we looked closely at the produce,” said Claire. “And, as well as giving us a gorgeous collage to brighten up our walls, we were able to look at the importance of eating five, colourful portions of fruit and vegetables a day.”

Residents have a ball at their own Oscars party

11 February 2020

Residents living at our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland have been following in the footsteps of some of the biggest Hollywood stars.

With TV screens, newspapers and magazines trumpeting news from this year's Academy Awards, staff at our nursing home were very much of the mind that ‘if you can't beat ‘em, join ‘em'.

Our home's activities' co-ordinator, Vicky, invited residents to try their hand at some Oscar-winning performances themselves and laid on a party fit for Hollywood's finest.

Soon, winners were being announced for ‘most dramatic performance', ‘best vocal performance' and ‘best footwork' and Oscar certificates were being awarded to our talented residents.

Champagne celebrations followed, and even the chocolate covered strawberries were dressed for the occasion, decorated like ball gowns and tuxedos.

The glittering occasion was rounded off with songs from some of the great films of yesteryear.

“What a fantastic time we all had,” said Vicky. “There's no better feeling than seeing our residents with a smile on their faces and announcing to everyone that they've had a wonderful afternoon.”

Marking Dignity Action Day

4 February 2020

Residents at our nursing homes in Sunderland and Newcastle have been marking Dignity Action Day with some tasty treats and poignant thoughts.

At our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland, residents and staff gathered together to read out a collection of lovely poems and lively cartoons relating to dignity, which also doubled as a fitting tribute to World Read Aloud Day.

Our residents then enjoyed an afternoon ‘digni-tea', which included a specially decorated cake made by the home's chef.

Meanwhile, our St Catherine's Nursing Home residents in Newcastle were supported by staff to decorate their dignity tree with some of the many positive words to be found in our home's latest CQC inspection report.

Dignity is embedded in training and practice for every member of our staff and Dignity Action Day provides an opportunity to further highlight its importance.

From young volunteer to apprentice

31 January 2020

One of our valued volunteers has successfully applied for an apprenticeship in IT following her time supporting our charity.

Young student, Erin, joined our Alan Shearer Activity Centre almost a year ago where she gained valuable, wide-ranging experience and quickly became a valuable member of our Centre team.

Erin credits her time at the Centre and the support of the staff with helping her to build her confidence and take her first step into a new career.

“Erin was a credit to the Centre during her time with us,” said Centre Co-ordinator, Dawn. “Although she'll be a big miss, we wish her every success for her future.”

If you would like to volunteer with St Cuthbert's Care, contact Nicola on 0191 228 0111 or email nicola.milne@stcuthbertscare.org.uk to see how you can help.

Parkhead joins the nation in birdwatching

29 January 2020

Service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington have been taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch.

With its lawns, hedgerows and mature trees, Parkhead is a pretty popular place for birds – especially as our service users regularly make bird-friendly treats to hang outside, too.

Armed with their survey kit, our service users watched and counted patiently as birds visited their grounds.

Their findings showed that woodpigeons were the most popular visitors, followed by blackbirds and jackdaws.

Supported by our staff, their results were carefully collated and sent online to become part of the national survey results compiled by the RSPB.

“We feel very proud to have played a part in such an important survey,” said Parkhead's Senior Support Worker, Jonathan.

Get ready to welcome the Year of the Rat

24 January 2020

Dragons, lanterns, lucky envelopes and Chinese traditions are all featuring in our Chinese New Year celebrations around our services.

At our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington, our regular service users have enjoyed taking a glimpse at some Chinese traditions and shared their creative talents by making some pretty impressive paper lanterns, as well as a giant dragon to grace their walls.

To complete their warm welcome for the Year of the Rat, everyone is receiving a customary lucky red envelope containing a sweet surprise.

Residents at our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland are looking forward to a taste of the Orient with a Chinese banquet, complete with fortune cookies, and delving into their craft boxes to create their own paper lanterns.

Meanwhile, at our specialist Alan Shearer Centre in Newcastle, members, guests and staff have been busily making lanterns, too, in preparation for some Chinese lantern craft sessions this Saturday, 25 January.

And, as Burns Night is also fast approaching, you can even sample a little haggis when you come along, too.

The ‘make a lantern' activity is free for our Activity Centre members and you can ring our friendly recreation assistants on 0191 2678118 to book your place at one of two sessions – 12 noon until 1pm or 1pm until 2pm.

Kung Hei Fat Choy! Happy New Year!

Crafts and planting hint at springtime

21 January 2020

Residents at our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland have made themselves a little taste of springtime to decorate their rooms.

With the help of Rebecca from Groundwork North East and Cumbria and the home's activities co-ordinator, Vicky, our residents produced some unique and beautiful planters before potting them up with flowers and herbs.

Using decoupage techniques to turn plain plant pots into cheerful containers, our residents then potted them up with pretty miniature roses, basil and parsley to create an attractive and fragrant display.

“As well as thoroughly enjoying the indoor gardening experience,” said activities co-ordinator, Vicky, “we were all totally absorbed in telling each other stories about our gardening and outdoor experiences from our younger days, too. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.”

- And there won't be a shortage of herbs to enjoy in any cooking they do either.

Some cracking questions answered at Parkhead

16 January 2020

Are girls more static than boys? Will static separate salt from pepper? These and other intriguing questions were the subject of the latest experiments carried out at our Parkhead Resource Centre.

Staff and service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington had great fun creating static electricity using a simple balloon and lots of friction before letting loose their curiosity with a series of hands-on experiments.

After thoroughly testing their home-made static, it was concluded that girls were, indeed, more static than boys – everyone agreed this was possibly because girls tended to have longer hair to create and react to static.

Other fascinating discoveries were that static easily picks up pieces of paper and, because pepper is lighter than salt, static electricity can be used to separate the two seasonings.

“Our experiments were great fun,” said Parkhead manager, Claire. “We also watched some footage of how static electricity is created in nature, resulting in lightning strikes and, although everyone agreed these looked very impressive, it was a reminder of the damage and danger they could pose, too.”

Margaret's wish comes true

14 January 2020

A kind-hearted budgerigar enthusiast has helped to make a wish come true for one of our St Catherine's nursing home residents.

When 89-year-old Margaret asked for a budgie like the one she used to own, staff immediately got to work to see what they could do.

Although strict hygiene requirements meant a bird would be unable to stay, staff were sure a visiting budgie would still make her happy.

After a brief internet search, contact was made with secretary and treasurer of the Northern Budgerigar Society, Kevin Batey, who happily agreed to come along with not one, but four of his prized budgerigars.

“It's been fantastic to see Margaret with the budgies,” said the home's duty manager, Bev. “Once she'd made her wish known, we were determined to do our best to make it come true. I'd like to say a massive thank you to Kevin for giving up his time to bring along his beautiful birds. Margaret couldn't take her eyes off them and the visit clearly made her day.”

"It was a pleasure to help out," said Kevin, "and any time she'd like another visit, just get in touch."

Margaret had made her wish known by completing a ‘make my wish come true' request card, which every resident has in their room.

"Our room cards make it so easy to make a wish," added Bev, "and we're ready with our determination and imagination, whatever our residents wish for."

We worked out whodunnit

7 January 2020

A chilling tale unfolded at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington, with staff and those who regularly attend the Centre being central to the plot.

The fictional whodunnit demanded everyone play a part in a thrilling investigation to find out who had carried out the dastardly deed of murdering one of their friends. So, one by one, clues were unearthed and interpreted until the last bloody hand print finally revealed the culprit.

“Everyone had a great time playing Sherlock Holmes,” said Centre manager, Claire, “and it was so exciting looking for clues and working out what they meant. There was much disbelief and laughter when the guilty party was discovered to be none other than one of our lovely staff members.”

The whole experience was so inspirational that the afternoon was spent watching the real Sherlock Holmes star in one of his famous movies.

Music and laughter starts the new decade

3 January 2020

The dawn of a new decade was marked at our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland with a fun-filled evening of entertainment and merriment.

Our residents were joined by staff, relatives and visitors to welcome in 2020, starting with a performance by entertainer, Michael Stevens that brought laughter and an irresistible collection of songs to sing along to.

Afterwards, everyone chatted together over a buffet tea and raised a few glasses to wish each other a very Happy New Year.

“Our New Year's Eve celebrations went down a storm,” said the home's activities co-ordinator, Vicky, “and we plan on having many more fun-filled evenings throughout 2020.”

Our residents enjoy carol singers a-plenty

19 December 2019

When it comes to carolling at Christmas, residents in our St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle just can't get enough.

Throughout December, students from schools around the diocese have been popping in regularly to entertain everyone with their singing, while staff from St Vincent's Diocesan Offices, located on the floor above the nursing home, brought their own mix of carols and Christmas music this week.

The carol concert had everyone joining in with classics such as ‘I Saw Three Ships', ‘White Christmas' and ‘It's the most wonderful time of the year' and residents particularly enjoyed a piece played on the Northumbrian pipes.

A little humour and some colourful outfits made sure everyone was filled with festive cheer.

“Our lounge was packed with residents enjoying the concert,” said St Catherine's manager, Gill. “We would like to thank everyone who took part for making our afternoon really special.”

Festive selection brings Christmas magic

18 December 2019

Adults from around our disability services have been getting together to share in the magic and fun of Christmas.

Regulars and staff at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington have given a warm welcome to visitors from our independent supported living services - and their frequent visits have meant quite a few friendships have formed, too.

From the magic of panto to their favourite magician showcasing his skills, everyone has been spellbound by the wealth activities and entertainment lined up to help them have the best Christmas ever.

With a good sprinkling of music from the Strolling Bones and Elvis impersonator, Mike Memphis, this year's festive line-up has provided laughter, song and more than a generous helping of amazement, too.”

“Our celebrations have been gathering pace as we enter the final week before Christmas,” said Parkhead manager, Claire. “We've had a lively, packed house most days, but energy is still high and no-one wants it to end.”

Musical fun for the festive season

17 December 2019

If there's one traditional Christmas outing that residents at our Holy Cross Nursing Home love, it's panto.

And this year was no exception as our staff accompanied small groups of our residents to see Robin Hood at the local Sunderland Royalty Theatre.

There was all the usual fun and farce, plenty of cries of ‘it's behind you!' and lots of laughter, as well as an opportunity to sing along with the cast – everything a panto fan could desire, in fact.

Our residents were in particularly good voice after enjoying a good old sing-song with Miss Vintage Twist the previous day.

The reminiscence singer and entertainer delighted everyone with a selection of their favourite songs from times gone by, featuring classics by artists such as the Andrews Sisters, Gracie Fields and Vera Lynn.

And, as it was another Christmas celebration at Holy Cross, Miss Vintage Twist made sure there was a good sprinkling of festive songs and carols to sing along to.

“Everyone is having a ball this Christmas,” said activities co-ordinator, Vicky, “and there's still a feast of festive treats to come!”

Thank you for spreading Christmas joy

16 December 2019

Our grateful thanks go to staff at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), who remember us each year as part of their Chocolate Orange Challenge.

Bags of the foil-wrapped treats have been delivered to our Alan Shearer Activity Centre where they will be distributed to people with disabilities benefiting from our Centre over the Christmas period.

Some extra special Chocolate Oranges were also included this year - complete with hand-knitted covers to turn them into Christmas puddings, Santas and festive baubles – which will all be winging their way to families in need in our region in time for Christmas morning.

Staff at the DWP hold their special challenge each year to collect as many Chocolate Oranges as they can to donate to good causes around the region.

“Our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who has been involved in this year's challenge,” said Amanda Head, our Director of Care. “Each and every Chocolate Orange will be gratefully received and, in some cases, will make a huge difference to families who would otherwise have nothing to give their children this Christmas.”

Pictured are: Jill (left) and Caroline (right), both from DWP, with Alan Shearer Centre Co-ordinator, Dawn and the donations from the Chocolate Orange Challenge.

At Parkhead, even the birds have tinsel

11 December 2019

When it comes to spreading Christmas cheer, staff and service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington think of everything.

Not only have they pulled out all the stops with their own festive decorations, making sure every room is filled with festive joy, the special ‘tinsel' garlands, strung on the trees in their grounds, are proving to be very popular with the local bird population.

Made by our Parkhead service users carefully stringing together peanuts in shells, the ‘tinsel' is providing a winter feast for the birds and is a firm favourite with the local blue tits.

“Our home-made peanut tinsel gives us double fun,” said Parkhead manager, Claire. “We have a great time seeing who can make the longest garland, then, once they are hung in the trees, we get so much pleasure from seeing the birds enjoy the fruits of our labours.”

And it seems the birds are certainly enjoying their festive fayre.

Centre's special Santa post box

9 December 2019

With Christmas fast-approaching, young members at our specialist Alan Shearer Activity Centre have found the perfect way to get in touch with Santa.

Our festive foyer at the Activity Centre is packed with Christmas cheer – from Santa's train, loaded with gifts, to sparkling snowflake decorations and, of course, a giant Christmas tree.

But, it's the special Santa post box that's proving to be a popular attraction.

Dozens of letters to Santa have already been written and fastened securely onto the red post box to make sure Santa doesn't miss a single one.

And, with Santa's workshop set up in Browne's Café, just off the foyer, it's not far for Santa to travel to make all the things that are on everyone's list.

There are still a few Christmas activities to look forward to at the Centre, too. You'll find a link to our latest leaflet listings on the Alan Shearer Centre home page, or give our friendly recreation assistants a ring on 0191 2678118. We'll see you soon.

Packed house for children’s festive choir

5 December 2019

Our lounge at St Catherine's nursing home in Newcastle was a very popular place to be when children from a local primary school arrived to sing.

Residents, relatives and staff gathered together to listen as students from St Bede's RC Primary gave a rousing performance of carols, hymns and popular Christmas songs.

‘Silent Night', ‘Jingle Bells' and the ever-popular ‘We Wish you a Merry Christmas' got everyone in the festive spirit, with many residents joining in and continuing to sing snatches of the songs well into the evening.

The visit by St Bede's is part of a packed programme of events and activities planned for St Catherine's in the run-up to Christmas.

White Christmas comes early for our residents

4 December 2019

Residents at our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland have enjoyed a white Christmas without a single snowflake falling.

Singer and entertainer, Michaela, performed her White Christmas show in the cosy comfort of our home's spacious activity room, where she invited everyone to join in with her collection of festive songs.

The mix of classic songs, carols and upbeat tunes made sure everyone had a fantastic time, with some of our residents getting up to perform alongside Michaela – much to everyone's delight.

“We had a fun-filled afternoon of song,” said the home's activities co-ordinator, Vicky, “and some of our residents even got out their dancing shoes to show off their moves. It was a joy to see everyone having so much fun.”

And there'll be plenty more happy times to share with the home's jam-packed Christmas schedule.

Please support our Christmas appeal

3 December 2019

Once again, our charity is hoping to provide local families with toys and gifts at Christmas.

We understand that Christmas brings many pressures, but, if you are able, please consider adding one more gift to your shopping list this year and help us to make someone smile.

Toys and gifts for children, toiletries and good quality used clothing will all be gratefully received and distributed over the festive period to families in need around our region.

We would be delighted to accept donations at our charity's head office at St Cuthbert's House, West Road, NE15 7PY between 9am and 4.30pm each Monday to Friday. To enable us to have time to distribute the gifts before Christmas, could we ask that all donations reach us no later than Wednesday, December 18.

If you would like further information on our appeal, please contact our Relationship Manager, Nicola Milne on 0191 228 0111 or email nicola.milne@stcuthbertscare.org.uk.

Thank you for your support.

Home baking for the birds

25 November 2019

It was aprons and wooden spoons at the ready for regulars at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington as they prepared to cook for some special visitors.

A recipe of lard, oats and raisins wouldn't appeal to many who call in to our Centre, but it was a feast not to be missed by the local bird population.

As the cold winter months set in, our kind-hearted staff and service users worked together to create the perfect breakfast for their many feathered friends.

“We feel so lucky to have such wonderful grounds,” said Parkhead manager, Claire, “so, when it comes to making sure the local wildlife is well cared for, everyone is eager to help. We all love it when birds call in for a quick meal and we're able to practice our bird-spotting skills.”

There may well be a queue once the delicious bird cakes are hung from the trees.

Let's make music

22 November 2019

Our Alan Shearer Activity Centre will be hitting a high note with their latest craft session this Saturday, 23 November if you'd like to join in the fun.

Our specialist centre for people with disabilities will be welcoming members and guests to make their own musical instrument – and all you need to bring along is your imagination.

With a craft box full of recycled materials just waiting to be re-purposed, our recreation assistants will be on hand to help and are hoping there'll be a whole orchestra of unique and wonderful hand-made instruments by the end of the two sessions.

Centre member, Skye, attended one of our previous sessions and is pictured here proudly showing off her one-of-a-kind guitar.

Saturday's free, hour-long sessions run from 12noon until 1pm and from 1pm until 2pm so, if you'd like to come along, you can book your place by simply ringing us on 0191 267 8118.

All cosy at Holy Cross

21 November 2019

Residents at our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland have been helping to make sure the local bird population stays cosy this winter.

During a visit from the local branch of Groundwork, our residents were given lots of tips and practical help to make a collection of bird boxes to hang in the grounds of our nursing home.

Camouflaged with leaves and twigs, the new treetop homes provide a perfect place for birds to shelter in the winter and will, hopefully, be visited by birds looking to raise their young once spring returns.

To make sure their feathered friends have enough to eat during the harsh winter months, our residents also made bird feeders packed with grapes and cereal to hang beside the bird boxes.

So, as well as providing a happy, cosy home for our residents, Holy Cross is a perfect place for keeping the local birds feeling fine, too.

Waggy tail makes our residents’ day

20 November 2019

A waggy tail has helped to spread smiles throughout our Newcastle nursing home, St Catherine's.

Residents, visitors and staff alike were bowled over when Wag & Co volunteer, Gemma, brought her beautiful friendship dog, Laika, into their home.

Each resident was made to feel very special when Laika sat enthusiastically at their side, allowing them time to stroke and pat her. Meanwhile, Gemma chatted to the residents about her pet and enjoyed answering their questions.

Two-and-a-half-year-old Laika, it seems, was named in honour of the first dog in space – a story that deeply moved owner, Gemma.

Our residents are already looking forward to the next visit and finding out more about Gemma and her pet. Laika, we understand, is already looking forward to the pampering and treats she receives.

All rise for our homemade bread

19 November 2019

Our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington felt particularly inviting, warm and cosy during the course of their latest activity.

The usual homely feel of our Centre was heightened even further by the waft of home baked bread, after our regular service users spent an afternoon making a delicious assortment of loaves and buns.

Choosing three different bread mixes – plain white, cheddar and sundried tomato and cheddar and onion – the ingredients were carefully mixed and coaxed into different shapes, including a very impressive plaited loaf.

It then required lots of patience to wait for the bread to rise before it was popped into the oven to cook.

“Everyone thought it was magic when the bread was left to rest and doubled in size,” said Parkhead manager, Claire. “But the best part of the whole cookery session was the gorgeous smell of the baking bread.

"Usually, no-one is in a hurry to leave Parkhead at the end of the day, but armed with fresh-baked bread, we were all keen to get home to taste the fruits of our labours,” added Claire.

Celebrate your acts of kindness

15 November 2019

Our specialist Alan Shearer Centre is marking World Kindness Day this Saturday, 16 November with an opportunity to get together to share and show off good deeds.

Our free sensory, social and leisure centre for people with disabilities will offer a warm welcome to members and guests who are invited to join in with a special craft activity that focuses on acts of kindness.

Our staff are hoping that many hands will make light work of creating their ‘tree of kindness' mural, with its branches then waiting for everyone's personal messages of kindness to be added.

“Each message can be written or drawn to explain the kind things people have done,” said Centre recreation assistant, Jan, “We'll then hang each message on the tree mural like leaves. We think it's going to look quite spectacular and what a feel-good read it will make!”

If you are already a member of our Activity Centre, simply give us a ring to book your free place on 0191 267 8118. If you aren't yet a member and would like to join our specialist centre for people with disabilities, you can ring the same number and one of our friendly staff will complete a form ready for you to sign on your first visit.

We look forward to seeing you.

Raise a toast to our cheese and wine evenings

14 November 2019

Residents living in our St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle have enjoyed a cheese and wine social evening together in the home's conservatory lounge.

Coming together to relax at the end of the day with a glass of wine and some nibbles is one of our residents' favourite things to do, so a regular cheese and wine evening is always a popular event.

A selection of soothing classical music created just the right atmosphere for the evening as our residents taste tested a variety of cheeses from around the world to accompany their choice of wine or soft drink.

The chilly temperatures outside seemed a million miles away as everyone snuggled in the cosy lounge and enjoyed lots of warm conversation.

And, with different wines and cheeses on offer at each gathering, our residents are becoming quite the connoisseurs, too.

Let’s get this Christmas party started

12 November 2019

It's already shaping up to be a tasty Christmas at our Ashington-based resource centre for adults with learning disabilities, Parkhead.

Preparations for the festive season have begun with the all-important Christmas cake, which has been mixed to perfection by staff and service users.

It's been all hands on deck to get the giant cake ready for baking, but the hard work was spurred on by a playlist of fun, festive tunes that had everyone singing along – while making their Christmas wishes, too, of course.

“This has to be our favourite cookery session of the entire year,” said Parkhead manager, Claire. “We all have such a great time making the cake, then, we have the weeks ahead to look forward to being able to tuck into it. Perfection.”

Poppies to remember

11 November 2019

Around our charity, our staff and service users have commemorated Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day.

Residents and staff came together in our Newcastle nursing home, St Catherine's, to prepare for the commemorations by making dozens of hand-crafted poppies to hang on their dignity tree at the entrance to the home.

Volunteer, Michael, then led a special Armistice Day prayer group for our residents who were able to observe the two minutes' silence together in the home's chapel.

Members and guests at our specialist Alan Shearer Activity Centre also paid tribute to our war heroes with their own poppy crafts and have helped our talented recreation assistants to create a stunning poppy display for the entrance to the Centre.

Included in the design is a verse from the well-known poem, For the Fallen, by Robert Laurence Binyon, as shown in our photo.

We will remember.

Michael’s sleek new look

7 November 2019

Despite the temptations of comfort food at this time of year, one of our service users has won the top weight-loss award at his local slimming club.

Michael, who attends Parkhead - our Ashington-based resource centre for adults with learning disabilities - has just been crowned Mr Sleek for a second year after shedding almost one-and-a-half stones.

Healthy eating is always on the menu at Parkhead and Michael credits his success to knowing the best things to eat to stay slim and healthy. He's also grateful for the fantastic support he's received from staff and everyone attending Parkhead.

“Michael is, rightly, so proud of his achievement,” said Parkhead Manager, Claire. “He loves to give us regular updates on his weight loss – and he often shares some hints and tips with us, too.”

Bonfire night was better without the bangs

6 November 2019

Staff and service users across our charity got together to enjoy a series of brilliant Bonfire Night celebrations – without a single firework being lit.

At our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland, our residents had great fun re-living their childhood by making a guy and enjoyed a spectacular firework display on the big screen in the warmth of their activities room. The cosy atmosphere was boosted with a Bonfire Night feast of jacket potatoes with warming chilli con carne or hot dogs, followed by some pretty bonfire-themed cupcakes.

Tasty treats took centre stage for our St Catherine's Nursing Home residents in Newcastle, too, with a delicious collection of chocolate covered ‘sparkler' marshmallows and slices of traditional toffee apple. The tasty treats evoked lots of memories that our residents shared about their childhood Guy Fawkes experiences.

Over in Ashington, regulars at our resource centre for adults with learning disabilities, Parkhead, proudly showed off their massive firework artwork and enjoyed home-baked, firework-themed cupcakes and scones.

A fantastic time was had by all, and no-one missed the bangs!

It’s beginning to smell like Christmas

4 November 2019

Residents at our St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle have enjoyed a cookery master class that had everyone recalling special Christmas memories.

Led by Lesley, who works in the charity's head office above the nursing home and is a dab hand at baking, the cookery session was a fragrant reminder of the times our residents prepared festive feasts for their family.

Ingredients of mixed fruit soaked in brandy, nutmeg, lemon and apple all reminded our residents of baking Christmas puddings and cakes and many a story was shared together.

And there couldn't be a Christmas mixture prepared in our home without everyone taking a turn to stir everything together - even our staff.

The mincemeat is now maturing in St Catherine's kitchens where it will provide a delicious filling for our residents to bake sweet mince pies in the weeks to come.

Shh, we’re making bonfire night crafts

1 November 2019

With Halloween over for another year, our Alan Shearer Activity Centre will be holding its next seasonal craft session tomorrow, Saturday, 2 November.

Come along for a rummage in our craft box where you'll find everything you need to make some colourful firework artwork. Just add a splash of your own creativity and you can take home something that still looks spectacular without making a sound.

Our talented recreation assistants will be on hand to help, as always, for anyone who would like some support.

We've got two sessions on offer - the first taking place from 12noon-1pm and the second from 1pm-2pm, but don't forget to book your place in advance. Simply give us a ring on 0191 267 8118, let us know when you'd like to come along.

Age is just a number for Mrs Mac

31 October 2019

A resident in our St Catherine's Nursing Home has enjoyed her 108^th birthday surrounded by family, friends, fellow residents and staff.

Affectionately called Mrs Mac, our home's oldest resident spent an afternoon enjoying her celebrations in the large lounge, which is the hub of the home.

Residents sang a round of ‘Happy Birthday' and toasted her good health with sherry, but it was strictly a milky coffee for Mrs Mac.

Among some of the prized gifts she received were a card and a telegram from the Queen and special cards from her daughters, Pat, and Maureen, who lives in New Zealand.

And she wasn't forgotten as a valued boss either, with cards from some of her ‘girls' from back in the days when she worked as a supervisor at the Co-operative store in Newcastle.

Born in 1911, Mrs Mac has seen two World Wars and lived through an era that saw the birth of the National Health Service, the discovery of penicillin and the invention of TV.

Fright-fully happy Halloween

30 October 2019

Many of our service users are taking full advantage of this spook-tacular time of year to dust off their creative side.

Around our services, pumpkins have been carved, dark and delicious chocolate spider cakes baked and some big and bold Halloween masks moulded into shape.

And it hasn't stopped there. Activity rooms have been strung with cotton cobwebs and decorated with all things creepy and gore-geous so, when Halloween comes around, guests and visitors, staff and fellow service users can all enjoy the occasion to the full.

Our photo montage shows just a fraction of the fang-tastic fun everyone's been having with the preparations.

Cookery session for the senses

29 October 2019

A cookery skills session for adults with learning disabilities held at our Alan Shearer Activity Centre certainly made the most of the five senses.

Starting with a trip into the picturesque grounds to gather fragrant apples from the trees, there was much giggling to be heard as the harvest was collected.

After time to admire the sights and sounds of autumn it was back to the warmth of the Centre where the apples were prepared and carefully added to cinnamon, sugar, flour, milk and butter to create the most mouth-watering scones.

“The scones turned out to be absolutely delicious,” said recreation assistant, Heather.

So, it appears the sense possibly receiving the most stimulation was taste!

Vibrant autumn colours inspire creative side

22 October 2019

The stunning autumn foliage in the grounds of our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington has inspired our regular service users to get creative.

Taking a stroll in the garden at the Centre, our service users were so impressed with the colours of the trees that they had to capture themselves on camera under the vibrant tree canopy.

The striking colours left such an impression on everyone that, later that day, their craft session reflected the rich autumnal shades they'd seen as they cut and coloured their own autumn leaf collection to display.

With Halloween just a week away, it seems their coloured leaves are destined to play an important part in some of the decorations they are planning for their spooky celebrations ...

Chocolate week gets off to a scrummy start

17 October 2019

As Chocolate Week got underway, our Alan Shearer Activity Centre held the perfect activity to make sure our members and visitors were able to indulge in their love of chocolate.

Biscuits, cake pops and lollies were all given the chocolate treatment, with rainbow sprinkles, sweets and coloured icing being added to make the scrummiest edible creations.

For those who could resist, the finished results provided a delicious sweet treat to take home for someone special – like the biscuit lovingly created by Dylan for his mum. Others couldn't resist crafting something tasty for Halloween and our recreation assistants were on hand to help everyone make the most of their talents.

If you missed our chocolate event or came along and enjoyed it, join us again this Saturday when we'll help you to make your very own piñata.

There are two sessions to choose from and our friendly recreation assistants will be happy to book you in. Why not give them a ring on 0191 267 8118.

Get together turns into bake-off

15 October 2019

When some of our adults with learning disabilities got together to socialise recently, it gave them all an opportunity to show off their talents for cooking and crafts.

Meeting at our independent supported living service in Kenton, everyone had a wonderful time baking or spending time creating still life drawings.

Recipes were selected and soon the open-plan kitchen and lounge was filled with the delicious aromas of home-baked pineapple upside down cakes and rainbow cake, while those with a flair for art set about creating their own masterpieces.

Once everyone's handiwork was complete, it was time to put the kettle on and share some of the tempting cakes while they enjoyed each other's company and caught up on news.

“Everyone loves a bit of friendly competition, so our cookery session turned into an impromptu fun bake-off,” said Director of Care, Amanda. “Tasting the results fresh from the oven was a winner with everyone, though.”

Health and wellbeing day for our residents

11 October 2019

Residents at our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland enjoyed a large helping of relaxation to mark World Mental Health Day.

The home's activities co-ordinator, Vicky, made sure everyone felt well and truly pampered by offering a little TLC for both body and mind.

Feel-good treats on offer included foot spas, foot and hand massages, nail treatments and lots of warm conversation and laughter. Accompanied by soothing music and plenty of tea, coffee and chocolates, everyone soon felt beautifully relaxed.

After enjoying a soothing foot spa, resident, Maureen said, “I've felt really spoiled today and my legs and feet are lovely and tingly.”

World Mental Health Day

10 October 2019

Today is World Mental Health Day and, across St Cuthbert's Care, staff are being encouraged and supported to look after their mental health.

As a responsible employer, St Cuthbert's Care is dedicated to helping people maintain good mental health, but equally as dedicated to supporting those who are experiencing poor mental health, too.

And, to make sure staff have the support they need when they need it, the charity now has its own Mental Health First Aid Champion.

The charity's HR Officer, Grace, trained for the role with the Mental Health First Aid organisation and is now available to support staff and signpost them to organisations able to offer additional help and support, where this is requested.

In addition to the introduction of a Mental Health First Aid Champion, the charity also offers its employees access to a free, independent counselling service.

“The mental health of our staff is equally as important as their physical health,” said Grace. “We want to provide positive support to our staff and make sure we maintain a culture of openness across the charity.”

Dance fun keeps us trim

7 October 2019

Keeping fit and healthy can be a serious business, but for our regular service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington, it has to include a good helping of fun, too.

Dance fusion was the order of the day for everyone attending Parkhead recently and the mix of pop, Bollywood and the occasional dash of Disney had everyone on their feet wanting to join in.

The dance session, led by instructor, Anna, is just one of many ways we help to encourage our service users to keep fit. Add in the healthy eating advice and cookery sessions, regular games and activities and time spent in the Centre's spacious grounds and it's no wonder everyone looks energetic and happy.

Social skills shine at coffee morning

3 October 2019

Tenants at our independent supported living scheme in Kenton have put their love of socialising to good use by arranging a special coffee morning.

The charitable, fund-raising event was the brain child of tenant, Peter, who was joined by all the other tenants, and quite a few of our other service users, too, in making sure friends and families were all invited along to enjoy their hospitality.

Supported by our staff - whose homemade cake contributions would have easily impressed judges on the Great British Bake Off – the event was a massive success, giving our tenants the opportunity to show off their well-practised hosting skills and raise money for a good cause, too.

"Peter loves to arrange special occasions," said senior support worker, Angela, "and our close group of tenants are always ready to lend their support to make sure each event is a success. The coffee morning couldn't have gone better and I'm sure Peter is already planning for next year!"

Memories and music make for a joyous afternoon

2 October 2019

Residents at our St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle have thoroughly enjoyed a specialist performance which mixes music, fun and theatre.

A visit by John Casey's Singing for the Brain performance saw our home's spacious lounge packed with residents, staff and visitors – all singing along together and reminiscing to songs and projected photographs from yesteryear.

The performance was fun for everyone and designed especially for people with dementia, stimulating memories through music in a happy, social setting - and our residents certainly made the most of the vibrant atmosphere.

Waving Union Jacks and joining in with classics like 'Pack up your Troubles' and 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary', enthusiastic singing could be heard throughout the home.

The catchy tunes were being hummed right into the evening and quite a few happy memories were shared, too.

Residents add their own twist to World Maritime Day

30 September 2019

Our Holy Cross nursing home residents took a trip back in time and honed their creative skills to mark World Maritime Day.

With our Sunderland home barely a stone's throw from the seaside, many of our residents had fond memories to share about times they spent at the beach with their families. The River Wear had also played an important role in many of their lives, so there were plenty of stories told about the town's great shipbuilding heritage, too.

With the maritime scene set, it was time for our residents to show off their crafting talents as they carefully constructed impressive miniature lighthouses from paper plates, drinking cups, paint and battery-operated tea lights.

"It was a lovely day," said the home's activities co-ordinator, Vicky. "Everyone was thrilled with the little lighthouses and they made gorgeous centre-pieces for our evening meal when we enjoyed a tasty fish and chip supper by the glow of their lights."

Northumberland SAFE Week

27 September 2019

As part of Northumberland SAFE week, Ben Wilkinson from Northumbria Police came to Parkhead Resource Centre to talk to us about keeping safe.

Ben gave us lots of tips on how to recognise scams and how to keep safe both at home and when we are out and about in the community. Everyone got top marks in the Quiz at the end and Ben let the winners try on his vest and helmet.

Claire Graham, Manager of Parkhead Resource Centre wanted to thank Ben and Northumberland Police, for their time and said; “The day was a great success, many of our service users have social media pages and it is important that they are all aware that everyone is not your friend”

Northumberland SAFE week runs from 23rd – 29th September to raise awareness of ways to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults from harm and abuse.

On the road with our Red Van

19 September 2019

Our Red Van took to the road once again to offer support to those in need.

Laden with food supplies, all of which were generously donated by St Mary's Cathedral in Newcastle, our Red Van headed towards Stockton to visit the Word of Welcome drop in café.

On arrival, we got to work handing out food parcels to guests who have little or sometimes no income. Each parcel contained a variety of items including tinned meats and vegetables, pasta, rice, cereals, toiletries, tea bags and chocolate goodies. Over 40 food parcels were given away on the day with the remaining food replenishing Word of Welcome supplies.

One person who came to the Red Van, who wished to remain anonymous, said that “Unfortunately I've been unable to work due to health issues and I have had problems receiving my sickness payment. I have had no income for the last two weeks or so and I don't have any food in the house. Word of Welcome Café ensured that I have had a hot meal today and thanks to the Red Van, I will have food for the next week; hopefully my payments will be back on track after that!”

If you would like to know how to support our Red Van or any of the PACE projects we support please contact Nicola Milne, Relationship Manager, directly on 0191 242 4809 or visit our website: www.communityservicesnortheast.org.uk/pace

Parkhead’s Playdough Party

18 September 2019

Service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington brought their imagination to life when they made some incredible creations to mark National Playdough Day.

National Playdough Day may only come around once a year but it's a date in the calendar that everyone at the Centre looks forward to; except, maybe, the cleaners.

There were plenty of opportunities to unleash creative skills and some of the things being made included a dog, a t-shirt and even a bus!

The fun was ramped up even further when service users and staff got together to play Playdough Pictionary, with everyone taking it in turns to make something out of playdough and everyone else trying to guess what was being made.

“It was great to see everyone getting involved in playing our alternative Pictionary game - some of the things being made were incredible," said Parkhead manager, Claire. "The only down side was that they were so good, we guessed what they were straight away! We all had so much fun and can't wait to do it all again.”

Thank you to our runners

13 September 2019

Everyone at the Alan Shearer Foundation would like to say a huge thank you to all our fundraisers who travelled from all over the UK to take part in the Great North Run last weekend.

We had 28 athletes running the Great North Run to fundraise for us and, before the run started, a small number of our runners arranged to meet at Exhibition Park for a group photo. Much to everyone's surprise, this turned into an unexpected video call from Alan Shearer himself!

One of our regular runners, Craig Henaghan said, "I gave Alan a text on Sunday whilst at the park with our other runners and I asked him if he was free for a Face Time. He obliged, no problem, and said he would be watching us and wishing us all luck."

Kian, Craig's son, was also at the park to wave off his dad and meet some of the runners. A member and regular visitor to the Alan Shearer Centre, Kian charmed and inspired everyone with his effervescent personality, providing the motivation our GNR team needed to do well and raise extra funds for the Foundation.

We are on target with our fundraising, with over £10,000 pledged so far to support the work carried out at the Alan Shearer Activity Centre. Thank you and well done to all our runners and supporters!

Parkhead to the rescue

9 September 2019

Our caring staff and service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington have helped to save a special visitor to their grounds and gardens.

As autumn begins to show its hand and temperatures drop, Centre support worker, Simon, was surprised to see a tiny hedgehog wandering in the grounds during the daytime.

Thanks to a visit and talk last year by the Northumbrian Hedgehog Rescue Trust, our staff and service users knew the little creature was probably in trouble and, more importantly, they knew exactly what to do to help.

"At the time, we had no idea we would be putting the advice we received from the Trust into action," said Parkhead Manager, Claire, "but it was invaluable in making sure everything was done just right for our spikey visitor. We all felt so proud that we knew the best things to do in order to save him."

Weighing in at just over 200g, the little hedgehog was safely transported to the Trust where he'll be looked after until he's big enough and strong enough to release back into the wild.

- And everyone is chuffed to bits to know he's been named Simon after his rescuer!

If you see a hedgehog you think is in trouble, you can find lots of good advice and contact details for the Hedgehog Trust on their website: https://www.hedgehogs-northumbria.org.uk/

Homegrown courgettes make a special lunch

6 September 2019

A special homemade quiche is on the menu for guests and visitors wanting to enjoy lunch at our Alan Shearer Activity Centre today.

Courgettes grown from seed and nurtured in the Centre's own gardens have been added to even more tasty ingredients to make this delicious, homemade quiche.

Grown by our volunteer and keen gardener, Peter, the courgettes were handpicked this morning and the quiche lovingly prepared and baked in the Centre's kitchen.

You can't get fresher than that!

A Grand afternoon tea by the sea

4 September 2019

When some of our staff decided to take their service users on a trip to the seaside for afternoon tea, there wasn't a seaside sandwich or portion of fish and chips on the menu.

For the small group of women with learning disabilities, who are supported by our staff at our Sherringham House independent living service, their seaside trip with afternoon tea was a very grand affair at a stylish hotel in Tynemouth.

The iconic Grand Hotel with its sea view and stately décor, complete with chandeliers, couldn't have provided a better location for a special outing and the entire group were happy to be treated like royalty during their visit.

After a delicious afternoon tea of sandwiches, scones, cakes and lots of tea, it was time for a stroll along the sea front to enjoy the beautiful weather and help to walk off some of the indulgent treats they'd shared.

It was certainly a grand day out from start to finish.

Enjoying the warmth of friendship and sunshine

28 August 2019

It was ice creams and parasols all round for some of our sun-loving residents living in our St Catherine's nursing home in Newcastle.

As another sunny day warmed up the home's pretty courtyard garden, staff and residents gathered to chat and catch up in the cool shade offered by the patio parasols.

"The garden had a lovely, continental feel," said duty manager, Jacqui, "with everyone enjoying each other's company and some refreshing ice creams or cheese and soft drinks."

Even our oldest resident at 108 enjoyed a lolly in the soothing sunshine and being surrounded by family and friends.

Summer BBQ has a Hawaiian flavour

27 August 2019

This year's summer event at our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland had a positively tropical theme – both inside and out.

With blistering temperatures outside, everyone gathering to join our residents and staff at their Hawaiian-themed BBQ was happy to bask in the cooler temperatures of the indoor event, but no-one missed out on the tropical carnival atmosphere.

Adorned with colourful lei flower garlands on arrival, there was plenty for everyone to enjoy, starting with a castaway rum punch to get the party started and an impressive selection of tempting treats to choose from - like these amazing beach scene jelly trifle pots. Surrounded by Hawaiian-themed artwork, palm trees and tropical fruit, Sunderland seemed a million miles away.

With some cool summer songs from entertainer, Christine Rosemond, our residents relaxed with a lazy afternoon interval before it was back to the excitement of raffles and prizes and a delicious tea-time BBQ.

"It was great to see everyone enjoying themselves so much," said our home's activities co-ordinator, Vicky. "There were woops of delight when they saw and tasted some of the treats on offer. We can't wait for our next party!"

Parents raise funds by clocking up the miles

22 August 2019

The parents of one of our Parkhead Resource Centre service users are one day into an amazing week-long challenge to raise money for our Ashington-based centre for adults with learning disabilities.

Michael and Melanie, whose son, Matthew attends Parkhead, are walking the rugged West Highland Way and hope to raise £1 in support of our Centre for every mile they walk.

Our Parkhead Facebook page has regular updates and photos on their progress if you would like to post some messages of support to help them on their 95 mile journey.

Before setting off, Michael posted a message saying how much Parkhead means to his son: "He hates missing it when he is unwell and always smiles when you mention Parkhead, the staff and the friends he has made."

Everyone at Parkhead and St Cuthbert's Care is wishing Michael and Melanie good luck on their journey and, if you would like to support their walk or their fundraising, you'll find everything on Parkhead's Facebook page.

We'll let you know how they get on …

Smiles all around at our summer barbecue

19 August 2019

Residents, friends and family all came together on Saturday to celebrate summer at St Catherine's.

The celebrations started with a picnic lunch which included: burgers, hot dogs and chips. As well as the traditional 'Seaside Sandwiches' which were a firm favourite with everyone.

After lunch, the celebrations continued in the 'Hula Bar' (the lounge), where a range of cocktails and summer punches were served. Peter Meek provided a range of classical and folk music and everyone joined in singing and laughing well into the afternoon.

“Seeing everyone coming together and have a good time was fantastic. We are all looking forward to the next get together” said Nicola, our Relationship Manager.

International Youth Day

16 August 2019

Residents and staff at our nursing homes were delighted when their Young Ambassadors joined them for a visit to mark International Youth Day.

Autumn, the Young Ambassador for St Catherine's, picture top, and Erin, the Young Ambassador for Holy Cross, pictured bottom, spent the entire day with our residents, chatting with them on a one to one basis to get to know them better and joining in with their activities which included some arts and crafts and games.

Both Autumn and Erin regularly visit our homes and give up their free time whenever they can to spend some time with our residents. These visits are a real pleasure not only for our residents but even for our staff.

“The residents and staff always look forward to Erin's visits and always comment on what a lovely young girl she is.” said Vicky, the Activities Coordinator at Holy Cross. “We all look forward to seeing her again soon when she attends our summer party.”

Police pop in to Parkhead

6 August 2019

Service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington had a brush with the law last week when uniformed officers popped by, but it was just a friendly visit.

The visiting police officers were there to give one of their regular talks about keeping safe in the community and online. They discussed such potential risks as giving out personal information and fraud.

After the talk, the police officers kindly let our service users try some of their equipment, including their utility vests and handcuffs, as shown in the pictures.

“It was great to see our service users so interested in learning about keeping safe in the community,” said Parkhead manager, Claire. "Having the opportunity to try out some of the equipment at the end means they had fun with it as well, which is important and really helps them to remember everything.” "We would like to thank the officers for coming along to talk to us and can't wait for their next visit.”

Summer fun inside and out

5 August 2019

Members and their guests have enjoyed a sensory safari of colours, textures and fragrances at some of our free summertime activities at our Alan Shearer Activity Centre.

Tiny seeds have been nurtured into delicious crops, fragrant herbs and colourful flowers as our visitors have made the most of the good weather outside in our gardens.

All the fun and colour of summer has spread indoors, too, with vibrant pinwheels being made in our craft sessions and seaside sand, shells and fishy pictures being turned into 3D works of art.

"It's been magical watching everything grow from seed, and especially exciting to see how tall our sunflowers are growing," said our recreation assistant, Heather. "Everyone loved the beach-themed arts and crafts, too – it's like a little piece of the seaside, inside."

Don't worry if you've missed our free activities so far, there's plenty more lined up to keep you busy during the summer holidays. Just click on the link on our Alan Shearer Centre home page for our latest leaflet or give our friendly staff a ring on 0191 267 8118.

Enjoying time with Elvis and the Gang

31 July 2019

Residents at our nursing homes in Sunderland and Newcastle have just enjoyed a trip down memory lane with Elvis.

At our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland, our residents were well and truly entertained by one of their favourite acts, Elvis impersonator, Mike Memphis, who had our residents singing and clapping along – and a few getting up to dance with our staff, too.

No-one wanted the show to end and, even before Elvis had left the building, our residents were looking forward to his next visit.

Meanwhile, residents at our St Catherine's nursing home in Newcastle had their own visit from the King of Rock 'n' Roll when they enjoyed a packed afternoon of entertainment with the Puppet Gang.

Sharing the bill with puppet Elvis was an irresistible collection of characters, including Elton John, Boris the Skeleton, Lenny the Lemur, Dulux the Dog and Cowboy Kenny.

With each character outdoing the one before with their playful cuddles and popular songs, our residents can't wait until they all return for more fun at Christmas.

Cheese and wine chill out

26 July 2019

Everyone has been raising a toast to national cheese and wine day at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington.

Our regular service users love socialising and couldn't resist marking the annual celebration of the delicious cheese and wine pairing by getting together over a glass of alcohol-free wine and a selection of tasty cheeses and crackers.

Discussions included sharing opinions on the best – and worst - cheese and cracker combinations and learning a little about the country of origin for each cheese.

It might have been one of the hottest days of the year, but national cheese and wine day gave everyone at our Parkhead Resource Centre the perfect chance to chill out with their friends.

Dinosaurs dazzle on Dino Day

17 July 2019

A bright green Stegosaurus and a blue spotted Velociraptor were some of the very unusual dinosaurs on display at our Alan Shearer Activity Centre.

Members and visitors to our specialist centre created the mysterious creatures on Dino Day when stickers, scraps of card and paper were magically transformed into the most amazing model dinosaurs.

"They may have been a fraction of the size of the real things, but they certainly left a big impression," said our Recreation Assistant, Heather.

Dino Day is just one of the many fun and creative activities held regularly at our centre and, if you're looking for something to do during the school holidays, why not take a look at our latest leaflet - you'll find the link on our Alan Shearer Centre home page.

Activities are free to our members and their guests, but you'll need to book your place in advance by giving our friendly recreation assistants a call on 0191 267 8118.

Service users left spellbound

15 July 2019

Service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington were left spellbound after a fantastic magic show by The Amazing Neville.

When local magician, Neville, visited our centre he wowed the crowd with a selection of unbelievable magic, including some classic card tricks, mind reading and sleight of hand.

The undisputed favourite trick, however, was when he tore up a newspaper into tiny shreds then magically made it whole again, right in front of everyone's eyes!

With a good sprinkling of humour added for good measure, our service users had a brilliant time.

“He definitely had a captive audience, with everyone seeming to be under his spell," said manager, Claire. “The entire day was just magic."

Statement from Moira Ashman, CEO

8 July 2019

A former employee of St Cuthbert's Care has been sentenced today at Newcastle Crown Court.

I am appalled that this former employee breached the trust that we had placed in him.

Our auditors and the Charity Commission have been kept fully updated and both regulators have been satisfied with our actions.

I give credit to our Director of Finance, Nic Gilbert, for his scrutiny and swift detection of this criminal activity and I thank PC David Ward of Northumbria Police for the part he played in ensuring this offender was brought to justice. I believe the sentence today befits the extent of the crime.

I can confirm that the offender has repaid the stolen money in full and that the theft did not involve any donated or fundraised income received into our charity.

This sentencing today allows us to move on, to continue to focus on the wonderful work of our charity in supporting some of the most vulnerable people across our north east.

Summer opening at the Activity Centre is back

5 July 2019

With school summer holidays just around the corner, our Alan Shearer Activity Centre is extending its opening hours on Thursdays.

From Thursday, 11 July, members and guests can enjoy our Centre's full range of sensory facilities and gorgeous grounds until 8pm, making the most of the long, summer days.

Throughout the summer holidays, we'll also have a host of terrific themed activities to join in with to help keep you entertained. You'll find all the latest details on our activities leaflet.

Don't forget, though, if you'd like to use one of our Activity Centre sensory rooms or come along to one of our summer activities, you'll need to book first. Just give us a ring on 0191 267 8118 and we'll book you in – you can even check with us what exciting things we have lined up for your next visit, too.

Happy 4th of July!

4 July 2019

All around our services today, people are seeing stars – and stripes – as we mark American Independence Day.

Our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington is packing their day with all things USA as they hone their cookery skills by making blueberry muffins and enjoy a lunch of burger, fries and homemade coleslaw, followed by American-style cheesecake.

Members and guests at our Alan Shearer Activity Centre, meanwhile, are getting creative with the star spangled banner theme, producing some stunning artworks in red, white and blue to display around the Centre.

And residents enjoying their regular 'knit and natter' session with volunteer, Ellen, at St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle, have included quite a few observations of their own about Independence Day and America.

The 4th July may not have created quite the carnival it does in the USA, but it seems everyone is making the most of the event.

Open day at our Care Homes

24 June 2019

Come along and join in the fun as our care homes take part in National Care Home Open Day.

National Care Home Open Day is a great way for local communities to come together to develop better relationships. Why not come along and join us? We would love you to bring your family, your friends or anyone else you know.

At St Catherine's, our nursing home in Newcastle, we will be holding an Afternoon Tea at 2:30pm.

At Holy Cross, our nursing home in Sunderland, we will be holding a variety of activities and the fun starts at 10:00am and will run until 4:30pm so feel free to pop along anytime. We will be celebrating Mass at 11:15am.

Julie Thompson, Registered Manager for our two homes said, "This is a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase the fantastic work of our two homes. Some people still have misconceptions about care homes so we are keen to dispel any myths and for people to come and have a look around and meet our tremendous staff and residents."

Our Care Home Open Day will take place on Friday 28 June 2019. If you are interested in coming along, email Julie at julie.thompson@stcuthbertscare.org.uk or you can ring her on numbers below.

St Catherine's: 0191 245 2400 Holy Cross: 0191 567 0862

And they're off!

18 June 2019

As Royal Ascot gets underway regulars attending our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington were first past the post with their celebrations.

Having already completed their obligatory headwear in an arts and crafts session, they were immediately ready to don their finery in plenty of time before the opening procession began on TV. A light lunch and some posh cream scones set them up for a fabulous day at the races – with no need to leave the Centre.

Popping on their favourite DVD horse racing game and with a mock Buck's Fizz in hand, everyone placed their 'Parkhead pounds' bets for a thrilling afternoon of entertainment. There was even a fun competition with mini gold cups for the winners of the best top hats.

"We may be miles away from the real Ascot," said Parkhead Manager, Claire, "but we haven't stinted on celebrating just as if we were there. It's definitely one of our favourite highlights of the year."

Jeanne rekindles her love of cinema

14 June 2019

When our activities co-ordinator at our Holy Cross nursing home found out that one of our residents loved Disney and going to the cinema, she jumped at the chance to grant a few wishes.

Checking out the local cinema listings, activities co-ordinator, Vicky, was thrilled when she found Disney's Aladdin was showing at a nearby cinema and resident, Jeanne, soon had a firm date with a plush cinema seat.

Accompanied by Vicky, Jeanne thoroughly enjoyed the film, savouring every rub of the lamp and appearance by the mischievous genie.

"It was great to see Jeanne enjoying the film," said Vicky. "The whole experience brought back lots of lovely memories of going to the Empire cinema with her late husband and recalling some of the movies they watched together.”

Green fingered fun

13 June 2019

Members and visitors at our Alan Shearer Activity Centre enjoyed getting stuck in to some green fingered fun this week when they took part in some tasty gardening activities.

Volunteer, Peter, pictured right, often helps out at the Centre and was the first to sow the seeds of interest in gardening when he planted some courgettes earlier in the year – and they're coming on a treat. The sprouting plants sparked the interest of our members who have now planted a variety of crops, including cucumbers and tomatoes.

But these vegetables aren't just for show; they'll all be used in our fun and practical Live & Learn cookery sessions.

Centre recreation assistant, Heather, said, “Now we can see how much the plants are thriving and how much everyone enjoys tending them we're going to expand our gardening skills and plant lots of herbs next year.”

We can't wait to see how they turn out!

If you would like to get involved in the fun and aren't a member yet you can find a membership form on our website or, just give our friendly staff a ring on 0191 267 8118 who will be happy to help.

A day fit for a queen

10 June 2019

Residents living in our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland were filled with pride and jubilation whilst celebrating the Queen's official birthday and Trooping the Colour.

Our residents were up bright and early to watch the festivities on the home's wide screen TV, so they didn't miss a thing.

Then, tucking into to a special brunch prepared by our chef at Holy Cross, they waited in anticipation as the spectacular military parade got under way.

After the parade ground had fallen silent, residents and staff got together to enjoy a good old fashioned British street party and a monarchy quiz, which ended in a friendly, three-way tie. Memories of street parties and parties with families came flooding back as our residents sent their best wishes to Her Majesty.

A singalong and delicious afternoon tea of homemade cakes – including a stunning centrepiece cake with Union Jack icing made by carer, Irene – completed the right royal afternoon.

D-Day and birthdays make for a special afternoon

7 June 2019

Residents living in our St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle were thrilled to be able to share their D-Day reminiscences with Veterans from the Armed Forces.

Veterans, Lesley, Ken, Gareth, David and John from the Armed Forces Geordie Breakfast Club, received a special invitation from our home and our residents to join them for afternoon tea to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day – and it made for a lovely, lively occasion.

There was admiration all round as the Veterans spoke of their wartime experiences and our residents swapped stories of their memories throughout the Second World War.

There was more than ample banter, too, and plenty to celebrate as residents, Win and Mary, were presented with special cakes to mark their birthdays.

"It was my 20th birthday on D-Day," recalled Mary, "and I didn't get any presents because everyone was busy with something else! I said I would remember that day for the rest of my life and, here I am at 95, and I still remember.

Meanwhile, residents in our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland shared poignant memories together as they watched the D-Day service on TV, live from the Bayeux Cemetery in Normandy.

A topical quiz and afternoon tea - featuring a very patriotic red, white and blue cake – completed their commemoration.

More than windows brightened by window cleaners

31 May 2019

Service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre had their days brightened when local window cleaners, Jack the Lad and Jim the Squeeze popped by on their lunch break.

The portrayal of ‘When I'm Cleaning Windows' by the actors of the ‘North East Variety Show' delighted the audience with their witty back and forth banter and window cleaner tales, and with such classics as ‘Daisy Daisy' and ‘Leaning on a Lamp Post' being sung, no-one could resist joining in and having a singalong.

Although typically a winter event, this spring time pantomime didn't disappoint, with Claire Graham, the Manager of Parkhead, saying “It was great to see everyone getting involved in the performance and enjoying themselves so much. We'd gladly have another pantomime, no matter what the season.”

Memory day won’t soon be forgotten

28 May 2019

Residents and Staff at Holy Cross Care Home in Sunderland were treated to a fantastic afternoon of entertainment to celebrate national memory day, an annual event that helps raise awareness of those affected by dementia.

Kayley Care, Vintage singer, entertained our residents with songs from favourites Vera Lynn and Gracie Fields as well as more upbeat tunes like twist & shout by the Beatles, which got more than a few feet tapping along.

To round off the afternoon residents and staff were spoilt for choice with a delicious array of refreshments, our chef specially prepared some delicious old fashioned treats such as carrot cake, Manchester tarts and traditional scones with lashings of clotted cream and jam.

“Bells were ringing and flags were waving throughout the afternoon.” said Vicky Hurst our Activities Co-ordinator, the amazing entertainment and the delicious refreshments made for “a lovely day to celebrate all of our happy memories.”

Our grateful thanks for Good Shepherd appeal support

24 May 2019

Students from our Catholic schools around the region packed into St Mary's Cathedral in Newcastle for our annual Good Shepherd Mass.

Our charity's Good Shepherd appeal invites schools to fundraise in support of the work of our charity, including helping to provide essential clothing for families and individuals who are homeless or impoverished.

School groups responded generously to our appeal and found some really creative ways to raise funds. Across the North East, students held cake bakes and craft sales, silly sock days and mini Olympics – one school even set up an indoor paddling pool so students and visitors could have fun whilst fundraising by throwing in their spare change.

Fr Dermott Donnelly celebrated the Mass and spoke to the young students and congregation about the importance of each and every person - whatever their walk of life or personal circumstances. He also thanked the students for their much-needed support for the work of St Cuthbert's Care.

The students played an important role in the Mass with prayers and readings from the Gospel, and St Cuthbert's Primary School choir led the congregation in hymns and songs. Each school in turn also presented their gifts and colourful artwork to Fr Donnelly.

"Our Good Shepherd Mass is a celebration of how our students are able to put their faith into action to support our work," said Relationship Manager, Nicola Milne. "We would like to thank them for their generous response to our appeal and for the joyous contribution they make to the Mass."

Virtual Reality, seen to be believed

21 May 2019

Members and visitors to our Alan Shearer Activity Centre enjoyed an amazing experience when specialist company, Reminiscence, visited with some Virtual Reality Headsets.

The state-of-the-art equipment provides a totally immersive experience that can take you on fabulous visual journeys without leaving the room. Whether you fancy climbing in the mountains, swimming in the sea, visiting a favourite place or having a go at skateboarding for the first time, the headsets offer the freedom to try practically anything.

“This is always a popular activity and offers something for all ages,” said Amanda Head, Centre Manager. “It's particularly liberating for people who have physical disabilities as even the slightest movement can alter your view of the virtual world you are enjoying.”

If you missed the last visit and would like to try out this exciting experience, Reminiscence will be visiting again during the school holidays on Wednesday 29^th May. All of our Activity Centre sessions are free to our members, their families and carers, but you must book your session in advance.

If you aren't yet a member and would like to join our Activity Centre, you can find a membership form on our website or, just give our friendly staff a ring on 0191 267 8118 who will be happy to help.

Plenty of pats for visiting pony

17 May 2019

Residents at our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland have enjoyed a visit from a very special guest, Glory, a miniature petting pony.

Glory spent time meeting with residents in our home's spacious activity room and even visited some of our residents in the comfort of their own rooms.

Ponies are gentle and affectionate and are known to offer therapeutic benefits to older people. They are intuitive and respond to the emotions of the people around them, too. They certainly helped to spread lots of smiles during their visit

An added bonus was the wealth of childhood stories shared, with resident, Joseph, telling a story about the first time his daughter rode a horse and how nervous his wife had been at the time. For Catherine, her special memories came from talking about a photograph of her grandfather on a horse during WW1.

"All in all, it was a wonderful day," said our home's Activities Co-ordinator, Vicky.

Hands up for Deaf Awareness Week

14 May 2019

Members and guests visiting our Alan Shearer Activity Centre had a great time getting stuck into some special arts and crafts to mark Deaf Awareness Week.

They had great fun with our staff, creating a collage of paper hands with the fingers positioned in such a way as to spell out various words in British sign language, including “I love you”.

Deaf Awareness Week is an annual event that helps to raise awareness of deafness and hearing loss and the range of organisations that support deaf people, their family and friends, including the Alan Shearer Activity Centre.

If you would like to become a member of our Alan Shearer Centre and use some of our fantastic free facilities, including the creative sound & music room and the Hydropool, why not get in touch today.

Membership is completely free and can be done simply by completing the application form on our website or feel give us a call on 0191 2678118 and our friendly staff will be happy to help.

Focus on fostering

13 May 2019

Today marks the start of Foster Care Fortnight and our Fostering North East team is hoping it will help to encourage more people to become foster carers.

Each year, the Fostering Network campaign throws a spotlight on the vital role of foster carers and the huge benefits they bring to the lives of fostered children and young people.

Our friendly team are proud to support the #changeafuture campaign message and would love to hear from anyone who wants to find out more about becoming a foster carer.

"There is no such thing as a typical foster carer," said Fostering North East Manager, Sheila Errington, "each carer is as individual as the young person they foster. We'd encourage anyone with a passion for fostering to give us a call on 0191 228 0111 or make an enquiry through our website or our Facebook page @ Fostering North East. They really could be just the person to turn a young life around and provide them with a brighter future."

Famous book inspires reception theme

8 May 2019

Young members of our Alan Shearer Activity Centre have chosen one of their favourite books as the inspiration for the latest designs featured in our Centre's reception area.

Members and visitors to our Centre are greeted with a visual feast from the moment they enter the building and this season's Alice in Wonderland theme is no exception.

A huge picture of Alice graces the feature window, which is framed with giant playing cards, and a grinning Cheshire cat is cleverly disguised next to the teapot and tea cups. You can even catch a glimpse of some of the scenes from the book in glazed recesses in the wall.

The entire display has been created by our Activity Centre staff and volunteers with lots of little extras added by our members and visitors.

"When we were thinking about a new theme for our reception area, we spoke to some of our young visitors to find out what they would like to see," said Centre Recreation Assistant, Heather, "and Alice in Wonderland was by far the most popular choice."

May the fourth be with you – even on the third

3 May 2019

Many of our staff and service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre took an early opportunity to give free reign to their passion for all things Star Wars.

With our Centre closed on May 4^th - the traditional 'Star Wars Day' – everyone agreed that marking the fun event a day earlier was much better than missing it altogether.

So far, our enthusiastic service users have practiced their light sabre skills, battled with galactic weapons and quenched their thirst with Yoda soda. Even the cooking has been given the Star Wars treatment with Boba Fett-uchine being served for lunch!

"Star Wars Day is such great fun," said Parkhead Manager, Claire. "and even though our Centre isn't open on the day itself, we weren't going to let the day pass unnoticed."

Visit brings back musical memories

2 May 2019

Students from Sacred Heart School in Fenham, brought out the musical side of our St Catherine's nursing home residents with their latest visit.

Our residents take part in various activities with the students and have enjoyed everything from pamper sessions to topical discussions. This time, however, there was plenty of fun to be had with a few games of musical bingo.

A cross between 'name that tune' and regular bingo, tunes like 'The Wedding March'; Danny Boy; Any Old Iron and Daisy, Daisy had our residents singing along as they tried to guess the song title and cross it off their bingo card.

And, with everyone taking part so enthusiastically, there were prizes for everyone at the end of the games.

So many reasons to be thankful

29 April 2019

Regular service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington jump at any chance to be creative, so when Thankful Thursday dawned, they wasted no time in designing something special.

The simple activity gave everyone an opportunity to share their reasons to be thankful and design a powerful poster that would feature each response.

Now, their inspiring artwork is displayed at the Centre for everyone to see – and perhaps help people to reflect on their own reasons to be thankful.

"The reasons just flowed," said Parkhead manager, Claire. "and it was so rewarding to see that 'nice staff' received a place of honour on the poster. We're all very proud and thankful for that."

A great way to mark St George's Day

25 April 2019

Residents at our two nursing homes have been brushing up on their patriotism with a look at some very typically English themes.

With St George's Day following hot on the heels of the Easter celebrations, our residents at Holy Cross in Sunderland were ready to just sit back and relax with some musical entertainment from Christine Rosemond.

With popular songs such as Roll out the Barrel, There's Always be an England and This Little Light of Mine on the musical menu, however, no-one could resist enjoying a singalong.

Meanwhile, residents at our St Catherine's nursing home in Newcastle enjoyed a pub quiz all about England, complete with their tipple of choice.

"There were a few tricky quiz questions," said Relationship Manager, Nicola, who ran the quiz, "but, true to form, our residents' wisdom really put me in my place!"

A cracking Easter was had by all

23 April 2019

Easter weekend has been packed with special events and activities across our services.

Residents living in our nursing homes in Sunderland and Newcastle attended Mass in the homes' own chapels and, as Lent was at an end, chocolate was much in evidence again.

Erin, nine-year-old granddaughter of our nursing homes manager, Julie, spread lots of smiles with her delivery of hand-made Easter chicks to our Holy Cross nursing home and some of our enterprising residents even used them to decorate their prize-winning Easter bonnets.

It was also a time for giving, and we'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has donated Easter eggs to the children in our care.

Colourful chocolate eggs have been arriving at our Alan Shearer Centre over the last week or so and Centre members, Thomas, Kevin, Nora, Sofia and Marcus had their pick of the treats when Budget Taxis manager, John Robinson delivered a clutch of chocolate eggs when they were visiting the Centre.

More eggs arrived with Nikki and her daughter Ellen who delivered another batch on behalf of Rook Matthews Estate Agents.

Our grateful thanks also go to Nuffield Health. Each donation has helped to make sure there are plenty of Easter eggs to go round.

Relationship Manager, Nicola Milne said, "I'm amazed at the generosity of our supporters and all the children were so happy to receive their surprise gifts."

Fun visit helps keep smiles bright

18 April 2019

Everyone attending our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington is proud of their smile, so we invited someone along to help make sure each smile always looks its best.

Dental nursing assistant, Jo, visited our Centre with a set of equipment and props specially designed to perfect the important technique of tooth brushing.

The huge toothbrush and giant set of teeth were just the things for checking everyone's brushing was up to scratch and gave everyone a giggle as they each tried out Jo's top tips.

Parkhead Support Worker, Jonathan said, "This is the first time we've had an oral health visit at Parkhead, but I think we'll have to arrange another as everyone loved it so much."

Bright bonnets bring out creative talents

16 April 2019

Residents, at our St Catherine's nursing home in Newcastle got stuck into making some of the most striking seasonal headgear.

With a bulging craft box to hand, plain raffia hats were gradually transformed into unique Easter bonnets using a selection of decorative eggs, chicks, flowers and ribbons.

During the craft session, staff, volunteers and Young Ambassador for our nursing homes, Autumn, all helped to perfect our residents' creativity until each bonnet was fashioned to perfection.

The bonnets are now being kept in a safe place until Saturday when our residents will wear them in their very own Easter bonnet parade.

Parish community shares in our Lenten lunch

9 April 2019

Parish community shares in our Lenten lunch

Residents living in our St Catherine's Nursing Home have hosted a Lenten lunch for local parishioners.

Regular and new visitors from St Robert's Church in Fenham first attended a prayer group with our residents in St Catherine's chapel, which was led by Special Minister and regular volunteer, Imelda.

Everyone then gathered together in one of St Catherine's pleasant dining rooms to relax and chat over a lunch of homemade soup and a roll, followed by fresh fruit.

Relationship Manager, Nicola Milne, who organised the lunch, said, "As always, it was wonderful to welcome parishioners from St Robert's to St Catherine's. Our Lenten Lunch was a perfect opportunity to rekindle friendships new and old, and to share our Lenten journey.”

A perfect reason to party

8 April 2019

Everyone attending our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington on National Party Day had a whale of a time finding all the best ways to do justice to the day of celebration.

Staff and regulars got together to perfect their party dances in the morning then, having worked up an appetite, enjoyed a delicious lunch of tempting party food to keep them going.

Fuelled for the afternoon's activities, everyone ramped up the fun with a few games of 'Pass the Pig', a friendly darts tournament, and there was even time for a quiz.

"We love any excuse for a celebration," said Centre Manager, Claire, "so there was no question about us joining in with National Party Day. I think it's safe to say that everyone gave it their all!"

Big cheque … big donation

3 April 2019

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Trinity House in Lockerbie for their incredible fundraising efforts in support of our Alan Shearer Activity Centre.

Staff and residents from the specialist care home travel every week to benefit from the free, therapeutic and fun facilities available at our Centre and wanted to do something special for us to show how much they enjoy their sessions.

The residents organised and ran a coffee and craft event to raise funds for the Centre, which was obviously very popular and well supported by their local community as they raised a total of £705!

Our Recreation Assistant, Heather, was delighted to accept a giant cheque from Trinity House staff members, Callum and Amy, on their last visit.

Centre Manager, Amanda Head, said, "This is an amazing achievement and we are so grateful to everyone who has been involved in raising this incredibly generous donation. Every penny helps to make a difference to the many disabled children and adults who regularly use our Centre."

Residents fashion floral crafts and fond memories

1 April 2019

Our Holy Cross residents took part in an arts and crafts session called ‘Flowers for mothers' which fell just in time for Mother's Day.

Many of our residents have fond memories of their own mothers and of bringing up their own children, too, so the session gave them the opportunity to reminisce and share familiar stories of motherhood.

Poignant memories of cooking with their mothers, helping around the home and how love filled their homes was balanced with light-hearted reflections on some of the more fun-filled moments of their childhood adventures.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the session and it certainly helped inspire them to create some beautiful floral pictures.

Ballooning marvellous day at Parkhead

28 March 2019

At Parkhead some of our regular visitors were surprised by a visit from the balloon professor to take part in a ballooning marvelous crafts session.

The professor, a balloon crafting expert, taught the group how to blow up the balloons and model them into simple shapes like swords at first. This resulted in a playful sword fight breaking out.

After play time finished, our regulars got serious by letting their creativity shine when the professor taught our regulars a range of balloon twisting techniques.

They twisted together a range of popping designs - everything from warming heart shaped balloons to fabulous rings and rubber jetpacks.

Regulars were elated to take home their inflators to show off proudly to their friends and family.

Happy St Cuthbert's Day

20 March 2019

As we celebrate the Feast of St Cuthbert – the patron saint of our Diocese and namesake of our charity – we take a look at his incredible life and lasting legacy.

St Cuthbert was born in 634AD and, as a boy, would tend sheep on the mountainsides of Scotland. One day, he had a vision of St Aidan being carried to heaven by angels and this inspired him to become a monk.

He became prior at Lindisfarne and was one of the great evangelists of early Christianity, spreading the word of the gospel to all.

St Cuthbert sought solitude and peace on the Inner Farne Island in 676AD, living in great austerity and dedicating his time to prayer. However, he was called to become Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in 684AD and travelled throughout the North of England helping many people along the way. This good work gained him the reputation as a living saint.

St Cuthbert returned to the Inner Farne Island where he spent his final years and died on the island on 20 March 687AD. His tomb became the site of many miracles and the Lindisfarne Gospels were written in his honour.

As the threat of invasion by the Danes grew, his fellow monks on Inner Farne fled the island with St Cuthbert's remains and kept them with them wherever they travelled. It would be over 200 years before St Cuthbert's remains found their final resting place in Durham.

Durham Cathedral was built to house St Cuthbert's remains and thousands of people still make the pilgrimage there each year in his honour.

St Cuthbert's name symbolises centuries of faith and devotion in the North of England and embodies the wide scope and nature of our Purpose: 'Working for the common good by enabling people to develop to their personal potential.'

From craft box scraps to creative mural

19 March 2019

Members attending our Live and Learn skills sessions for adults with learning disabilities, held at the Alan Shearer Activity Centre, let their imagination run wild with some ‘free form' artwork recently.

Delving into the centre's craft box, our creative regulars were spoilt for choice with the wealth of materials available for their pictures. Using everything from scraps of material to stickers and shiny sequins, they certainly produced some eye catching designs.

Each person chose their own theme for the pictures which will now become part of a much bigger mural to grace the walls of the Live and Learn art room for everyone to admire. Our featured artists certainly look proud of their creations.

Springtime's the muse for Holy Cross residents

14 March 2019

Residents at our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland have enjoyed welcoming springtime with a colourful arts and crafts session.

Supported by the home's activates co-ordinator, Vicky, and one of our residents' visiting relatives, there were some very pretty floral scenes created using a variety of materials in a range of textures and colours.

Their crafts used lots of inspiration and some much needed tea and cake followed.

One of our creative residents, Violet, was delighted with her picture, “I can't wait to show my family”, she said.

Violet's picture now has pride of place in her room, so everyone who visits – including her family – will be able to admire her creative talents.

Fairtrade samples are a hit

13 March 2019

Our service users at Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington learned all about Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight – including how good the produce tastes.

Our staff shared lots of interesting facts and information about the origins of Fairtrade and how it helps farmers and workers in developing countries, and the local Co-op store kindly brought along some Fairtrade produce for everyone to sample.

The bananas were a pretty popular choice, as our picture shows, but everyone agreed that the Fairtrade chocolate was the best partner for their cups of Fairtrade tea and coffee.

Before the event came to an end, everyone completed a Fairtrade-themed colouring sheet which was presented to the Co-op representative for their shop window display.

Trip out is really cool

11 March 2019

Despite the freezing temperatures and wintry showers, one of our service users couldn't wait to enjoy a little extra chill with a trip out to a specialist ice cream parlour.

Carolyn, who has learning disabilities and is supported by our charity to live as independently as possible, was thrilled when our Relationship Manager, Nicola, offered to take her out for the afternoon.

Ignoring the hail and freezing winds, Carolyn was quick to choose a visit to the ice cream parlour, although choosing just the right desert did take a little more consideration.

"There was so much to choose from," said Nicola. "I think Carolyn enjoyed making the decision about what to have as much as she enjoyed the desert itself!"

And the warm company and conversation they shared certainly helped them both forget about the chill outside.

Pancakes are a work of art

6 March 2019

A cookery session at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington provided a great opportunity for our regular service users to make some of the most unusual pancakes around.

Held on Shrove Tuesday, the session brought out everyone's creative side and there was a friendly 'bake-off' feel to the event, too.

Armed with their freshly-made pancake, the challenge was to make the brightest, most garish pancake they could manage using a selection of colourful, sugar fillings.

Looking at the photo taken on the day, I think it's safe to say they succeeded!

Fitness class raises funds for our charity

4 March 2019

We would like to say a massive thank you to the Bedlington Stretch 'n' Tone group for their generous donation to our charity.

Not only have members of the group been meeting up weekly to make sure they stay in tip top condition, they have donated the entire cost of their sessions to our charity and have just handed over a cheque for £1,000.

A spokeswoman for the group said, "When we began the class, we wanted to raise money for a local charity which worked with the most vulnerable in our community and St Cuthbert's Care was the obvious choice."

Our Relationship Manager, Nicola Milne, had a taster session of the fitness class before accepting the cheque from the group.

"To have raised £1,000 in this way is remarkable," said Nicola. "The group should be very proud of what they have achieved and I was delighted to be invited to take part in one of their sessions and receive their donation on behalf of our charity."

Signs of spring ready to move indoors

27 February 2019

Visitors are already enjoying signs of spring in the grounds and gardens of the Alan Shearer Centre and the colourful season is set to make an appearance inside our Activity Centre soon.

Members and guests have been getting creative with all the things that represent spring, making fluffy rabbits and lambs that will soon be on display for all to see as part of the Centre's spring mural.

If you're missing their gorgeous winter hibernation mural, however, you can still pop in to see it on display in the new summerhouse in the woodland walk.

So, if you're visiting our Activity Centre in the next week, why not try your hand at some spring crafts – your handiwork may end up on display!

Take a seat and let's get fit

25 February 2019

One of our valued volunteers is on hand every week to make sure everyone attending our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington has an opportunity to improve their fitness.

Qualified instructor and regular volunteer, Dianne, leads the chair-based exercise sessions and uses a variety of fitness bands and gentle exercise techniques to help our service users maintain or improve their mobility and strength.

"Everyone loves the sessions," said Parkhead manager, Claire. "They are certainly enthusiastic about taking part because it's lots of fun and the lively music adds a real feel-good factor, too."

The fact that it's good for their health and wellbeing is obviously an added bonus.

Half term fun at our specialist Activity Centre

18 February 2019

It may be school half term holidays, but there are plenty of free activities to keep our members and their guests busy and entertained at our Alan Shearer Activity Centre.

Make the most of the Centre's woodland setting on Wednesday by turning our collection of leaves into your very own, unique leaf animal. Or, if it's something a little more technical you fancy, come along on Thursday and take a trip to some amazing places with our virtual reality headsets.

We'll be winding down on Friday with a film screening in our sound and music room and making homemade play dough and pasta pictures to end the week on Saturday. Our warm and welcoming recreation assistants will be on hand to show you what to do and lend a hand, too, if needed.

These activities all start at 12 noon, but the Centre is open as usual if you'd like to enjoy any of our other sensory experiences.

Just make sure you book in advance for any of our rooms or activities by ringing our friendly Activity Centre team on 0191 267 8118.

Love is in the air – across St Cuthbert’s Care

14 February 2019

We've been marking St Valentine's Day in all of our services today with a variety of personalised gifts and pampering.

At our Parkhead Resource Centre, in Ashington, it was Valentine's Day with a twist! Everyone got paired up at random by matching up pieces of a jigsaw. They had to stay in their pairs, learn about each other and remember interesting facts about the other person.

Then their memories were tested in a game of Mr and Mrs to win a token for a go at the grab machine filled with mini love hearts.

Our nursing homes in Newcastle and Sunderland were not to be left out either, as residents were treated to one-to-one pamper sessions with manicures and hand massages.

At our Alan Shearer Activity Centre, members were using their creative talents to make cards for their secret, and sometimes not so secret, Valentines. Upstairs in the Short Break Centre, the hearts on offer were rather more tasty – heart shaped cookies, lovingly iced and decorated.

The fun isn't quite over yet at the Alan Shearer Centre though! Tomorrow, they're throwing open the doors for a Valentine's Disco in reception and Browne's Café, from 6.00pm till 8.00pm.

It's adults only and everyone is welcome - but please contact the Centre's reception in advance on 0191 267 8118 to book your place.

Spreading a little sunshine at the Alan Shearer Centre

13 February 2019

With a warm(ish) spell and even some sunshine forecast to last into next week, the gardens at our Alan Shearer Centre are getting set to welcome in spring.

The snowdrops and daffodils in the Woodland Walk and the primulas in the planters have inspired the centre's staff to add a splash of colour to reception with their own spring-themed display.

As always, Recreation Assistant, Heather's talents were called upon as she made some big, bright paper flowers for the café and reception area - with a little help from members and their carers.

The paper flowers will soon be joined by real ones, as spring bulbs, in plant pots on the windowsills, are ready to burst into flower.

For visitors enjoying the garden and grounds, some handy books have been provided to help them identify plants and local wildlife.

So why not drop in for a coffee and have a look round. Even if it turns a little chilly again, there's always a warm welcome waiting!

Brownie points for our Holy Cross residents

8 February 2019

Mouths were watering at Holy Cross when the delicious smell of baking filled our Sunderland nursing home.

Any activities to do with cooking are always popular with the home's residents, so they couldn't wait to roll up their sleeves and show their inner Delia Smiths.

This time it was hazelnut and chocolate brownies on the menu, with long-standing resident, Michael, showing the ladies he was no slouch when it came to baking.

Activities Co-ordinator, Vicky Hurst, said, “Smiles and beautiful aromas filled the room all afternoon and the brownies were ready for sharing at tea time with lashings of cream!”

Bishop Robert Byrne announced as successor to Bishop Séamus

5 February 2019

We offer a very warm North East welcome to Bishop Robert Byrne in his appointment as the fourteenth Bishop of our Diocese. We wish him a long, healthy and blessed ministry and look forward to his guidance and support of our wonderful charity.

Please visit the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle website for more information.

A colourful welcome for Chinese New Year

5 February 2019

Everyone who attended our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington today was able to join in with giving a very special - and colourful – welcome to Chinese New Year.

The creative talents of our staff and service users at the centre were put to good use as they designed and made a traditional red dragon that is often featured in Chinese New Year street celebrations.

And the Chinese theme extended throughout the day with a Chinese meal at lunchtime, watching some impressive Chinese magic and trying their hand at writing their name in Chinese characters.

The first day of Chinese New Year is supposed to be lucky," said Parkhead Manager, Claire, "so we thought we'd test out the theory. We've written down our New Year wishes, popped them in a time capsule and buried it in our garden. Of course, we'll have to wait until next year to see if they come true!"

Meanwhile, some of those attending our Live and Learn skills session at the Alan Shearer Activity Centre enjoyed making Chinese lanterns and a very impressive banner for the Centre reception area, too.

Supporting Dignity Action Day

4 February 2019

Dignity Action Day is an annual opportunity for our care workers to celebrate people's rights to dignity and provide a memorable day for people who use our care services.

We have marked the day in various ways, every year since it began back in 2010 and this year our carers organised a variety of entertainment and craft sessions to raise awareness of the issue.

Both our nursing homes, St Catherine's in Newcastle and Holy Cross in Sunderland, invited residents and their families to get together with staff for a Digni-Tea. There were singalongs, refreshments and raffles before everyone wrote messages about what dignity means to them on leaves which they attached to Dignity Trees.

At our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington for adults with learning disabilities, members created a mural, literally spelling out what dignity meant to them. Words such as empathy, individuality and self-worth all featured.

Our Alan Shearer Activity Centre held a “Catch up and Cuppa Day” where members could grab a muffin and a cuppa and join in a discussion with staff about the importance of dignity and ways it can be promoted.

One of the principal values underpinning the work of our charity is "Recognition of the inherent dignity of each person" - something that is paramount in the training of all our care staff.

Wildlife in the spotlight

30 January 2019

With temperatures plummeting and frost remaining on the ground for best part of the day, some of our services have been giving a lot of thought to birds and animals.

Regulars at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington are a dab hand at looking after the feathered friends that visit the centre garden, so when they decided to take part in this year's Big Garden Bird Watch, they made sure to leave plenty of treats in the trees.

Seed and suet cakes and peanut garlands attracted a wide variety of birds including Blue Tits, Robins, Blackbirds and Chaffinches.

"We've definitely seen more birds this year than in the past," said Centre Manager, Claire. "It was so exciting to see such a variety, especially the Wagtails which are a big favourite with us all."

Meanwhile, staff, members and visitors to our Alan Shearer Activity Centre have put together a display of some of the cutest hibernating animals as well as some of the birds and animals that can be found in the woodland and gardens at the Centre.

Make sure to check out the impressive display in reception next time you visit.

Celebrating the Bard of Ayrshire

28 January 2019

The lasting legacy of the Scottish Bard, Robbie Burns, was marked in style when a traditional afternoon tea get-together swapped dainty cakes for hearty haggis.

Each month, residents from our St Catherine's Nursing Home enjoy a chat and afternoon tea with staff from our charity's head office, but when January's gathering fell on January 25 there simply had to be a celebration of all things Scottish.

The famous Address to a Haggis was followed by a serving of the delicacy – both traditional and vegetarian – accompanied by neeps and tatties (of course!) and a wee dram of whisky. In keeping with the Scottish theme, the menu also featured shortbread and raspberries, although the usual selection of favourite cream cakes were an absolute must, too.

Our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington took a slightly different take on the Burns celebrations with tossing the 'caber', which proved to be highly popular. Fortunately, the caber in question was hand made using cardboard, but just as much fun.

Many happy returns, Margaret

24 January 2019

Everyone at our Alan Shearer Activity Centre couldn't wait to wish one of our lovely volunteers many happy returns – and it wasn't even her birthday!

Volunteer, Margaret, had been a regular helper at our Activity Centre for around ten years when she had to take a break to attend to family commitments.

But this week, Margaret returned to the smiling faces at the Centre that she's come to know and love so much … and everyone was delighted to see her.

"Margaret enjoys helping set up for our craft session and she's great at collecting lots of bits and bobs for us, too," said Heather, one of our Centre recreation assistants. "It's great to have her back!"

Spotlight on breakfasts

22 January 2019

Some of our residents at our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland had a real appetite for our 'Big Breakfast' menu, designed to provide a great start to a great day.

The leisurely, full English breakfast had quite a few fans in the dining room when our staff served up a choice of sausage, egg, bacon, black pudding, hash brown and beans to order.

And the focus on breakfast didn't stop there. After time to digest the benefits of starting the day with a hearty meal, Vicky, the home's activities co-ordinator, led our residents on a trip around the breakfasts of the world.

Pan au chocolat, croissants, American waffles and Scotch pancakes were some of the delicacies on offer and, thankfully, the foody tour stopped short of offering a Japanese breakfast of fish or soup!

A topping idea at the Alan Shearer Centre

21 January 2019

Spring may still be some way off, but members of our Alan Shearer Activity Centre have started work on a new mural to bring a bit of colour to the reception area.

This time they are trying something new – creating a huge, colourful tree using a ‘mosaic' of plastic bottle tops.

Recreation Assistant, Jan Rootham, who has drawn the picture members will be “colouring in” says:
“We have been saving recycled bottle tops of all colours for the display in reception – and the kind staff from Marks and Spencer's café in Newcastle have also been collecting for us, which gave us a boost of a few hundred!
Now we have so many, we will also be using them for individual pictures we're making over the next few weeks in our Live and Learn sessions.”

Look out for the finished mural appearing soon. You certainly won't be able to miss it!

It’s all fun and games at Parkhead

17 January 2019

Regulars at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington have splashed out on some belated Christmas presents for themselves.

The star attraction now is an eight-in-one games table, with everyone queueing up to play football, hockey, pool, basketball and more.

Some of the money they raised at their Christmas fair has been used to buy even more games that will make the afternoons fly by.

If The Chase, Tipping Point and British Pub Quiz aren't enough to keep everyone occupied, they can test their skill at grabbing chocolates in a miniature version of the well-known arcade game.

Centre manager, Claire Graham, said, “The grab machine has taken us all back to our childhood - the anticipation, then crushing disappointment when the gift drops at the last second! You can tell by the concentration on people's faces that they're loving it.”

Parkhead’s tribute to the “Matchstalk” man

9 January 2019

Members of our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington have completed a new mural for their dining and activities room.

The centre's Communication Through Art group have made a striking Lowry-inspired collage to decorate the wall until the spring.

Anyone old enough to remember the 1970's will probably be familiar with the song “Matchstalk Men” which topped the charts for three weeks in 1978 and was the first time many people heard about Lowry. Now centre members have been learning about him and his connection with the area.

Although he never visited Ashington, he did get as far as nearby Newbiggin and drew several pictures of St Bartholomew's Church which the members have visited many times.

Claire Graham, manager of the centre for adults with learning disabilities, said, “Everyone enjoyed watching a slide show of Lowry's work and were inspired to create something similar in style. It is a depiction of the colliery rows in Ashington, to reflect the mining heritage of the area."

Tree displays New Year resolution reminders

3 January 2019

Residents at our St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle have created a novel way to remind themselves of their New Year resolutions.

With the help of the home's activities co-ordinator, Sarah, our residents put their resolutions for 2019 onto paper and added a little sparkling glitter to create decorative tags to hang on their special memory tree.

After a busy festive season, a few people promised themselves some time to relax or spend quality time with others, but there were also some who felt it was time to find a new hobby or be more active.

"It was a fun and creative way to capture our residents' New Year resolutions," said Sarah, "and it's now a real talking point for everyone."

Can we take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy New Year.

Alan Shearer Centre Gets a New Car!

21 December 2018

Alan Shearer Centre Gets a New Car

Disabled people and their families often travel long distances to benefit from the facilities available at the Alan Shearer Centre in Newcastle. Some families are simply unable to contemplate a journey by public transport due to length of journey and accessibility. With this in mind Lookers Motor Group generously donated a specially adapted vehicle by Automotive Group, which is now on loan to the Centre for two years.

The car – which is wheelchair accessible - will become a lifeline for those families who rely on visiting the Centre for therapy, respite and fun activities.

Lookers officially handed the vehicle over at the Centre's Christmas Party where Alan was on hand to thank Lookers representative, Andrew Davidson for his very generous donation.

Thank you to Lookers for ‘Looking after us'!

A special call out for NE Ambulance

21 December 2018

We would like to say a big thank you to the staff from the North East Ambulance Service for their generous donation to the Alan Shearer Activity Centre.

A local ambulance crew based in Blucher, which is just a stone's throw from the Centre, paid a surprise visit this morning to deliver a hamper of toys, sweets and chocolates.

One lucky family visiting the Centre tomorrow will be receiving a lovely Christmas gift they were not expecting!

Getting together for Christmas

19 December 2018

The run up to Christmas has seen some special visitors to our nursing homes in Newcastle and Sunderland.

Residents of St Catherine's in Newcastle welcomed back friends from Churches Together in Fenham for coffee and a catch up. On this, their second visit to the home, parishioners and their Parish Priest, Fr Sean O'Neill, brought lovely hand-crafted gifts and Christmas cards for each resident, which they will receive on Christmas Day.

Meanwhile, there was a surprise visit to Holy Cross home in Sunderland by St Joseph's Nursery School pupils, who sang songs for the residents and invited them to join in with the fun.

The children spent some time chatting to them about Christmas and delivered handmade cards to every resident. In return, the residents gave each child a special Christmas package with a selection box, book, jigsaw and reindeer dust.

Activities Co-ordinator, Vicky Hurst, said, “We had special chocolate milkshakes for the little ones to enjoy when they had finished singing. It was heart-warming to see residents' faces light up at our young visitors.”

Thank you to everyone who supported our Christmas Toy Appeal

18 December 2018

As our Christmas Toy Appeal draws to a close, we would like to thank everyone for their generosity and kindness in helping those less fortunate than ourselves.

Warm clothing, gifts and toys have flooded into our head office where they have been sorted and distributed to many local projects throughout our diocese, enabling many people in need to have a warmer, more cheerful Christmas.

We snapped a quick photo of one generous donor, Dawn Laybourn, pictured, who arrived recently with bags of toys which she and her partner, Malcolm, bought especially to donate to us.

Relationships Manager, Nicola Milne said, "People have truly shown that Christmas is the season for giving and many individuals and families have already benefited from the donations we have received. We send our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported our appeal and I would especially like to thank staff at the AA Newcastle for organising a special collection of items on our behalf."

Our charity's Red Van will continue to distribute the donated items right up until Friday this week.

Autumn is first Young Ambassador for our nursing homes

14 December 2018

A ten-year-old school student from Newcastle is delighting residents at our two nursing homes by championing their lives and sharing her spare time with them as she becomes the first person to take on the role of Young Ambassador for our nursing homes.

Autumn, who attends Walbottle Village Primary School, has just carried out her first official visit as Young Ambassador at our Holy Cross home in Sunderland, where she delivered hand-written Christmas cards for every resident and thoroughly enjoyed joining everyone in a cheery festive singalong.

As Young Ambassador, Autumn will pay regular visits to our residents at Holy Cross - and at our Newcastle care home, St Catherine's - helping to bridge the generation gap through conversation, crafts and friendship. She will also act as a positive representative for our residents in her day-to-day links with other young people.

The kindhearted initiative came about after Autumn got in touch to ask how she could help people in our nursing homes on a regular basis.

"I enjoy making things and have helped with crafts and activities in the homes before, which I loved," said Autumn. "I asked if I could do something more regularly and can't believe I'm now their Young Ambassador. I'm really proud and excited."

Registered Manager for our nursing homes, Julie Thompson said, “We feel so privileged that Autumn wants to spend her spare time with us. Her first official visit was a massive hit with everyone and we're already counting the days to her next visit.”

Having a young person regularly visiting their home brings our residents so much pleasure and helps them to keep in touch with the changing world. In turn, Autumn is receiving first-hand knowledge of their experiences and memories from times gone by.

There are already a few projects shaping up involving Autumn and some of our residents, so watch this space!

Festive fun at the Alan Shearer Centre

12 December 2018

With Christmas fast approaching, there are lots of festive activities on the Alan Shearer Centre's calendar.

Regulars at our Live and Learn skills sessions for adults with learning disabilities have been trying their hand at making Christmas crackers to take home to put on their trees and have been busy in the kitchen, showing off their skills at mince pie making.

If you're visiting the centre soon, take a good look around the reception area. A Christmas elf has crept in and is hiding somewhere! He's been spotted once already, but you never know where he's going to get to next.

Staff, supported by their loyal band of volunteers, have decorated the centre ready for this week's adults' Christmas party – even creating a giant “gingerbread house”.

The party is this Friday from 5.30 to 7.30pm and it's completely free! There will be party games, music, dancing and a free buffet. Come and meet old friends – or make new ones.

Everyone is welcome, but it's very popular, so please call reception on 0191 267 8118 to book your place in advance!

Sharing the traditional joys of Christmas

10 December 2018

Residents at our Holy Cross Nursing home in Sunderland joined residents from five other care homes in the region to give a special welcome to the start of the festive season.

Residents and staff from all six care homes got together for an early Christmas party at The Derwentside Club in Ryhope, where everyone enjoyed a delicious three course lunch with all the festive trimmings.

Our residents were delighted when lunch was followed by two of their favourite musical acts – local singer/songwriter, Christine Rosemond and the ever-popular Mike Memphis with his Elvis repertoire. Both staff and residents had a great time joining in with some of the popular classics and sharing memories.

To round off the afternoon's festivities there were gifts for each and every resident, personally delivered by Santa and Mrs Claus.

"It was a fabulous afternoon with smiles and laughter all round," said our Holy Cross activities co-ordinator, Vicky.

We would like to thank the Community Care Home Group for hosting the party and for involving our residents in regular get-togethers throughout the year.

Sculptures make it a cosy Christmas

5 December 2018

Staff and residents at our nursing homes have created stunning centerpieces as a backdrop for their festive celebrations.

Both Holy Cross in Sunderland and St Catherine's in Newcastle now have their own cosy fireplace sculpture which residents have helped to make from discarded boxes - and a good helping of creativity - with the support of their activities co-ordinators.

The colourful additions to the main activity spaces in each home are already a major talking point, prompting reminiscences about childhood Christmases and coal fires as well as tempting a few of our residents to have festive photos taken next to the hearth.

"People's faces light up as soon as they see the fireplaces," said Julie Thompson, registered manager for our homes. "They each create a lovely, cosy place to hold our Christmas sing-alongs or enjoy warming seasonal drinks and they're certainly adding that feel good factor to our festivities."

Sweet birthday surprise

4 December 2018

When one of our Alan Shearer Centre members visited our Activity Centre on his 10^th birthday recently, there was a very tasty surprise waiting for him.

As Thomas arrived to enjoy all the fun of the specialist sensory rooms and equipment, Heather - one of our recreation assistant and the Centre's Mary Berry - was waiting with one of her incredible, hand decorated cakes.

Thomas and his mum Angie were delighted by the surprise and couldn't stop smiling at the intricate decorations on the cake, made in the shape of a log and featuring fondant sculptures of many of the birds and animals found in the Centre's grounds.

The cake was a special thank you for all the support Angie had given to the Alan Shearer Foundation Ball this year when she appeared before gathered guests to explain how important the Centre was to her and her family.

We hope Thomas enjoyed his birthday celebrations as much as we did.

Please support our Christmas Toy Appeal

23 November 2018

Our charity is asking for donations of gifts, new and good quality used toys and warm clothing, which we will be distributing to those in need throughout our region in time for Christmas.

We would welcome donations of warm clothing, including hats, scarves, gloves and sleeping bags, which will all go to help some of the most vulnerable members of our community keep warm this winter, whilst donations of toys and gifts will help families feel part of the season of giving by enabling them to give Christmas presents to their children.

As part of our work in the community, our Red Van project has been busy throughout the year, providing essential items to individuals and families who have little or nothing. However, at Christmas time and during the winter months we would really appreciate a little extra help to support those in need.

If you are able to help, you can bring donations to our drop off point at St Cuthbert's House, West Road, Newcastle NE15 7PY between 9am and 4.30pm on Monday to Friday right up until Monday, 17 December.

If you would like any further information about our appeal, please contact our Relationships Manager, Nicola Milne on 0191 228 0111 or email: nicola.milne@stcuthbertscare.org.uk

Thank you.

Gloomy day brightened by artwork

21 November 2018

Despite the gloomy weather, our service users and staff at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington have found plenty to be thankful for.

Inspired by today's Thanksgiving celebrations in America, our service users decided to paint their own thanksgiving tree with each leaf made from fingerprints representing ideas and suggestions of the things they felt grateful for.

From family, good health and pets to football teams, holidays and food, their tree grew and blossomed throughout the day as their thoughts flowed.

The cheerful painting is now displayed proudly on the Centre wall and looks so good it will brighten up the dullest day.

Autumn colours inspire seasonal artwork

14 November 2018

The changing colours of autumn have been providing inspiration for artwork at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington.

We've all heard the saying "a picture paints a thousand words" and at Parkhead, our centre for adults with learning disabilities, their Communication Through Art sessions do just that.

Members have been looking at the changing seasons, thinking about the colours associated with this time of year and what autumn means to them. They all work hard throughout the year helping maintain the centre's garden and that closeness to nature was clear in the paintings they produced to decorate their dining room.

Centre Manager, Claire Graham said, "They all said they like that special light you get when the winter sun shines. They love the autumn colours of the trees in our garden, but can't wait for the first snows to come!"

Lest we forget

9 November 2018

People across our services have been preparing thoughtful tributes to mark Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday this weekend.

Preparing for the weekend of commemoration, St Catherine's Nursing Home residents spent one of their regular craft sessions carefully making beautiful poppies with the help of activity co-ordinator, Sarah. Dozens of the finished poppies were then used to decorate their dignity tree in the home's main entrance.

Meanwhile, residents living in our Holy Cross Nursing Home put their skills to work making a collage of 100 poppies – one for each year since the end of WW1. The collage is now proudly displayed in the home's main lounge.

Adults with learning disabilities at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington paid their respects by making two poppy wreaths for their dining room wall. One features the familiar red poppies, while a distinctive purple one commemorates all the animals that lost their lives in the war.

Since the group doesn't meet on Sunday, they paid their respects early with a two minute silence.

Parkhead firework display still delighting visitors

7 November 2018

Regular visitors to our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington enjoyed making their own, spectacular firework display which had tons of glitz and sparkle, but was 100% safe.

Rockets with glittering tails, a night sky streaked with colour and a giant Catherine wheel were all part of the impressive display, but had been made with tinsel, paint, cardboard and a whole lot of talent by our creative visitors and staff.

What's more, where most people's firework displays are over in minutes, our Parkhead visitors are still enjoying the display they've made, which has pride of place on the Centre's walls.

How to celebrate being 107 years young

2 November 2018

Family, friends, volunteers, staff and fellow residents all packed into our St Catherine's Nursing Home lounge to celebrate the birthday of our Newcastle home's oldest resident.

Winifred McKittrick, who much prefers to be called Mrs Mac, deservedly took centre stage for her 107^th birthday celebrations, which lasted the entire day.

Starting with a hearty breakfast and phone calls from her daughter in New Zealand and her granddaughter, staff then helped her to open her many birthday cards - including her fourth birthday card from the Queen.

A leisurely lunch and a nap set Mrs Mac up for her afternoon party, which included balloons, a sing-along, a trip down memory lane with a fun game of pass-the-parcel, and a rousing chorus of 'Happy Birthday' sung by gathered guests.

Retiring to her room after the celebrations wound down, Mrs Mac blew out the candles on her birthday cake and spent time relaxing with her daughter, Pat.

And what did Mrs Mac make of being the centre of attention? "I'm not one for fuss," she said, "but I've had a lovely day."

We’re all having a spook-tacular time!

1 November 2018

Scary skeletons and ghostly goings-on aren't spooking any of our service users who are thoroughly enjoying making their mark this Halloween.

People attending our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington got into the Halloween spirit early by researching the Mexican-themed tradition of Day of the Dead and making skeletons from toilet roll tubes to decorate the centre.
Once Halloween itself came around, however, their thoughts turned more to pumpkins and parties, with people dressing up and posing for portraits in front of a suitably scary scene.

Meanwhile, residents at our two nursing homes – Holy Cross in Sunderland and St Catherine's in Newcastle – have all enjoyed exploring the Halloween theme, taking part in quizzes, exploring traditions and making pumpkin biscuits and ghostly meringues.

Our Alan Shearer Activity Centre members have already had tons of Halloween fun with fiendishly good parties and creepy crafts and are looking forward to getting creative again with some sparkling activities to mark Bonfire Night.

Our scarecrow is a real winner

23 October 2018

There were some talented visitors to our Alan Shearer Centre at the weekend, all taking part in one of our special autumn-themed activities.

Our 'build a scarecrow' activity proved massively popular, with people of all ages attending to turn our scrap box of goodies into their very own distinctive scarecrow.

To add even more fun to the event, our resourceful recreation assistants decided to hold a fun competition to name the Activity Centre's very own eye-catching scarecrow.

Ideas came thick and fast and each suggested name was written down before the most popular suggestion was declared the winner. – And the winner is … Samuel Crowsville.

So now you know our scarecrow's name, don't forget to say hello when your visit our Centre this autumn.

Parkhead to the rescue!

18 October 2018

Our Parkhead Resource Centre service users are always keen to learn something new – even when it's a particularly prickly subject.

Now that autumn has well and truly arrived, staff at our Ashington-based centre for adults with learning disabilities thought a lesson in hedgehog awareness would be particularly timely.

With the number of these cute, spiny creatures rapidly declining, our Parkhead staff and regulars couldn't wait to find out how they could help and a visit from the Northumbrian Hedgehog Rescue Trust proved to be just the ticket.

Top tips were shared on feeding hedgehogs and helping them to get ready for hibernation as well as all-important advice given to check piles of leaves before disposal and being alert to spiny visitors making homes in prepared bonfires.

Our service users were fascinated by a preserved hedgehog brought along by the Trust and amazed to find out that the average hedgehog has around 5000 spines!

As a big thank you for the visit, the Trust left with a good supply of suitable hedgehog food which had been collected and donated by our service users and their friends and families. Hopefully, a few more hedgehogs will have a more comfortable winter as a result.

Happy birthday x100!

12 October 2018

When one of our St Catherine's Nursing Home residents celebrated her birthday in our home, there were almost as many surprises in store as there were years under her belt.

Centenarian, Daphne, woke to find flowers, cards and balloons decorating her room – and her first Royal birthday card from the Queen was waiting for her, too.

After a leisurely breakfast and time to open gifts and cards, Daphne had time to put her feet up before the afternoon celebrations got well and truly underway.

Escorted by our staff to the home's spacious lounge, Daphne was greeted with an enthusiastic rendition of 'Happy Birthday' and was presented with another special card, this time featuring 100 hand-drawn and decorated candles made by her fellow residents.

After a few fun games of 'pass the parcel' and surrounded by her friends and family, Daphne's face lit up as a beautifully decorated cake arrived, hand-made by the cooks at St Catherine's.

All in all, it was a celebration to remember.

No 'reservations' about fun at Parkhead

10 October 2018

Regulars at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington have been holding a Native American Day and showing off their creative talents by making miniature totem poles.

The day centre for adults with learning disabilities is always on the look out for interesting themes for their arts and crafts sessions and the totem poles and teepees were a great subject for colourful model making.

To get everyone in the mood, some authentic native American music and dance was found on Youtube and everyone tried joining in with their own drums. There was also look at the history and meaning of totem poles.

Happily, everyone had a great time and nobody went on the warpath!

Our Holy Cross residents get a taste of the Orient

3 October 2018

Holy Cross activities co-ordinator, Vicky Hurst, has plans to offer the nursing home's residents a global travel experience from the comfort of their armchairs.

Their first port of call was in the orient with a “Taste of China” event.

Residents helped to set the scene by making Chinese lanterns and dragon masks to decorate the activities lounge, then, on the day, out came a selection of delicious oriental tastes.

Chow Mein, spring rolls, prawn toast and seaweed were followed by Chinese desserts such as almond milk jelly with mandarins and Chinese egg custard tarts.

“To finish off”, said Vicky, “ we opened fortunes cookies and had a good laugh at some of the hidden gems inside. Our favourite was ‘Families are like fudge - always sweet but some nuts included'. We hope to continue our travels around the globe with more tastes from lots of different countries.”

Peanut treats for Parkhead tweets

1 October 2018

As the days grow shorter and food for wildlife becomes a little harder to find, our caring Parkhead regulars have got together to offer a bit of a helping hand.

Everyone at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington were keen to play a part in making some nutritious and decorative bird feeders to hang in their grounds. So, with a huge bag of peanuts in shells, some string and a good dash of creativity a delicious feast for the birds was created in no time.

And there was plenty of evidence that their wildlife gifts were made with a generous sprinkling love, too, with some of the feeders created in the shape of a heart and decorated with ribbon.

Now feathered visitors to Parkhead can find a better class of feeder at their disposal.

Taking time to mark Peace Day

24 September 2018

A number of our service users got together to make their own contribution to International Day of Peace.

Residents at our St Catherine's Nursing Home supported the day with some craft activities, putting their own creative stamp on some of the well-known symbols of peace to make a colourful peace tree at the entrance to their home.

While they worked, they were inspired by a collection of quotations by eminent people throughout the ages, including Pope Francis, Mahatma Gandhi, John Lennon and Martin Luther King.

Meanwhile at Parkhead, our Ashington-based resource centre for adults with learning disabilities, friendship and diversity were celebrated in creative style.

The circle of hands made from the painted hand prints of each person attending that day now make a colourful and poignant addition to the artwork on display at Parkhead.

From bramble patch to delicious pud

21 September 2018

A few of our regular Parkhead visitors have marked the arrival of autumn by making a tasty treat to share at the Resource Centre in Ashington.

After carefully foraging for the juiciest blackberries, it was off to the kitchen to further hone their cookery skills, cooking and sweetening the fruits before covering them with a deliciously crunchy crumble topping.

The lunchtime surprise was complete when the popular pud was served with lashings of custard and the empty plates at the end of the meal were a clear sign of satisfied diners.

Jigsaw gifts are a real talking point

19 September 2018

Our Holy Cross nursing home residents now have two new framed pictures to admire thanks to the skillful pastime and kind generosity of a local friend of the home.

George Pope, who lives in nearby High Grindon House, has been a regular visitor and friend of our Holy Cross Home for many years. So, after enlisting the help of his fellow residents to complete some jigsaws recently, he knew straight away where the cheerful scenes would be thoroughly enjoyed.

After the jigsaws were beautifully framed, George was thrilled to be able to present them to Holy Cross manager, Julie Thompson and the home's activities co-ordinator, Vicky Hurst.

Each picture recalls times gone by – one showing donkey rides at the beach and another of vintage vehicles. They both have pride of place in the home's activities lounge, helping to spark lots of memories for our residents to share in conversation.

A massive thank you to George and his fellow residents from everyone at Holy Cross.

Yee ha! for the birthday celebrations

18 September 2018

When one of our service users let slip it was a landmark birthday year, our staff pulled out all the stops to make sure his celebration was a memorable occasion.

David, affectionately known as Mitch, couldn't wait for the party to get started at his home in Sherringham House where every inch of the large lounge was decorated in keeping with his favourite cowboy theme.

His house mates and friends were quick off the draw to have pictures taken at the hay bale photo booth and enjoy the scrumptious buffet. Then it was 'take your partners' for line dancing and rock and roll to the toe-tapping music of visiting entertainer, Al Ritchie.

Amongst all the fun and excitement, Mitch's perfect cake took centre stage, decorated with all things cowboy. He was so thrilled with the design that no-one knows if he allowed it to be eaten!

Fairground entrance is a real thriller

11 September 2018

When four-year-old Renae arrived with her mum, Rebecca to become a member of our Alan Shearer Centre, they were both delighted by the fairground-themed reception area.

Renae and Rebecca are just two of our many visitors who have been thrilled with the mid-season funfair-themed entrance to the centre.

Full of colour, textures and exciting things to do, our clever centre staff have created a mini big-top, carefully crafted a ring master and trapeze artist and laid out lots of fun games like hoopla and tin can alley to keep everyone amused.

Our themed reception area, which changes regularly, is becoming a popular attraction for visitors who are able to enjoy a sensory treat as soon as they arrive at the centre.

If you want to take a peek at our display or try your hand at the fairground games, best be quick, our autumnal theme will be arriving soon!

Our service users are reaping their rewards

7 September 2018

As the month of September heralded the arrival of autumn, some of our service users couldn't wait to harvest the crops they had sown in the spring.

Tenants at our Sherringham House independent supported living scheme, which is designed to support adults with learning disabilities live as independently as possible, were first off the mark with their crops.

Thanks to their careful tending, the balcony garden produced a wealth of delicious veggies and salads – from baby spinach to gorgeous courgettes – which they picked, prepared and served as part of their summer BBQ get-together.

Friends from the local area and from many of our other adult services were invited to join in with the harvest feast and were proudly shown around the garden, too.

Meanwhile in Ashington, regulars at our Parkhead Resource Centre for adults with learning disabilities could barely hide their excitement at finally being able to reap the rewards of their hard work.

The tension mounted as leaves were tugged and soil dug, but gradually the crops were revealed, much to everyone's delight. Their potatoes, beetroot and carrots are already part of the menu at the centre, but a bit more patience will be called for before the tomato crop is ripe enough to pick. It's bound to be worth the wait!

All together now!

4 September 2018

Residents at our nursing homes in Newcastle and Sunderland have enjoyed a musical feast to round off their summer season of entertainment.

Our residents at Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland welcomed One Man Music Hall entertainer, Allen Cutler, who took everyone back in time with his variety show mix of comedy, magic and music – there were even some balloon-bending sculptures thrown in for good measure.

Meanwhile at St Catherine's in Newcastle, our residents, relatives and visitors all got together to enjoy the last of the summer fruit with their Strawberry Tea event which included an uplifting sing-along session.

Both homes will be sharing photos from their musical events as part of the national 'Live Music in Care' challenge organised by Live Music Now and the Care Quality Commission.

"Our residents enjoy music in so many different ways," said Gill Ennis, Head of Care for our homes. "From musical bingo and visiting entertainers, to making their own music with our collection of instruments, it all works wonders to lift everyone's spirits."

All the fun of the fair

31 August 2018

Foster carers and their fostered youngsters enjoyed a night of circus-themed fun at our Fostering North East annual celebration of fostering.

Each year, our fostering team hosts an event to thank our foster carers for the incredible work they do and provide an evening of fun for their fostered youngsters.

This year's event, held at the Alan Shearer Centre, included traditional fairground games like hook-a-duck, hoopla and tin can alley and youngsters were able to make their own circus animal masks or have their faces painted.

Our carers were able to relax and catch up with each other in the Centre's Browne's Café where everyone came together for a light buffet, complete with hot dogs and circus-themed cupcakes. One of our talented carers even brought along a guitar to provide some musical entertainment together with a friend.

"Everyone had a fantastic time," said Fostering North East Registered Manager, Joann Greener. "Fostering young people changes lives, but can often be challenging. Our event is just one of the ways we like to show our appreciation throughout the year."

If you would like to find out more about fostering, visit our Fostering North East website or ring Joann on 0191 228 0111.

Going bananas at Parkhead

28 August 2018

It was a whole bunch of fun at our Parkhead Resource Centre for adults with learning disabilities when they all took part in a day of activities surrounding the humble banana.

When your calendar says it's Banana Split Day, it's definitely time to think outside the box and, as well as enjoying the delicious desert, consider what else you can do with bananas.

For our staff and service users at Parkhead, there were plenty of imaginative ideas. Teams went head to head to test their skills at banana fork racing, banana quick draw, banana hoopla and, of course, designing the tastiest banana split.

After all the hilarity and activity, there was plenty of time to sit back, relax and enjoy a delicious, home-made banana milkshake. That sounds very ap-peel-ing!

Going bananas at Parkhead

28 August 2018

It was a whole bunch of fun at our Parkhead Resource Centre for adults with learning disabilities when everyone took part in a day of activities surrounding the humble banana.

When your calendar says it's Banana Split Day, it's definitely time to think outside the box and, as well as enjoying the delicious desert, consider what else you can do with bananas.

For our staff and service users at Parkhead, there were plenty of imaginative ideas. Teams went head to head to test their skills at banana fork racing, banana quick draw, banana hoopla and, of course, designing the tastiest banana split.

After all the hilarity and activity, there was plenty of time to sit back, relax and enjoy a delicious, home-made banana milkshake. That sounds very ap-peel-ing!

'Elvis' returns to Holy Cross

20 August 2018

Residents at our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland have been treated to a collection of some of Elvis Presley's most popular songs, all sung by their favourite Elvis look-alike entertainer.

Relatives and friends packed into the spacious lounge to join our residents in remembering Elvis' hey-day with impersonator, Mike Memphis, who took them on a musical journey back in time.

'All Shook Up' had everyone dancing along and residents took turns in sharing the spotlight by singing along with 'Elvis' to 'Fools Rush In'.

After mingling and chatting with residents throughout the performance, 'Elvis' closed the show with Cliff Richard's 'Summer Holiday' which, although not in Elvis' song catalogue, is one of our residents' all-time favourite songs.

A great time was had by all and everyone is already looking forward to the next visit.

Water treat for the summer!

14 August 2018

It's been taste-testing time again at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington.

Members of the centre, for adults with learning disabilities, often line up some of their favourite foods for a blindfolded taste challenge, so the recent hot weather was the perfect excuse to check out the merits of water melons versus honey dew melons.

After making their own decorative papier maché melons, everyone had a refreshing time tucking into the real thing – washed down with water melon juice.

Some interesting facts were learned about watermelons, then the afternoon was rounded off by serenading the water melon on the karaoke!

Like to share some of the interesting facts?

• They're 92% water - making them a perfect refresher for those hot summer months.
• Watermelons are both a fruit and a vegetable. They're fruits because they contain seeds, but vegetables because they're related to cucumbers, squashes, and pumpkins.
• In China, the rinds are often stir-fried, stewed or pickled.
• The heaviest watermelon recorded was grown in Tennessee in 2013 and weighed an amazing 350.5 pounds

You'll never look at them the same again, will you?

Magic moments with our Diocese singers

8 August 2018

Residents at St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle were treated to a musical extravaganza by staff working for our Diocese.

The administrative centre for the Hexham and Newcastle Diocese is located on the floor above the nursing home and staff regularly visit to share their musical talents.

A clarinet, keyboards and guitar mingled with the beautiful voices to entertain our residents who happily clapped and sang along to a mix of popular tunes such as We'll Meet Again, My Old Man's a Dustman, Day Dream Believer, In the Mood and Magic Moments.

The hour-long musical concert lifted everyone's spirits – residents, relatives and support staff alike.

St Catherine's residents are also treated to regular afternoon tea treats with staff in St Cuthbert's Care head office, which is also found on the floor above the home.

Italian taster day is delizioso

3 August 2018

Residents at our Holy Cross nursing home in Sunderland spent a wonderful time sampling some of the delights of Italy – and they didn't even have to leave home.

Their spacious lounge was decorated in the red, white and green colours of Italy and a few Italian phrases decorated the walls, which created the perfect mood for a feast of food tasting.

Olives, crostini, pesto, mozzarella and tiramisu were among the many mouthwatering bite-sized tasters available for them to try. Then it was on to a fun picture quiz which tested their knowledge of many other examples of Italian cuisine.

With some of Dean Martin's famous Italian songs to round off the day, everyone agreed the occasion had been truly spendido!

Foody fiesta for our residents

26 July 2018

National Tequila Day had residents in our St Catherine's Nursing Home thinking about all things Mexican and enjoying a fabulous fiesta to boot!

Salsa, fajitas, nachos and guacamole were all available to taste, and the Latin music and warm sunshine provided the perfect mix for a party.

After the snacks had been enjoyed, the music continued with residents joining in on maracas, shakers, claves and a variety of other percussion instruments.

"We all had a marvelous time," said Sarah, the home's activities coordinator. "I think everyone quite enjoyed the idea of a siesta after the fiesta, too!"

Hooray for Hollywood!

20 July 2018

The stars of Parkhead Resource Centre turned out for their very own Oscars ceremony in Ashington yesterday.

The Hollywood-themed party was held at the YMCA and included guests from other local care providers and from our own residential home for adults with learning disabilities in Alnwick. Everyone had a fantastic time meeting up with old friends and making new ones.

A red carpet entrance leading to a Bucks Fizz reception was followed by an afternoon of music and dancing - including a display by Parkhead's own dance group.

At the awards ceremony, prizes were given for ‘Best Newcomer', ‘Best Artist', ‘Greatest Elvis Fan' and lots of other categories, with the proud winners receiving certificates and little golden Oscars.

Unlike the real Oscars though, nobody had to make any embarrassing acceptance speeches!

What generation gap?

13 July 2018

For the past six weeks, some of the residents at our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland have been enjoying the company of some lively young visitors.

Children from the town's St Joseph's Nursery have been bridging the generation gap with fun and laughter.

They have visited every Friday, bringing photographs, books, jigsaws and more to share with our residents - each child partnered with a particular resident, who became their special friend.

They have also brought in pictures which they have drawn for their special friends and flowers picked from the nursery garden.

The home's Activities Co-ordinator, Vicky Hurst, says, “It has been lovely to see the relationships grow and the bonding between the children and residents throughout the weeks."

“To mark the end of this term's project we celebrated with party hats, balloons, cakes, biscuits and drinks while we chatted about all the things we have done together. The children had made personal thank you cards for their special friends and residents gave the children some sweets to say thank you for their time spent together."

“It has been so successful, we are already planning to pick up the project again next term, with a new group of children and a new set of residents.”

It’s World Cup fever!

11 July 2018

Across our services, people have been getting caught up in the excitement that's building for tonight's World Cup semi-final.

In our St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle, residents will be gathering in the lounge again tonight, with drinks and snacks, to watch the match on the big screen. Everyone is delighted that they didn't have to take down all the flags and decorations they put up for Saturday's quarter-final!

At our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington, celebrations have been a bit more ‘interactive'. Regulars at the centre for adults with learning disabilities made a table football and staged their own competition. They're also running a sweepstake with a football-themed prize and have been practicing their penalty shoot-outs.

Senior Support Worker, Hannah Chapple, said, “We've been having lots of fun here at Parkhead and today, as our final hoorah for England before tonight's match, we're having some target practice with inflatable England buckets.”

Let's hope there's lots more celebrating to do this weekend!

What a beautiful load of rubbish!

6 July 2018

Art from recycled waste is one of the impressive new features in a garden created by a group of adults with learning disabilities in our care.

The group is supported by our charity to help them live as independently as possible and the outside space at their home at Sherringham House in Kenton is looking bright and cheerful after the addition of their talented contributions.

Funding for the garden project came from a 'Bright Ideas' government scheme, aimed at encouraging communities to work together to brighten up the area - and our service users couldn't wait to get involved.

As part of the initiative, the group attended a session to look at how everyday waste can be used to create beautiful things, resulting in a host of colourful butterflies being crafted from waste tins.

The butterflies have now joined the array of bright pots and flowers on their patio at Sherringham House and are being enjoyed by neighbours, passers-by and everyone living there, of course.

Hollywood … Ashington

5 July 2018

Our service users at Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington marked the 4^th of July by making sure their time spent at the Centre had an all-American theme.

With glitter, paints and a massive helping of creative talent everyone made their own sparkling star, complete with hand print, to reproduce their own version of Hollywood's legendary Walk of Fame.

After a scavenger hunt and a quiz to see how much they knew about the United States, it was off for lunch where some of the country's culinary treats were waiting to be enjoyed.

"Lunch was hot dogs with American mustard, and 'fries', of course, followed by a delicious desert of cheesecake," said Parkhead Manager, Claire Graham. "It certainly made a change from the World Cup matches everyone's been talking about!"

Our Parkhead Resource Centre provides a daily programme of stimulating activities and opportunities for adults with learning disabilities. For more information, contact Manager, Claire Graham on 01670 855 561 or email claire.graham@stcuthbertscare.org.uk

Hats off for Ascot

25 June 2018

With Ascot famous for its incredible hats, our service users at Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington thought they'd join in the fun by designing their own.

Our centre for adults with learning disabilities was alive with all the hustle and bustle that comes from getting together to be creative, and the end results were stunning.

To add to the fun, our staff introduced a little healthy competition to the mix, presenting a range of prizes for the best hats, including the most colourful, the best sport-style and the best animal design.

Then it was time for a taste of the action with everyone taking part in a fun 'day at the races' dvd game to win some 'Parkhead pounds'.

"It was an incredible day," said Parkhead Manager, Claire Graham.

Our Muttley's back for Bring Your Dog to Work Day

22 June 2018

On today's 'Bring Your Dog to Work Day', our St Catherine's Nursing Home residents are thoroughly enjoying the latest visit from the home's special doggy mascot, Muttley.

Leeanne, Muttley's owner, is one of our home's duty managers and often brings her canine friend to work so that residents can benefit from his company and placid nature. So, when it came to marking the official Bring Your Dog to Work Day, Muttley was an obvious choice of visitor.

And it's not just our residents who benefit from the visit – Muttley absolutely laps up all the love, attention and strokes he gets. The extra carrot snacks he's offered seem to go down quite well, too!

At 13 years old, Muttley's easy-going pace fits right in with the calm and relaxed atmosphere at St Catherine's.

Time for a treat on Fathers' Day

19 June 2018

Staff at our two nursing homes pulled out all the stops to make sure our residents enjoyed lots of pampering and some special treats to mark Fathers' Day.

At our St Catherine's home in Newcastle, Chef, Joan, made the most stunning and delicious chocolate cake which she personally took to show each of our male residents before it was cut to share for tea.

The men in our Sunderland nursing home, Holy Cross, took a very laid-back approach to Fathers' Day, enjoying some relaxation in front of the TV with a beer and chocolates while watching the World Cup.

"After a visit from their families in the morning, everyone was ready to indulge in some 'me' time by the afternoon," said our Nursing Homes Manager, Julie Thompson. "It was an extra special treat that they had the World Cup matches for entertainment, too."

Arresting experience with police visit

14 June 2018

A visit by officers from Northumbria Police to our Parkhead Resource Centre for adults with learning disabilities in Ashington offered lots of fun alongside some more serious messages.

As well as our service users from Parkhead, a group from our residential home for adults with learning disabilities in Alnwick also joined in with the session, which looked at internet safety - especially on social media – and offered advice and tips on how to stay safe when they are out in their local communities.

Important messages aside, the visit included plenty of fun, too, with everyone having the chance to try on high-vis uniforms, sit in the police car and operate the blue flashing lights.

"Everyone had a great time and found the visit really useful," said Parkhead Manager, Claire Graham. "Involving everyone in lots of fun things to do really helped to get the essential messages across."

Passion for painting rekindled

11 June 2018

When residents at our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland took part in one of their regular watercolour painting sessions, one lady defied expectation by joining in enthusiastically.

Although painting was a pastime Jean had thoroughly enjoyed in her younger days, her family had explained to staff that she no longer seemed interested in picking up her paint brush.

However, when Jean and her fellow residents met in the spacious lounge for the painting activity, she found the bright paints impossible to resist, rekindling her love of mixing colours to create a beautiful painted landscape.

Jean also enjoyed joining in with the discussion about British landscapes, opening up about her love of painting and sharing past experiences with everyone gathered.

"Our painting session was a great success," said the home's activities co-ordinator, Vicky. "There was such a lively discussion and lots of laughter, although they were very serious when creating their masterpieces!"

Lee's found his voice - and everyone wants to hear him

31 May 2018

Fans of Britain's Got Talent, glued to their TVs this week, saw local comedian Lee Ridley win a place in the final on 3rd June.

Lee, who has cerebral palsy and is a long-time member of the Alan Shearer Centre, is one of 40 semi-finalists who made it through from the audition stages – despite being unable to speak!

Lee performs under the stage name of “The Lost Voice Guy” and uses an iPad with a voice synthesizer to tell jokes. Although most of his routine is pre-programmed, he does type in ad-libs during his act. Using his disability as inspiration for many of his gags, he told “Talent” judge Simon Cowell, “I'm a struggling stand-up comedian, who also struggles to stand up!”.

After winning Monday night's show, Lee had a nasty fall in his hotel room on Tuesday, but says he will definitely make the final, regardless. Posting a selfie online showing cuts on his face and a sticking plaster across his nose, he tweeted, “Lost Voice Guy became Lost Balance Guy for a moment. Don't worry though, I'm feeling fine again now and am looking forward to the final.”

Whatever happens in Sunday's final, you can hear more from Lee in a new comedy series he writes and stars in, on BBC Radio 4.

Good luck, Lee. All your friends from the Alan Shearer Centre will be watching and cheering you on!

Getting all ‘fired up’ at Parkhead

30 May 2018

Members of Northumberland's Fire and Rescue team dropped into our Parkhead Resource Centre for adults with learning disabilities yesterday.

Parkhead regulars were joined by some of the residents from our home in Bailiffgate, Alnwick for a talk and a quiz about the team's work and the chance to try out some of their equipment.

Everyone couldn't wait to climb aboard the fire engine and have a go at handling its high pressure water hoses – a lucky few even got to take a short ride with the lights and siren on.

The Water Rescue unit were there too, complete with inflatable dinghy, life jackets and more. Which gave everyone a chance to dress up, clown about and have photos taken “saving” each other with ropes.

Centre Manager, Claire Graham, said the rescue team were a tremendous hit with her members. “They were absolutely brilliant with the service users.” She said. “I can't praise them enough!”

A right royal celebration

21 May 2018

As the nation watched Prince Harry take Meghan Markle to be his wife, celebrations were being enjoyed right across our services.

Staff at our Parkhead Resource Centre for adults with learning disabilities took the traditional theme of a garden party and gave it their own twist, introducing egg and spoon races and other games to ramp up the fun. One of our service users even brought along her posh prom dress for everyone to try.

Visitors and members at our specialist Alan Shearer Activity Centre put their creative talents to good use by making their own crowns, which were definitely fit for a prince and princess.

Our nursing homes certainly get the award for celebrating the longest. Residents, staff and volunteers at our Holy Cross home in Sunderland visited a royal wedding event on the eve of the wedding and held their own street party on the wedding day itself. Meanwhile, everyone at our St Catherine's home partied from morning til evening with a mix of street parties, reminiscences and a quiz.

Of course everyone paused long enough to watch the royal wedding itself and some even tuned into the FA Cup final to round off the day.

Gardeners hope to reap their rewards

15 May 2018

Regulars attending our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington for adults with learning disabilities are looking forward to tasting the fruits of their labours later this year.

Thanks to some successful fundraising, the Centre has been able to buy a brand new greenhouse and some sturdy wooden planters, which have been erected to create their very own mini allotment.

A trip to Heighley Gate Garden Centre gave everyone food for thought about what they might like to grow and now carrots, spinach, lettuce, beetroot, leeks, cabbage, strawberries and peppers – among other things - are being carefully watered, fed and nurtured.

"Everyone is so excited to see our plants grow taller each day," said Parkhead Manager, Claire Graham. "We have some strong seedlings which are flourishing thanks to the amount of TLC being heaped upon them."

With the whole summer ahead, let's hope everything produces the tasty crops everyone is looking forward to using in their cooking.

Paintings help recall much-loved things

11 May 2018

Residents at our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland have been enjoying some relaxing art therapy sessions with their new Activities Co-ordinator, Vicky.

Their latest art project involved drawing and colouring an outline of their hands then allocating one of their favourite things to each of the five digits.

"Painting alone is quite therapeutic - and I've certainly discovered some secret artists," said Vicky, "but adding an element of reminiscence made the activity even more enjoyable. Everyone had a lovely time, happily chatting together about the things that mean a lot to them."

Happiness, health and family were among the favourite topics chosen.

"We'll be going on to explore more arts and crafts in the coming weeks," added Vicky, "and I'm sure we'll uncover even more creative talents when we do."

Steven's recipe for happiness

3 May 2018

One of our service users at our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington for adults with learning disabilities is delighting everyone at the Centre with his culinary talents.

Nothing pleases Steven more than making people happy and he has found the perfect way to make sure he is by indulging in his love of cooking. Supported by our staff, Steven is now confidently helping to make tasty lunches from scratch at the centre – much to the delight of his colleagues.

"Steven is such a people person," said Parkhead's Senior Support Worker, Hannah Chapple. "He thrives on working with others to learn new skills and his cooking is coming on a treat as he continues to grow in confidence."

Steven was so proud and excited to make a delicious Bolognese sauce recently, but it was the thumbs up it received from everyone who enjoyed the meal that meant the most to him.

Fellow service user, John, said the flavour was 'like a lightning bolt on my taste buds." Now that's praise, indeed!

Fun in the sun

20 April 2018

On the hottest day of the year so far, everyone – and everything – around our services was enjoying a spot of sunshine.

Some of our nursing home residents enjoyed ice lollies, ice creams and juice in the central courtyard at St Catherine's, but were grateful for the shade offered by their straw hats and parasols as the mercury rose.

Meanwhile, in sunny Ashington our service users whipped up few cooling fruit smoothies before heading out to catch some sun in the garden at Parkhead's Centre for adults with learning disabilities.

The expansive grounds and gardens at our Alan Shearer Centre attracted a steady stream of children and adults with disabilities throughout the day, all making the most of the gorgeous weather to explore the woodland walk or to have fun in the specially adapted play area.

And there was a mysterious visitor enjoying the sun at our Activity Centre, too – Elvis the Snow Dog was allowed a break from his usual position in reception to soak up some rays, too!

A warm welcome for Care Home Open Day

17 April 2018

Our nursing homes in Newcastle and Sunderland are throwing open their doors and offering a warm welcome to visitors this Saturday, 21 April to mark Care Home Open Day.

St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle and Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland are hosting a day of activities, some arranged by special request of our residents, and anyone interested in finding out more about our homes is welcome to join in.

Our open days run between 10am and 4pm and visitors are welcome to come along for the full programme or dip in at any time. Senior staff will also be available to offer viewings and answer any questions about our homes.

St Catherine's Nursing Home, West Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE15 7PU

10am Join our residents for coffee and a chat and enjoy their favourite Andre Rieu DVD

2pm Enjoy a complementary hand massage, followed by cream scones, tea or coffee

Holy Cross Nursing Home, Ettrick Grove, Sunderland SR4 8QA

10am Join our coffee morning and bingo session

11.15am Join our residents in our chapel for Mass

2.30pm Enjoy an afternoon of popular songs with Katie West followed by cakes and
refreshments

If you aren't able to make our open days but would still like to find out more about our homes, please contact our Registered Manager, Julie Thompson on 07551 153358 or our Family Liaison Manager, Joanne Bulford on 0191 2280111.

Half term fun at our specialist centre

10 April 2018

There's plenty to do at our Alan Shearer Activity Centre this week – come rain or shine!

Disabled people and their families can book ahead for some clever craft sessions, including making a sock or glove puppet, or how about making a magical dream catcher?

If you'd like to join our puppet making session, please bring along your old socks or gloves - although we do ask that they are clean! Then, simply get creative. For our dream catcher activity, you can dip into our craft box to find everything you need. Our friendly recreation assistants will be on hand to help and support you to make all your crafts, too.

As well as our special activity programme, there's always lots of fun to be found at our Centre, including our sensory cave, giant ball pool, sensory rooms, specialist outdoor play area and much more. Our gorgeous spring fairy garden theme in reception, pictured, is worth a visit, alone.

If you aren't already a member, just give our friendly reception staff a ring on the number below and, before you know it, you'll be able to enjoy all the free, specialist sensory facilities our Centre has to offer as well as join in with a host of seasonal activities. If you'd like to become a member, book for any of our activities, or find out more, give us a ring on 0191 2678118.

It’s been a hectic holiday this Easter

4 April 2018

All of our services have really got into the holiday spirit this Easter, with parties, raffles, competitions and, of course, chocolate absolutely everywhere!

At our Parkhead Resource Centre for adults with learning disabilities in Ashington, members started their celebrations by actually trying to find their eggs - following clues in an Easter Egg Hunt. To be sure nobody missed out though, there were plenty of chocolate treats at the centre's Easter Fair.

Staff from the local Co-op store added to the calorie count by generously sponsoring a colouring competition for members, with lots of chocolatey prizes.

At our Alan Shearer Activity Centre in Newcastle meanwhile, regulars at the Live and Learn group were hard at work creating Easter bonnets – while waiting to discover who would win a giant hamper of Easter goodies.

If you bought a ticket for their raffle, we can now announce the winners!

The star prize went to long-time centre member, Linda Graham with number 41. But only one of the other five runners-up prizes has so far been claimed, so check your tickets! The runners-up are numbers 161, 271, 311, 226 and 326.

Parkhead goes through a purple patch – but it’s fun

27 March 2018

It was purple everywhere you looked at our Parkhead Resource Centre for adults with learning disabilities, in Ashington, yesterday.

Staff and members held a special Purple Day for epilepsy awareness, with everyone wearing purple and the centre decked out with purple balloons and stickers.

The event started with an awareness workshop with information and a discussion about what causes epilepsy, what can trigger an attack, and how to recognise one.

Then the fun began. There was a selection of purple food to sample; some of it natural, like aubergines and beetroot and some a bit more suspect – such as purple custard!

A blindfolded taste test was held for some rather scary-looking purple chips with mayonnaise and everything was washed down with purple pop.

A great time was had by all – but they won't want to see anything purple again for quite a while!

Time to reflect on World Down's Syndrome Day

22 March 2018

On World Down's Syndrome Day, many of our staff and service users came together to raise awareness of the condition.

At our Alan Shearer Centre, young adults living in our Specialist Residential home took part in a baking session to make cupcakes to share with others while our nearby Activity Centre chose to display a host of information about Down's Syndrome.

Cakes also played a part in raising awareness in Browne's Café at the Activity Centre, where scrumptious cupcakes and a cuppa gave people the chance to sit down, unwind and read the collection of leaflets and brochures.

"People commented on how useful they found the information," said Activity Centre recreation assistant, Jan Rootham. "Some said they weren't actually aware that it was Down's Syndrome Day and went away feeling a little more informed."

And, in keeping with the international theme of the day, many of our staff wore odd socks in recognition, too!

Happy St Cuthbert's Day

20 March 2018

As we celebrate the Feast of St Cuthbert – the patron saint of our Diocese and namesake of our charity – we take a look at his incredible life and lasting legacy.

St Cuthbert was born in 634AD and, as a boy, would tend sheep on the mountainsides of Scotland. One day, he had a vision of St Aidan being carried to heaven by angels and this inspired him to become a monk.

He became prior at Lindisfarne and was one of the great evangelists of early Christianity, spreading the word of the gospel to all.

St Cuthbert sought solitude and peace on the Inner Farne Island in 676AD, living in great austerity and dedicating his time to prayer. However, he was called to become Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in 684AD and travelled throughout the North of England helping many people along the way. This good work gained him the reputation as a living saint.

St Cuthbert returned to the Inner Farne Island where he spent his final years and died on the island on 20 March 687AD. His tomb became the site of many miracles and the Lindisfarne Gospels were written in his honour.

As the threat of invasion by the Danes grew, his fellow monks on Inner Farne fled the island with St Cuthbert's remains and kept them with them wherever they travelled. It would be over 200 years before St Cuthbert's remains found their final resting place in Durham.

Durham Cathedral was built to house St Cuthbert's remains and thousands of people still make the pilgrimage there each year in his honour.

St Cuthbert's name symbolises centuries of faith and devotion in the North of England and embodies the wide scope and nature of our Purpose: 'Working for the common good by enabling people to develop to their personal potential.'

Longer hours for our specialist Activity Centre

16 March 2018

Members and visitors to our specialist Alan Shearer Activity Centre are to benefit from longer opening hours from Thursday, 5 April.

Our Centre will be staying open until 8pm each Thursday from 5 April to make the most of the spring and summer weather and longer daylight hours.

The extra time will allow even more bookings to be made for any of our sensory rooms, giant ball pool, creative music room and hydrotherapy suite as well as giving longer access to our sensory cave, specialist play area and accessible gardens and grounds.

Our Alan Shearer Activity Centre is packed with specialist facilities for disabled people and is free to members and their families. For more information about our facilities and membership details, contact our recreation assistants at the Centre on 0191 267 8118.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

9 March 2018

The emphasis was very much on helping women in need as two of our projects organised events to mark this year's International Women's Day.

Members of our Parkhead Resource Centre, for adults with learning disabilities in Ashington, have been collecting donations of toiletries and feminine hygiene essentials. These were carefully packed into a specially-made presentation box to be given to a local drop-in centre that supports those most in need within the community.

Members hope this will help make a difference to the lives of local women who already rely on the centre's food and clothing bank.

Meanwhile, our recently appointed Community Development Worker, Adeline Keogh, helped to organise a Women's Day event at Blyth's Buffalo Community Centre.

Women from the Centre's Black, Minority & Ethnic Group, which Adeline started back in 2011, laid on a delicious selection of traditional meals and showcased their culture and heritages.

The gathering was attended by the Mayor of Blyth, John Potts and his wife, Olga, and by Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird, who spoke about women's issues. Michelle Cadby from Northumberland CVS provided a workshop on volunteering.

Our events have never been so tasty!

8 March 2018

Residents at our St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle made time to celebrate two great British staples this week.

As Real Bread Week drew to a close and British Pie Week dawned, our residents marked the events in gourmet style.

First on the menu was making traditional corned beef and onion plate pies from scratch. Together with our Activities Co-ordinator, care staff and volunteers from Dame Allan's School, residents piled the pastry with the delicious filling while many recalled fond memories of baking at home.

The discussions even threw up a friendly challenge for the future – pitting the taste of a fast food chain apple pie against one of their own home made varieties.

"I don't think there will be any contest really," said resident Win, "I'd choose home made every time!"

It was time for bread to take centre stage the following day with a grand selection of breads from around the world to try including Greek Pitta, Italian Focaccia, German Rye Bread and good old Geordie Stottie Cake, of course!

There's no business like snow business

2 March 2018

Adults with learning disabilities attending our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington couldn't wait for a bit of lunchtime snow fun after a busy morning.

Once the morning session of team games was over, the group still had plenty of energy and enthusiasm for a game of snowball cat and mouse with our staff in their lunch break.

"Everyone really made the most of the beautiful, snowy conditions," said Parkhead Manager, Claire Graham, "and it's just as well we did as we haven't been able to open since due to the adverse conditions."

Hopefully, the worst of the weather is behind us now and Parkhead should be able to open again on Monday.

Residents cheer up a snowy St David's Day

1 March 2018

Residents in our St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle weren't put off their St David's Day celebrations by the snowy scenes outside.

Drawing on their creative talents, our residents were eager to dip their paintbrushes into the sunny yellow paint to make some cheerful daffodil garlands to decorate the home.

And after all their hard work, they were able to relax with a cuppa and some traditional Welsh Cakes, too.

"We weren't going to let a little bit of snow dampen our spirits," said the home's Activities Coordinator, Sarah Avery. "Once the painting got underway and the garlands began to take shape, it was like spreading a ray of sunshine through our lounge!"

Raffle prize is Easter treat

22 February 2018

If you've given up chocolate for Lent, our Alan Shearer Activity Centre has just the raffle prize for an Easter Sunday treat.

This delicious chocolate hamper has been kindly donated by one of our Centre members and tickets for the raffle are available now from our reception staff for £1 for a strip of five tickets.

The draw takes place on Friday, 30 March.

Good luck!

Happy Year of the Dog

19 February 2018

Our services have had a lot to celebrate lately, but no-one wanted to miss welcoming in the Chinese Year of the Dog.

Food tasting, learning about Chinese traditions and working on some pretty impressive arts and crafts were just some of the activities our service users enjoyed to mark the day.

At our Parkhead Centre for adults with learning disabilities in Ashington, everyone came together to make a magnificent paper sculpture of a Chinese dog and decorated the wall with dragons to welcome people as they arrived at the Centre.

"Staying with the Oriental theme, we created a cinema experience in our dining room to watch The Karate Kid," said Senior Support Worker at Parkhead Resource Centre, "then had stir fry for lunch, practised some Mandarin phrases, painted some Chinese characters and learned some basic Tai Chi, too!"

Flipping fun!

13 February 2018

Residents in our St Catherine's Nursing Home and adults with learning disabilities attending our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington were faced with some tricky questions this morning.

Chocolate spread, Maple syrup or jam? What is the tastiest pancake filling?

As Shrove Tuesday morning wore on, you could find many of our service users being supported by staff to make fresh pancakes – and even try their hand at a bit of pancake flipping.

After enjoying their home-made culinary feast, almost every resident gathered in St Catherine's lounge was able to test their skills at safely flipping pancakes made from cardboard.

"We had people queuing up to give the pancake flipping a try," said St Catherine's Activity Co-ordinator, Sarah Avery. "Using the cardboard versions meant everyone had the opportunity to give it a try, with no heat or mess to spoil the attempts – even staff colleagues couldn't wait to join in!"

Charlotte loves her new Short Break experience

8 February 2018

One of our new Alan Shearer Short Break guests has enjoyed exploring the magical sensory experiences on offer at our Alan Shearer Activity Centre.

Charlotte Storey couldn't wait to take a look around our Activity Centre and chose to spend time in our Green sensory room, where she was soothed by the bubble tubes, fibre optics and calming music.

"After a thoroughly enjoyable session in our Green Room, Charlotte was delighted to continue her relaxation in our sensory bath," said Short Break Manager, Jackie Dunn. "Charlotte loved the bubbles, mood lighting and music so much she told us she couldn't wait to come back to spend time with us again."

Parkhead regulars at one with nature

6 February 2018

After taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch, adults with learning disabilities attending our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington are keen to learn lots more about nature.

During the bird watch, our group exercised lots of patience to identify the birdlife in their Parkhead garden, feeding back the information to the RSPB as part of their national survey.

Not content with simply bird spotting, however, the group went on to make sure their feathered friends were treated to a slap-up dinner of a seed and suet mix which they hung in hand-made feeders outside.

"Everyone had so much fun supporting the survey," said Parkhead Manager, Claire Graham. "Now we know the names of the birds in our garden, we've got a taste for learning about nature and our next adventure will be building a walk-in greenhouse so we can grow our very own veg!"

Dignity Day around our services

2 February 2018

Dignity and respect were placed centre stage yesterday as staff, residents and visitors marked the annual arrival of Dignity Action Day.

Although these important qualities are at the heart of our charity's care each and every day, Dignity Action Day gave everyone an opportunity to express their personal understanding by taking part in a variety of enjoyable activities.

Residents at our Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland chose to mark the occasion with some uplifting songs by entertainer, Christine Rosemond, which brought everyone together to celebrate.

Local favourites, such as 'Fog on the Tyne', 'Blaydon Races' and 'When the Boat Comes In' had everyone singing along and enjoying each other's company with lots of chatting and reminiscing continuing over cream scones and refreshments later.

In Newcastle, many of our St Catherine's Nursing Home residents chose to spend time chatting about what dignity meant to them personally and everyone's thoughts were written down and made into a colourful poster for everyone to see.

Adults with learning disabilities attending our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington chose a similar theme, writing individual messages on cut out prints of their own hands which they then hung on their very impressive Digni-tree.

Parkhead's Senior Support Worker, Hannah Chapple said, "Dignity Action Day got us all thinking and appreciating each other and it gave us a lovely, warm fuzzy feeling to be part of it all."

Thank you for the music, Bishop Séamus

30 January 2018

A Christmas gift from Bishop Séamus Cunningham is helping adults with learning disabilities at our Parkhead Resource Centre to explore and enjoy their musical talents.

The cash gift has been put towards a brand new karaoke machine for our Ashington-based Centre, which means our service users are able to sing along to some of the most popular tunes around whenever they wish.

"Lots of our regular service users really wanted to try karaoke and we thought we might hire a machine for a special occasion," said Parkhead Manager, Claire Graham. "To be able to have our very own machine is a dream come true for many of those who attend our Centre. Not only are they finding it an incredibly fun thing to do, but putting on a performance for others is helping them to grow in confidence, too."

Staff and service users are so chuffed with their gift that they spent one of their craft sessions making a very special thank you card for Bishop Séamus, which will be winging its way to him any day now.

Cheese, wine and cheers for Pat's birthday

23 January 2018

As group of residents at our St Catherine's nursing home in Newcastle enjoyed an evening get-together and birthday celebration rolled into one.

A planned cheese and wine tasting, organised by our home's activity co-ordinator, Sarah, turned into a special occasion for resident, Pat, who was turning 91 years young.

"We had lots of fun trying to guess where the various cheeses came from," said Sarah, "and we had a variety of wines and alcohol-free drinks to try, too. Pat loved joining in and was over the moon when her beautiful birthday cake arrived."

Rounding off the occasion, everyone sang happy birthday and gave three cheers for Pat's special day.

Snow fall brings snow fun

19 January 2018

Fun-loving regulars at our Ashington-based Parkhead Resource Centre for adults with learning disabilities couldn't help but get excited when inches of snow fell recently.

Wrapping up warm against the chill, a small group headed outside with some of our staff to enjoy the wintry weather and get creative with some snow sculpting, too.

"The snow turned out to be totally irresistible," said Parkhead manager, Claire Graham, "and the excitement only increased when they found out enough snow had fallen to make their very own snowman."

Called Frosty, the snowman was given pride of place outside Parkhead to welcome any visitors who happened to arrive. – And very handsome he is too!

Live performance thrills our Parkhead regulars

9 January 2018

Our lovely folk at Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington enjoyed a bit of live, traditional folk music when they were visited by North East band, The Strolling Bones.

The visit by the duo has become an annual tradition for our adults with learning disabilities at the Centre and they never tire of singing along to some of the well-known songs they play.

"I'm Gonna Be (500 miles) by the Proclaimers has to be one of their absolute favourites," said Parkhead manager, Claire Graham. "It has everyone joining in, and the concert atmosphere is fabulous."

As well as letting their hair down to lots of the popular tunes, our residents enjoyed a talk by the band on their history and the different instruments they play. … Rumour has it that there are a few talented musicians among our Parkhead regulars, too!

New year, new skill

3 January 2018

Residents at our St Catherine's Nursing Home in Newcastle have started the new year by expanding their creative talents.

With the help of our resident Activity Co-ordinator, Sarah, coffee time was transformed into a showcase for our residents' artistic skills as they explored the world of decoupage for the first time.

Period portraits, butterflies, flowers and cute animals were all carefully cut out to make a series of stunning and unique 3D pictures that many residents took away with them to display proudly in their rooms.

"It's lovely to see everyone so engrossed in learning a new skill," said Sarah. "With the oldest resident taking part heading for her 100^th birthday this year – who says you're ever too old to learn something new!"