Everyone’s favourite camp entertainer, Ruth Madoc popped into our care home in Glynneath to kick off a week of holiday camp-themed events.
The events have been planned in homage to the 1980s BBC comedy Hi de Hi after some residents said that they really missed being fit enough to go on holiday.
Manager Debbie Davies said:
“We always put on events for our residents, and when a few of them started talking about how much they had enjoyed going on holiday with their families when they were younger, we thought that we’d bring the holiday to them and put on a week of events with a holiday camp theme.
“Hi de Hi was such a popular TV show in the 1980s that we thought we’d try to turn Trem y Glyn into Maplin’s for the week! We’ve got games going on, professional entertainers coming in and we’ve even turned one of our patios into a beach!
“And of course the most exciting thing for us was that everyone’s favourite Yellowcoat, Gladys Pugh, called in and was kind enough to say her famous catchphrase ‘Hello campers!’”
With a former Red Coat amongst the residents, activities planned have been heavily influenced b
y the Butlins holiday camps and include a knobbly knees and glamorous grannies competition!
Resident at Trem y Glyn, Eunice Chattington enjoyed meeting the Welsh actress “It’s been a wonderful day; it’s got us all together. I was a fan of Hi de Hi and it’s been lovely to see and meet Ruth here today.”
Director of Residential & Nursing Care, Catrin Fletcher explained more about the concept behind the event
“It’s really important for us that we keep being creative in the things we do with our residents so things don’t get old hat; the idea behind this event is not just for everyone to have fun and enjoy themselves but also to encourage and support their emotional wellbeing.
“As we all get older, research shows that talking about the past, in this case, reminiscing about family holidays, helps people to recall happy memories, triggering good feelings. Encouraging this type of communication stimulates the mind, which can be especially helpful for people who have dementia or trouble with their short-term memory. So even though it’s a lot of fun, it’s also a really important way for us to support the wellbeing of our residents.”
