I had a wonderful afternoon with the staff and residents of Badenscoth House Nursing Home. I was so impressed by all I saw and heard - every member of staff I came into contact with was lovely. The owner, Judith Munro, told me that their aim is to treat the residents with the respect they deserve and to offer choice, loving care and couthiness. I saw all of these things and there was certainly plenty of couthiness to be found in this warm, comfortable home with happy staff and contented, smiling residents. I felt uplifted to see this standard of loving care and hope that (if I ever need it) my care will be entrusted to someone like Judith and her lovely staff . Ali (one of Badenscoth's amazing carers) and Judith participated in the session and their enthusiasm and passion for their work was there for all to see.
We had an afternoon of fun, laughter, coffee and cake, and a lot of reminiscing. The residents wanted to speak, write and read in the North-east's Mither Tongue, so that's exactly what we did. We began by reading a poem from Aberdeen University's 'Elphinstone Kist' about the tattie pickin days of yesteryear. We then read extracts from a 'Patchwork of Memories' - a collection of memories and stories of life in Aberdeen City and the Shire. We also read and looked at the images from 'Pictures to Share' - a wonderful collection of books designed to encourage and stimulate older people. These books are lovely with interesting images complemented by simple yet powerful text. The title we chose to read was 'Shopping'. The pictures and text evoked so many memories and promoted a lot of lively discussion. I read a short story of my own, too, and we also had a go at writing a simple senses poem using the theme of winter. The creative writing was a collaborative effort, and this is exactly how it went...the unedited version:
Winter...
Looks like... today, grey an bare, darkness, blackness, stillness, Christmas, snow, hustle an bustle, a bonnie decorated tree, haackin kinnlers, a moose that came in fae the caal, fool windas in a low sun.
Sounds like... crunchy snaa that's fine to waak in, Christmas bells and carol singing, jolly laughter, greetin kids bein trailed roon shops, pitter patter of snaa an hail an the win howlin, the click of the electric blanket, the hiss and switch of the kettle for the het watter bottle, sparks on the fireside rug, the snaa ploo gaun by an the 'wheech' o the san hittin yer windscreen fae the gritter.
Smells like...burning sticks, het breid, tattie soup, stews, aipple crummlie an custard, cinammon, pine cones, chestnuts, peelin tangerines, MacKintosh reed aipples, a weet an fartin dog.
Tastes like...het toddie, mince pies, stovies, brussel sproots, milky, malty coffee, turkey, cranberry sauce, peel, brandy butter and sherry.
Feels like...'Jist fine', feart te faa on slippy, skippy roads, nervous to drive, gettin up in the dark and comin hame in the dark.
By the residents of Badenscoth House Nursing Home
