Dorset, Events & Entertainment, Hampshire, Health & Lifestyle | Posted on April 23rd, 2024 | return to news
Care home residents ‘Scrabble’ to be champs
Colten Care Homes’ residents have taken part in a Scrabble championship in Dorset and Hampshire to mark National Scrabble Day.
Residents of Colten Care Homes in Dorset and Hampshire have taken part in a war of words using giant Scrabble boards to mark National Scrabble Day.
While Woodpeckers in Brockenhurst welcomed friends from Kingfishers in New Milton, there was similar rivalry as Amberwood House in Ferndown took on visitors from Bourne View in Poole.
The inter-home fun lasted several hours and featured a sweepstake so non-players could feel involved by guessing the number of words the teams achieved in each game.
At Amberwood House, staff reflected the theme of word play by dressing up as something beginning with the first letter of their name.
Companionship team leader Kirsty Richmond-Cole was a kite, clinical lead Hanna Rehbein was a hot dog, home manager Diane Nicholls was a dragon, Nurse Anika McQuirk was Alice in Wonderland, and maintenance manager Christian Blanch was Clark Kent, unveiling a Superman top from under his shirt.
Kirsty said: “We decided to dress up so residents could have a good laugh and join in with the celebrations even if they had decided not to play. We did have some strange looks and one or two belly laughs. Resident Don Cussen asked us if we had lost our marbles.”
The Bourne View team – Harold Faircloth, Wendy Barnes and Peter Prior – arrived at Amberwood House just before lunch, taking a stroll around the garden and enjoying fish and chips before sitting down for the competition.
In the end, Amberwood House put up three teams itself, with residents Marjorie Hutchings, Rita Bryant and Noreen Hewitt having a closely fought match with Harold, Wendy and Peter.
Kirsty said: “There were some clever moves and a few challenges on words and Marjorie, Rita and Noreen jumped into the lead. But Harold, Wendy and Peter refused to give in and made a word score of 41 which enabled them to go in front. As it went on and with a final push from Marjorie, Rita, and Noreen, Amberwood House cheered as they cleared their rack with a fantastic move and won the game.”
Marjorie said: “It was great to welcome our visitors. Hopefully, it’s the start of more get-togethers. We all love Scrabble, it’s a definite favourite.”
At Woodpeckers, there were also multiple matches with some ties open to family and friends as well as residents.
The most successful residents’ team was Jo Bray, Pam Welch and Molly Wolstenholme.
Companionship Team member Sian Harris said: “Over an hour and a half of playing and 75 words later, Jo’s team were the clear winners with 307 points against 239. Jo also won a prize for the longest word. This prompted a lot of laughter as her word was ‘headstones’. One resident said: “You have to laugh at these things, even if it’s dark humour.”
There was also National Scrabble Day fun with games between residents living at Colten Care’s Avon Cliff home in Bournemouth.
National Scrabble Day is celebrated annually in honour of the game’s creator, an American architect called Alfred Mosher Butts who was born in April 1899 and came up with his invention in 1938.
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