John Morris

Despite the rain there is no stopping John from visiting the sights and scenery of Malvern. John has not been put off by our recent poor weather at all and has been to the Priory Church, Great Malvern shops, The Mount Pleasant Hotel (Apparently they have the finest cream teas in Malvern), as well as out for lunch and dinner out last night.

John likes to choose where he would like to go on a daily basis- he is not one of these to plan too far ahead- and thats lovely for John to be able to make spontaneous decisions and spur of the moment choices.

John enjoys a lovely relaxed approach to life!

Paul Raybould at The Shops

Paul has had a lovely week. His brother and family came to visit him this week. Paul is very close to all of his family and thoroughly enjoys catching up with them when they visit.

Paul has been bowling, to the pub, dog walking and to the library. Paul has decided to start a vegetable plot in the garden! He has helped build a gardening block to plant the vegetables in and now needs to choose some colours to paint it. Paul has chosen a pretty tough time of year to begin planting vegetables but he will be researching winter vegetables to grow with help from staff. Paul is very pleased to have his own patch of garden to tend to! And we are all looking forward to trying some freshly grown veg!

Good one Paul!

Hugh Claridge/ Personal Shopping

It has been great to see everyone developing their independent skills, but fabulous to see Hugh taking an active part in this too!

Hugh mainly 'supervises' activities of daily living- (and this quote came directly from his care manager)!

However it's so nice to see Hugh accessing the community now more than ever. He requires extra staff support and we are so happy to see him progressing in all areas.

Hugh is participating in more sensory activities as well and we are looking forward to enabling Hugh to explore his senses and new experiences.

Jane firth enjoying Chocolate Fondue!

Jane's passport has arrived! Yippeeeeeee!

Jane will now be looking to book her annual holiday abroad with help from her key worker Maddy.

Jane has enjoyed her weekly girly night of facials, massage and chocolate fondue!

Jane has also enjoyed her usual art club, library visits, bowling and meal out. She is also starting flower arranging around the house and I must say has the house looking very pretty! Jane has a very creative streak and so, together with her key worker , her next project is going to be the redecoration of our small lounge!

Have Fun Jane! But the guys say 'not too much pink!!!'

Mark Callaghan

Mark has enjoyed another busy week. He now has designated time to go out and choose a lunch which he purchases from the local bakery!

Mark is enjoying this method of practising his money skills much more than shopping for clothes and toiletries!!! Ha ha!

Mark's Mum has been waiting for me to post this pic of him as it's one of her favourites- so 'Hi Mum' (from Mark) and 'Hi Mrs Callaghan' (from me).

And of course a big 'well done' to Mark who just continues to strive in all areas of developing his life skills! I know mark's parents are very proud of his progress- and so are we!

Nicholas Wright- Line Dancing!

Nicholas has enjoyed many of his usual activities and clubs this week! He has been line dancing, bowling with 'Echo,' attending his local Social Education Centre and has even cooked dinner for his mother. Nicholas has been practicing his cooking skills and I think we may have a budding chef on our hands- he's has become very very good! Nicholas invites a friend or family member for dinner on Mondays to sample his culinary delights and this week he invited his mother. He and his Mother enjoyed some beers with their dinner and I am told they had a lovely evening.

Keep up the good work Nicholas!

Nicholas is fanatic about Doctor Who and he is planning to book a day out at an exhibition coming soon to the local area! We hope to have some pictures to share with you all. He has also booked his annual holiday. He chose to spend a week away in Skegness and will be going mid September so lets hope by then the sunshine has returned!

Ellen Allen

Well, what a week for Ellen!

Ellen has been enjoying working two sessions a week in the office and is proving to be a great help to the staff. She is really enjoying the responsibility although her time keeping has not been good this week due to her 'doing her hair!'

Ellen! Come on! You are going to have to come up with a better excuse than that! Ha ha!

Ellen has had quite an eventful week. She has been for a passport interview and hopes to have her passport posted to her in the next week or so. Ellen managed the interview very well and we are all very pleased with her ever improving independent skills!

Ellen also spent the day shopping in Birmingham. She has already bought a whole new wardrobe for her up and coming holiday abroad- fair to say she is a typical lady in the shopping area!

Ellen has also started her first day as a volunteer for St Johns Ambulance in Great Malvern. She has attended her first introductory session and will be training there on a weekly basis with support from staff.

It is fair to say Ellen has learnt the art of multi tasking this week and although she is enjoying her busy schedule, she is looking forward to a relaxing weekend away with her mum. Enjoy your break Ellen!

Singing In The Rain!

John, Ellen, Maddy and Jane went to Malvern Theatres to see the 'Singing In The Rain.'

Written by Ellen:

I went to see Singing in The Rain with Jane, John and Maddy on Monday 17th August. The show was good and there was lots of singing and dancing and i had a sing song.

We all went out for dinner and i had a fish and chips and a drink or two!

I really enjoyed it and i am definately going to go and see another show there.

Guess What? I am off to Birmingham next week for an interview to get my passport and then i am going to be booking my holiday to Spain! I will keep you updated guys!

A Day At The Pub!!!

Okay, so it sounds a bit naughty to spend a day at the pub- but let me explain.......

Our training had been booked at our local pub and unfortunately the training was cancelled. We got together with the service users and suggested that we may like to use the pub as we had booked it for the day anyway! So, the service users decided that they would have a skittles day.

The pub kindly made there skittles equipment available along with their function room and a luxury pub lunch.

A big thank you to them for organising this as such short notice from all of us at The Oaks as a great day was had by all!

Mark's Birthday!

We would like to wish Mark a very happy birthday!

It was Mark's birthday on 14th August and he enjoyed a birthday party at The Oaks. He invited his family to attend as well as other service users and staff and enjoyed his birthday bash!

The Maize Maze

Last week a group of service users visited the 'Maize Maze.'

This is located just outside Malvern. The weather was mild which was ideal weather for 'getting lost!' Ha ha! The service users thoroughly enjoyed finding their way through the maze's and also a picnic lunch after.

Jane in particular found it very amusing when the others got lost!

Jane firth.

Jane has been spending some time with her mother and came back home on Monday. She has been, bowling, belly dancing and to her regular art group. She has enjoyed a full packed week and has still managed to find time to renew her passport as she is planning on going abroad for her holidays this year! Jane is always busy- and always smiling too! Good on you Jane- and don't forget to take some holiday snaps to share with us!

Mark Callagan

Mark has enjoyed bowling, shopping and a picnic lunch out. He has also been to the pub for dinner out. Mark is really enjoying getting out and about in Malvern. Next week he will be joining the local library where he will have full access to audio and visual books. Mark has been learning to make his own cup of tea and has made such good progress we are hoping he will have a go at some small meal preparation.

Well Done Mark!

Hugh Claridge

Hugh has had a relaxing week enjoying simple pleasures such as the snoozelem, shopping and bowling. Hugh now has a new activity planner with lots of sensory tasks and activities. He is going to be visiting farm shops to see where fruit and veg comes from and to see it in raw state. He is also going to be exploring his 5 senses with activities based around touch, smells and tasting sessions. Exciting stuff!

John Morris

John has had a busy week this week, enjoying trips to the Priory church, Mount Pleasant hotel and shopping. As we know John is a big fan of musicals and theatre and he is planning to go and see Singing In The Rain at the Malvern Theatre and another trip to London to see Phantom of the Opera. Life is one big sing song for sixties fanatic John!

Nicholas Wright

Nicholas has enjoyed a barbecue with friends in Leominster this week and he has also booked his summer holiday. Nicholas has chosen to go to Butlins in Skegness and will be doing so with staff member Gareth! All he has to do now is save some spending money- very difficult for a man who likes to go out most nights! So come on Nicholas- remember to save, save, save! May i suggest you limit your fine wines and dinners- ha ha!

Paul Raybould.

Paul is 'thrilled to bits,' (and i quote that from the man himself), as he has just booked a day out in a Morgan Car! He has even hired a chauffeur for the day to take him around and about Worcestershire, with a lunch out! This will take place on 23rd September and he has been practicing his royal wave- so if you see him- make sure you say hi!!!

Ellen Allen.

Congratulations to Ellen who has started a new job in the office. This week was Ellen's first week helping in the office and she has really done well! If you telephone The Oaks you are likely to speak with her- but be warned she does not do telesales!!! She says she cant be bothered with them- cant think where she got that from!

Have fun Ellen! And keep up the good work!