Local Care Home Residents Enjoy Virtual Spanish Holiday

Residents at six Bupa care homes across London have taken part in a week-long virtual trip to Barcelona, complete with Spanish tapas, virtual bullfights, language workshops, performances and more.

With residents taking part across Harts House, Heathland Court, Chilton Meadows, Hatfield Peverel, Havering Court and Meadbank, the virtual holiday was part of Bupa Care Homes’ ‘European Expressway’ initiative, which sees care homes across London spirit residents away on monthly virtual holidays as part of their wellbeing and enrichment programme.

The virtual Barcelona holiday, which was organised by the Harts House team and led by Activities Co-ordinator, Ciara Neylon, saw residents enjoy a plethora of unique and authentic Barcelona-inspired activities.

The holiday kicked off with an arts and crafts workshops, in which residents created Spanish and Catalan flags, banners, garlands, flamenco fans and Cordovan hats for use throughout the week. They then boarded the virtual plane and went on to enjoy activities such as: watching a Barcelona FC football match, a Spanish trivia quiz, a virtual bullfight, a tour of Las Ramblas, an authentic Spanish performance from entertainer, Anastacia, and baking sessions, in which they made traditional Spanish Magdalena’s.

Additionally, the residents learnt basic Catalan and Spanish in language workshops, did flower arranging workshops that celebrated Spain’s national flower – the red carnation – and embraced the taste of Barcelona, with tapas and wine tasting, provided by Harts House Chef, Arvin Domingo.

As part of the virtual trip, the London residents also enjoyed a Teams call with their sister care home in Barcelona, Residencia Sanitas LES CORTS, in which they got to ask the Spanish team and residents questions about their life in Barcelona.

Jane Godwin, a resident at Harts House, commented: “Our Barcelona holiday was so much fun. There were so many activities to do, and I came away feeling like I knew so much more about Spanish and Catalan culture.”

Jane added: ‘I really enjoyed the whole experience, especially the quizzes. I got a real feel for the place and learnt a lot along the way! And really enjoyed the Magdalena cakes!

Vikki Richardson, Home Manager at Harts House Bupa Care Home, commented: “We love offering our residents enrichment opportunities that are a bit outside of the box and the European Expressway programme most definitely does that. The team did an incredible job at capturing Barcelona’s vibrant culture and the residents loved experiencing so many new activities.”

Following the success of the Barcelona trip, the residents of the six London Bupa care homes are set to enjoy virtual trips to Athens, Venice, Munich, and Istanbul in the coming months.

Harts House, Heathland Court, Chilton Meadows, Hatfield Peverel, Havering Court and Meadbank Bupa care homes are all situated in Greater London and welcome residents in need of nursing or residential care. For further information, please visit https://www.bupa.co.uk/care-services

click here for more details or to contact Havering Court Care Home