Audrey Ross move to Strachan House just over a year ago. Being a primary school teacher in Aberdeen for many years she loved nothing more than meeting up with her girlfriends on a Friday night for a good catch up in her younger days.
She often talks about her nights just sitting, sharing her laughs of the weeks gone by with her friends and reminiscing over their life adventures together. It was clear that she held very fond memories of her younger days and missed those days so much. Through reminscence and one to one sessions she could be often heard explaining about “how friendships are important and must be nurtured and never taken for granted or forgotten “.
So with a combination of what was important to Audrey and of course her love of curries the team jumped into action and recreated a special moment for her with their Gone Fishing 23 project.
Audrey was joined by another resident that she really enjoys spending time with in the home and the surprise on both their faces when Audrey realised she was in for the night of her life.
The team did some community engagement with a local business in Blackhall called The Cove.
Local Indian restauranteur Jahedd upon hearing her story was quick to jump on board and support the team in making Audrey enjoy a stroll back down memory lane. Jahedd was able to give Audrey and her friend an evening to remember by offering them the VIP experience in his beautiful establishment.
Audrey and her friend Isobel were whisked away to The Cove where they enjoyed a fine selection of Indian cuisine along with an evening fondly sharing their life stories and adventures together.
Mandy Head of Activities said: “It was an amazing night for Audrey. She was in disbelief of what we had organised not to mention surprised. Our Gone Fishing 23 project is partly about the element of surprise but more importantly it’s about recognising our residents as individuals, along with their desires and more importantly recognising what’s important to them. ”
“The local community support has been amazing and it is humbling to see how much attention our project has received. We can’t thank The Cove enough for the amazing night they gave Audrey and her friend.”
In response to this wonderful surprise, Audrey said: “I was astounded. It was so amazing to see how others picked up on what was important to me and for them to go out of their way to make me feel so special.
“It truly was like a good old Friday night just as I remember them and they even got my favourite cuisine right. Ten out of ten!”
Gordon Philp, General Manager at the home, said: “We want everyone we care for to know how important they are to us here at Strachan House It was so nice to see how happy Audrey was – our staff love making moments like this happen in our project”
Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.