Tag: Pine Villa

Edinburgh piper treats care home residents to favourite Scottish airs

A LOCAL Edinburgh bagpiper has been moving care home residents to tears with nostalgic melodies.

The musical visit from piper, Matt McKelvie, was organised by dedicated care home staff at Mansfield Care’s Pine Villa in Loanhead after putting up a notice on social media.

Playing traditional Scottish melodies such as ‘Scotland the Brave’ and ‘Highland Cathedral’, the young Edinburgh piper is now returning for his second gig.

Matt McKelvie said: “I saw that Pine Villa was looking for a musician on social media and thought playing the bagpipes for care home residents sounded great.

“As things are getting back to normal and people start to socialise more, I think events like these are so important, as they brighten up residents’ days and they get to enjoy something a bit different from their usual routine.

“It was a lovely event, everyone really enjoyed themselves! Residents were dancing away and laughing, it was great.  

“One of the residents used to be a minister for the Church of Scotland, so he asked me to play ‘Amazing Grace’ for him. It was truly heart-warming seeing his face light up when he heard the song.”

At 8 years old, Matt started private lessons at the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming at Redford Barracks.

His early passion for music was ignited by his grandfather who used to be a drum major for ‘The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders’ and has been a leading role model and inspiration.

The young bagpiper added: “The best part for me was the way I made the residents feel, seeing them enjoy my playing truly makes me happy.

“I mainly have been playing at weddings and funerals, but after visiting Pine Villa, I am hoping that will change soon and I can play at a broader variety of events and celebrations.

Originally a hobby Matt is seeking to play full-time after he completes his higher education at Glasgow National Piping Centre.

Denise Williams, manager at Pine Villa, said: “Our residents had an amazing time listening to Matt and it was a delight to see them enjoying themselves and are looking forward to having him play again.”

Operating 11 care homes across Edinburgh Borders and west of Scotland, Mansfield care is designed to provide bespoke care to an exceptional standard with state-of-the-art facilities.  

Specialising in unique small, friendly residential / nursing care homes, staff work under an ethos that is inspired by the kind of care we would wish for ourselves in later life – supportive, friendly, bright, positive, empathetic, respectful and homely.  

The highly trained staff ensure a commitment and continuity of care to each resident with a dedicated home manager and wellbeing coordinator to plan activities according to resident’s wishes.  

To find out more about Mansfield Care visit, https://www.mansfieldcare.co.uk/ 

Music students perform exclusive gig for care home residents

ASPIRING musicians from Edinburgh College blew care home residents away during a private garden concert.

The three performers, Nualla Macgregor, Seonaid Wilson and Chloe Mak, visited Mansfield Care’s Pine Villa to deliver an outdoor musical extravaganza consisting of singing, piano, clarinet and clarsach – a Celtic harp.

Inspired by a class project, the group, NCS Collective, chose to play for the Midlothian-based care home after it was recommended to them by a teacher.

Band member, Seonaid said: “After hearing about the concerts our teacher had performed at Pine Villa, and how much the residents loved it, we all decided to perform there ourselves.

 “It was our first concert out of lockdown and first concert at a care home so we were especially keen to organise a socially distanced performance to bring some in-house entertainment while venues are still closed.

“It was amazing to finally be able to make music again and perform for other people. It was really gratifying.”

After hosting a successful concert in April, the group were eager to schedule a summer performance in the sunshine.

The band perform a variety of songs from Disney anthems to The Beatles and are all selected by the residents themselves.

Clarsach player, Nualla, added: “It’s important to us that we perform songs the residents want to listen to, so we prepare a questionnaire with lots of different choices for residents to fill out.

“From there, we compile a set list and rehearse together ahead of the concert. Some top picks included Abba, Disney, The Beatles and pop songs – which were all so fun to perform and very different from our usual classical music set list.”

“We’re hoping to keep this going on a regular basis and arrange for concerts every couple of months if we have the time and if the residents want us back.”

Denise Williams, Pine Villa Care Home Manager in Loanhead, said: “It was amazing. We had residents tapping their feet and singing along, they really enjoyed it.

Margaret Morton, resident at Pine Villa said: “It was lovely sitting in the sunshine listening to the music.

Rena Flavell, resident at Pine Villa added: “The harp music was very special, it was all really lovely.”

20 year old Chloe said: “It was a great time! I think both the staff and residents really enjoyed it. The residents loved seeing all of our individual instruments and talents, so we prepared more solos as well as ensemble pieces.

“As classical performers, this isn’t something we usually get to do, so seeing how much everyone at Pine Villa enjoyed our performance was really inspiring and has definitely encouraged us to go back.”

Mansfield Care specialise in small, friendly residential care homes in Edinburgh, Borders and west of Scotland; each designed to an exceptional standard with state-of-the-art facilities.

The Mansfield Care ethos is inspired by the kind of care we would wish for ourselves in later life – supportive, friendly, bright, positive, empathetic, respectful and homely.

Care Home give residents a makeover with staff salon

A MIDLOTHIAN care home created its very own staff salon to cater for its residents’ needs throughout lockdown.

The dedicated carers at Mansfield Care’s Pine Villa in Loanhead, adapted to the needs of its residents who were concerned they weren’t looking or feeling their best.

With hairdressers closed, the care team improvised with the equipment they had; organising a weekly salon day for those residents who needed a touch up.

Carers assist residents to the lounge to give whoever asks for a fresh cut. The women often get their hair styled with rollers, curling tongs or hair dryers, with around five residents making it a regular weekly ‘visit’.

The male residents get their hair and facial hair shaved or trimmed using a home cutting kit which comes with different sizes of blades to fit everyone’s preferred length and style.

Resident Rena Flavel, 88, is particularly grateful for the staff’s intuition, and uses the makeshift salon three times a week.

Rena said: “The staff do a great job. I get my nails done once a week on a Thursday and get my hair done every Wednesday and Saturday. I am absolutely thrilled with what the staff have managed to do during lockdown.”

The care home manager, Denise Williams, believes the salon is providing an important service for the residents.

Denise said: “They love it. Usually we have hairdressers come in or residents go out and get their nails done at a salon, but because of lockdown restrictions it had to be put on hold.

“Some of the ladies were feeling a little concerned about how they were looking and the staff decided to do it themselves.”

“It’s really great. There are a few carers with experience cutting and styling hair so they got all the right hair tools and got it all set up.

“We also have a carer who has experience in doing nails so we have a little bit of everything which is very exciting.”

“We felt this was an important addition to the care services we provide. When you look nice you feel nice and that’s what we’re here to do, support our residents’ health and wellbeing.”

Pine Villa is one of 11 care homes run by Mansfield Care which operates small, friendly and residential care homes in Edinburgh, the Borders and the west of Scotland.

With activities requested, led and coordinated around the interests of the residents, Mansfield Care staff are dedicated to creating a homely, supportive and exciting environment, putting the needs of its residents at the forefront of everything they do.

Inspired by a golden rule ethos of providing the care we would wish for ourselves in later life, Mansfield Care offers bespoke care that support residents’ health and wellbeing.

For more information on Mansfield Care, visit: https://www.mansfieldcare.co.uk/