Pompoms of hope and happiness

Brightly coloured pompoms have been appearing on the fence at The Orchard in St Albans carrying messages of hope and happiness for anyone who may wish to read them.

Residents have enjoyed making the wool balls under the guidance of Senior Wellbeing Coordinator Vicky Ashby and her team and choosing what to write on the message tags.

Vicky explained that the project started a few weeks ago with the aim being to spread happiness and cheer in the local community.

“All our residents were involved, either working independently or helped by a member of the care team,” said Vicky. “There was a lot of reminiscing as a lot of people could remember making pompoms when they were younger and using all sorts of things to wrap the wool around – now it is a pompom maker gadget which you can buy online.”

Vicky said about 50 pompoms had been made in total with some kept in residents’ rooms or tied onto walking frames as a colourful decoration.

Other projects underway at The Orchard include painting rainbows of hope and designing posters with the ‘Stay at Home and Stay Safe’ message.