Cheltenham Poetry Society at Whittington

Whittington House Nursing Home in Cheltenham recently invited the Cheltenham Poetry Society back to the home for their third visit. Members of the Home’s Poetry Club which includes both residents and families, eagerly anticipated another chance to hear a few of the Society’s new poems recited.Poetry Club has now become a popular part of Whittington House’s lively activity schedule. Residents and families relished selecting some of their favourite poems, enjoyed over the years such as ‘Leisure’ by W H Davis, ‘The Song of Hiawatha’ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and ‘Night Mail’ by W H Auden. Members are able to reminisce about the time they first fell in love with the poem and discuss what memories they evoke. Participant also enjoy creating poems themselves. So far together they have written three poems, the latest being about spring.Poetry has in cases been shown to improve the quality of people’s mental health and can reduce feelings of isolation and depression by boosting ones mood. Poetry has been utilised with great success when caring for people living with dementia. The rhymes we learn early in life are often stored even when other memories are hard to access.Poetry can help you find the words you may have lost and transport you back to a simpler time. The sharing of poetry is just one of hundreds of great ideas for fun and meaningful activities residents and families can enjoy.One resident’s relative said; “My Dad just told me he had a lovely time and I am really enjoying these sessions too. I can’t wait for the next one.”[gallery size="medium" link="file" columns="2" ids="26423,26422"]Residents and relatives of Whittington House are keen to put together an anthology of their favourite poems alongside the ones they have written in the Poetry Club workshops, and are getting their creative caps on to consider how this anthology might look.Whittington House Nursing Home in Cheltenham, is a modern, purpose-built home and provides residential, nursing and specialist dementia care for up to 66 people. Rated as ‘Good’ overall in their most recent CQC report, and awarded ‘Best Kept Garden of the Year’ at the Caring Homes Group Recognition Awards in 2017, Whittington House was also shortlisted for a Pinders Design Award.