For anyone who follows us on Facebook, you’ll know we are focussed on finding new, exciting activities for our residents. This month we had a visit from Cheshire Constabulary!

First things first, nobody called 999 – this was a planned visit!

We recently got in touch with Cheshire Police to see if they could visit Arlington House and talk to our residents and staff. A date of 22^nd August was pencilled in, and we were delighted when two police staff turned up on the day.

They started by talking with all our residents and did a short Q&A session. They also brought lots of museum memorabilia of police work through the years, which they showed and shared with all interested parties. The session ended on a high when all residents were given a chance to try on the police uniforms, hard hats and even got a chance to feel the weight of their truncheons.

It was great to see so many happy and engaged residents. The more a care home is rooted within the local community, the better it is for the residents and their families. This was a case in point – as all of our residents are proud local citizens, who have respected and valued the work done by the Police throughout their lives. It was nice for them to get a chance to say ‘thank you’ to the Police for keeping them safe.

Interestingly, this was the first time that Cheshire Constabulary had done such an initiative in a care home, and they said they would like to do more of these sessions in the future.

Charlotte Derbyshire (Arlington House’s Activities Co-ordinator) was responsible for planning and managing the visit, she commented “The police event at our home was amazing. The officers interacted so well with our residents and had so many old photos and memorabilia from the museum for them to look at. It brought a smile to each and every one of our residents’ faces.”

We also asked a few residents what they thought, here are some of the responses:

“It was excellent to try-on the uniforms. They were very pleasant, and I enjoyed chatting to them” Jean S.

“I thought it was brilliant. They were easy-going and it was nice to hear their stories” Peter G.

“It was a very good event. I could have done with more time with them” Alan T.