Pumpkins, conkers and spooky fun at Hemel Hempstead care home

Residents at a Hemel Hempstead care home have been getting into the autumn spirit, welcoming local children and families to enjoy some pumpkin patch fun, seasonal activities and a few spooky surprises.

The team at Water Mill House Care Home on Rose Lane organised their annual pumpkin patch event, inviting members of the local community to join residents for a celebration of all things autumn.

With pumpkins ready for picking, visitors enjoyed a range of traditional games and activities, including conker games, apple bobbing, a treasure hunt, pumpkin carving and decorating.

Water Mill House provides expert care to adults with a range of support needs, including rehabilitation following a stroke, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's, as well as residential, nursing, specialist dementia and end of life care.

Children from Belswains Primary School and Little Raccoons Day Nursery joined in the fun, spending time with residents and enjoying the opportunity to celebrate the season together.

The autumn festivities extended throughout the care home, with residents taking part in a Halloween quiz and a pumpkin bowling competition.

Chef Tammy and the kitchen team hosted a special autumn cookery demonstration, preparing gingerbread men for the residents to decorate.

There was an opportunity to support a good cause too, with an autumn-themed bake sale held as part of a Macmillan Coffee Morning, raising money for Macmillan Cancer Research.

For residents, the celebrations were a chance to enjoy some familiar autumn traditions, share memories and spend time with younger members of the community.

Jean Ricketts, aged 83, particularly enjoyed watching the children take part in the apple bobbing as it brought back memories from her childhood.

“The children were delighted with the game, and I enjoyed their excitement and laughter,” said Jean.

“It reminded me of apple bobbing with my three siblings when I was six or seven. If we managed to get an apple, Mum would give us a little prize of some sweets or chocolate.

“We didn’t do all of the many things that they do now, but it’s lovely to see some traditions stay the same.”

For fellow resident Jean Kirby, aged 95, games of conkers are her strongest autumn memory.

“The feel of the shiny brown seeds brought back memories of collecting and playing with conkers at school, where large trees provided plenty to find on the ground,” she recalled.

“During playtime, I would thread the conkers onto strings with my schoolfriends, and we would play against one another. I remember breaking a few conkers, along with the occasional painful knock on your knuckles. They were quite vicious things actually and painful when they hit your hand!”

Resident Mary Mitchell, aged 85, also recalls games of conkers from her youth.

She explained: “Halloween was a smaller occasion during my childhood than it is today, but I remember playing conkers every autumn. There would be a girls’ team and a boys’ team, then the winner from each team would compete against one another to decide the overall champion.

“My children went Trick or Treating around their local neighbourhood and had Halloween parties at Brownies with plenty of dressing up and fun games.”

Mary always enjoys the visits from local nursery and school children, she continued: “It was lovely helping the children to scoop out the orange flesh and draw faces on them. They were thrilled to bits taking their pumpkins away with them!”

The home regularly organises activities and events that bring residents together with the wider community, helping them maintain connections and enjoy new experiences.

The home’s manager, Victoria Forsythe, said: “Our annual pumpkin patch is a wonderful opportunity to bring residents, families and our local community together for some autumn fun.

“I buy the pumpkins from Charlotte, a local grower at Hatfield Park Pumpkins, and she is always extremely helpful.

“We love finding ways for our residents to enjoy seasonal traditions and activities that are familiar to them, while also creating new memories. Much like our annual Easter fun day and Christmas lights switch on, these events help our residents stay connected to the changing seasons.

“Our residents love bowling and play boules every week, so the pumpkins just brought a sense of fun to a familiar activity.”

The home’s lifestyle coordinator, Colin Levy, added: “Having the children here makes these occasions even more special. It's lovely to see the different generations spending time together, sharing stories, having fun and learning from one another.

“There's been something for everyone to enjoy, from pumpkin decorating and traditional games to our gingerbread cookery demonstration, and it’s been wonderful to see so many residents getting involved.”