For this month's session at the Oaks we were greeted by a bumper turnout of residents who, as usual, didn't know quite what to expect from a GoodGym visit. Fortunately for them there was no fitness involved and instead this week's activities included playing with a giant inflatable pink ball, followed by a very quick go with some oversized tennis rackets.

The old faithful parachute soon came out and we attempted a game of trying to get the ball over the edge of the other side of the parachute. When that got a bit one-sided we moved onto the a beanbag target game followed by shooting some hoops

Throughout the task a white board displayed an anagram for the residents with the clue being 'nature'. The letter were HAMPER TOES. 5 GG points for anyone who can guess the correct answer

Ed, Lucy and I met at Hartrigg Oaks to see the lovely residents for an hour of ball-throwing fun. We'd had a brief hiatus as they have recently switched activity coordinators, but the residents all remembered us and were keen to get stuck in with some fun.

It didn't take long before Lucy dived straight into the cupboard of fun and found us a parachute to play with. After some practice, we split into two teams competing to get the ball thrown off the parachute on the other teams side. Ed and his team were very in sync and mastered the game quickly winning with an envious 10-5!

Then came out the basket ball net where we each took it in turns to shoot. We soon learnt who the previous netball players were amongst the residents!

It wasn't long before it was time for squash and goodbyes! We'll get back to our regular monthly visits now and can't wait to back for another parachute challenge.

For tonight's session at the Oaks Amy went for a chat with Mrs C and talked about her geordie upbringing and why she moved to York. Laura went to play dominoes with Mrs J.And Abigail, Lucy and Ed stayed in the main room and played various games with the rest of the residents, starting off with keeping a giant pink balloon up in the air until it burst. Fortunately quackers the emu was on hand to keep spirits up!

Tonight's visit to Hartrigg Oaks saw us make the most of the dry weather and last of the lighter evenings by heading out for a walk around the bungalows that surround the Centre

Lucy, Amy and Ed were each allocated a resident in a wheelchair and we were also joined by a few other residents who were more stable on their feet. In total 8 Oakers, 3 GGers and taskowner Nicola made up the sizeable walking group as we ventured off towards the back of the bungalows and over to the beck to see the water levels before meandering back to the Centre.

As we made our way back we were joined by a black cat who followed us all the way to the front door and also reappeared as we were leaving. I'm pretty certain it would have happily come home with us if Lucy or Amy had let it into their cars.

We'll be back to the Oaks on 13th Nov, potentially for a game of bingo!

For this month's visit to the Oaks we welcomed newcomer Grace who was doing her first ever GoodGym task 👋. Grace also happened to let on that she was a physio, so I'm sure will be made to feel very welcome at GoodGym!

The Oak's Activity Coordinator, Nicola, was on hand to welcome us and get us set up for the evening's fun. And as we're starting to get back into the swing of things we were now allowed to take residents for a walk outside of the centre, so Ed was chosen to accompany one resident for an evening stroll.

Grace stayed in the conservatory to play games with a group of residents, whilst Amy and Lucy were whisked away to for individual one to one conversations with a couple of the chattier residents.

After walking a lap of the area surrounding the centre, Ed and Mrs Z returned to find Grace leading a very competitive game of bean bag toss. Not to be outdone by the residents, Ed and Grace made sure they had a go as well!

Amy and Lucy returned from their chats just in time to find Ed stroking a fake cat that made real purring noises and even rolled over to have its belly stroked! We then said our goodbyes and headed to the stag for a group photo.

We'll be back next month for more fun and games at the Oaks

After 4 and a half year absence(!) GoodGym were finally back at Hartrigg Oaks for the first time since the start of the pandemic. A fair few things had changed since our last visit with a new Activity coordinator, tighter security and some new residents. But once we the games came out it was just like old times!

Joyce, who had been a regular at our previous sessions, had been singing the praises of GoodGym to Nicola (the new activity coordinator) so it felt like we were back by public demand!

We started off with some introductions and recognised a few faces from before, which was fab. However, for those that used to come regularly, the lady that always used to greet us, Jenny, is unfortunately no longer with us.

We then paired up and took a lovely stroll around the gardens looking for sculptures that the partner of another resident had made. Joyce gave Ed all the latest gossip the the Oaks whilst Amy, Lucy and Laura started on the garden games.

Connect 4 and Ring Toss were a big hit, although the promise of scrabble was scuppered by a lack of letter tiles!

Nicola disappeared for a bit before returning with a giant yellow balloon for the residents to bat around, but it definitely entertained the GGers more!

It was genuinely amazing to be back and we'll be setting a regular monthly session up, so the more the merrier (although you will need a DBS check ✔️)