carehome.co.uk announces winner of Care Home Idol 2015

Entries were at a record high for carehome.co.uk’s annual talent contest, with the public voting in their hundreds for Maidstone Care Centre in Kent to win the coveted title of Care Home Idol 2015.

This is the third year of the competition which is designed to showcase the talent and vibrancy that exists in care homes and challenge people’s preconceptions of residential care.

Contestants comprise of residents and staff from the UK’s 20,000 care homes with the winners chosen by the public who vote online for their favourite act.

Maidstone Care Centre

Maidstone Care Centre entered a skit, which was a take on Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. The seven-minute short film included both residents and staff and was written by Brian Thornton, the care home’s maintenance officer.

Resident Colin Adams who starred in the video said it made him feel like a star. “I’m not an actor but I was keen to help out so as to be part of it with friends. We all had a good rapport and I laughed a lot especially the scenes with the policeman, the bike and helmet.

“Every day I looked forward to the filming I missed it when it was over.

“All the families would ask me how it was going, it made me feel like a star,” said the 78-year-old.

It took Brian Thornton two weekends to write the script. “There was a lot of ad-libbing I never expected us to win, it was such a great way to get everyone together.

“The biggest part was the editing as I had never done anything like it previously, it took hours and hours.”

Sally-ann Briggs, manager of Maidstone Care Centre added: “Residents, relatives and staff were all involved and the enthusiasm blossomed throughout the home. You would see people everywhere going through their scripts and learning their lines. We couldn’t believe it when we were told we had won.”

The video entry was only seven minutes long but the whole film was actually 35 minutes long. The home is organising a premiere night where the whole film will be shown and Oscars will be presented to key people in the film.

To view Maidstone Care Centre’s video go to www.carehome.co.uk/idol/idol.cfm/id/231

Runners-up

Richmond Letcombe Regis Care Home

Richmond Villages Letcombe Regis managed to scoop second place with the residents and staff’s beautifully choreographed dance to 'Singing in the Rain'.

Lucy Brooks, team leader fitness instructor at the home, said: “Looking at the previous year’s entries we decided to enter Richmond Letcombe Regis as we felt the Tap Dancing was something different. The Dance class has been running for three years now so it was really nice to showcase the residents’ talent.

“The other competitors were fab with some really fun entries. The performance was a joy for the whole village as we performed it at our National Care Home Day Tea Dance. Some of the residents were a little nervous but in true dance style my advice was to smile and no one will look at your feet.

“It’s a joy to teach the residents tap dancing. Most of them used to dance when they were children. Coming runner-up is just fabulous.”

Resident Veronica Sharley said she is determined to win next year and said: “It was a good time, good fun, good result!”

To view, Richmond Letcombe Regis Care Home’s video, go to www.carehome.co.uk/idol/idol.cfm/id/201

Woodleigh Christian Care Home

Woodleigh Care Home with its professional choir of residents, called the Woodleigh Warblers, put together a wonderful performance of ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ and won third place.

Kirsty-May Heath, administration manager of Woodleigh Christian Care Group, said: “The Woodleigh Warblers had a fantastic time performing ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ for our family and friends and of course for our local fan base. We have been performing together for almost six years now, with many friends old and new.

“The Warblers are a foundation of our home and help to form part of the special bond we have with each other. Our oldest member is 103 years old, with our collective age a little over 2000 years, we’re definitely not new to having fun!

“Whilst decorating bonnets and singing favourite tunes from the famous musical, we all felt pretty ‘super’ ourselves especially once we watched the final cut of our video.

“We would like to thank all our family and friends along with the local town and media for their part in helping us achieve our third place.

“Each vote means so very much to know we have so many supporters. We would like to extend our congratulations to the winner and the other runners-up, and look forward to the next competition and think a theme would be a wonderful added twist!”

To view Woodleigh Christian Care Home’s video, go to www.carehome.co.uk/idol/idol.cfm/id/227

Woodcot Lodge Care Home

came fourth with its video of a Halloween party featuring staff dancing to classic songs by Elvis, Cliff Richard and Tom Jones.

Care home manager, Vickie Wylde, said: “We decided to take part in Care Home Idol to showcase the dedication of our activities team, and bring the community together to support us. We are delighted that we have gained fourth place, as the competition was very strong. Our relatives and community have been really supportive with this competition and we are so grateful for all the votes we received.”

Rhondda Bennett and Karen Naylor, who run the activity team, added: “‘Our Halloween party was a massive success! Everyone was welcome! Not only was it magical to hear and see our residents enjoy themselves, also families recording special memories of their loved ones. As an activities team we feel privileged to be able to share these happy moments and memories, not just for our residents but for their families and all our staff.”

To view Woodcot Lodge Care Home's video go to www.carehome.co.uk/idol/idol.cfm/id/226

Care Home Idol gives care home residents a chance to shine

carehome.co.uk hopes Care Home Idol encourages more care homes to get their residents to sing and perform as music can have a huge impact on people’s wellbeing.

Care homes are full of older people bursting with talent who don’t get many chances to show off their skills so a competition like Care home Idol hopefully gives them that opportunity.

Davina Ludlow, director of carehome.co.uk said: “We would like to congratulate Maidstone Care Centre for winning Care Home Idol 2015 with their quirky take on the Dickensian tale of Oliver Twist. It looks like they had a lot of fun making the video.

“We would also like to congratulate the three runners-up, Richmond Letcombe Regis Care Home, Woodleigh Christian Care Home and Woodcot Lodge Care Home for all their hard work and for putting together such talented performances.

“We had so many entries this year and we have been pleased to see so many care home residents and staff get involved. Care Home Idol is a fantastic opportunity to shine a spotlight on all the wonderful talent that exists in care homes.”

Maidstone Care Centre will receive a trophy, £500 plus a Sing for Your Life music box.

Sing for your Life music box

The Sing for Your Life music box enables care homes to easily run singing and reminiscence sessions which engage residents and improve their wellbeing. The pitch and speed of the music can be changed and the words can be displayed on a television set like karaoke.

Stuart Brown, director of the charity , which supports Care Home Idol and is awarding a music box to Maidstone Care Centre, said: “As a charity we are aware that care homes are in great need of a multi-purpose activity and the music box provides this. It not only has a karaoke facility but also has a speech and language development tool and reminiscence facility.

“A small asset to a care home. We are pleased to offer this to a care home whom would use it to its full benefit and The 2015 Care Home Idol winner would surely have proved that they could take full advantage of using such a fabulous tool.”

To view all the entries for Care Home Idol 2015 go to www.carehome.co.uk/idol/