Activities and daily life
What people actually do all day
The schedule matters less than the fact that there is one. A day with a shape to it is the whole point.
A typical week
Monday to Saturday
Mornings are livelier, afternoons are gentler, and nothing is compulsory. Holidays replace whatever was scheduled.
| Day | Morning | Afternoon |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Chair exercise, then current affairs | Bingo |
| Tuesday | Chair exercise, then art and crafts | Cards, dominoes and board games |
| Wednesday | Chair exercise, then trivia | Guest speaker or outing |
| Thursday | Chair exercise, then music and singing | Live entertainment |
| Friday | Chair exercise, then baking or gardening | Bingo and birthdays |
| Saturday | A shorter, quieter program | Films, cards and conversation |
[REPLACE] Replace with the real schedule. Families read this table more closely than anything else on the site.
The regulars
The things that happen every week
Chair exercise, every morning at ten
Twenty minutes, entirely seated, led at a pace that suits the room rather than the instructor. It is the one thing on the schedule almost everybody joins in with.
Bingo, and the politics of bingo
Played more days than not. There are regular winners, accusations, and at least one person who claims never to have won anything, which is untrue.
Music
Singalongs in the morning and visiting musicians in the afternoon. Standards, showtunes and whatever a particular room turns out to want. [REPLACE] Confirm how often performers visit.
Talking about things
A discussion group that starts with the newspaper and reliably ends somewhere else. People who have not said much all week tend to say something here.
Making things
Painting, crafts, seasonal projects and the occasional ambitious group effort that takes three weeks and ends up on the wall.
Getting out
[REPLACE] Describe any outings, and how often they happen. Families ask about this specifically.
Lunch
An hour and a half at the table
Lunch is the longest thing on the schedule, and that is on purpose. People who eat alone at home tend to stop bothering. Here there are laid tables, hot food and someone across from you.
Menus run on a cycle and go up on the wall each week. Diabetic, low-sodium, soft, vegetarian, kosher and halal are all catered for, and the kitchen would rather you told them twice than not at all.
There is coffee and something light on arrival, and a snack before the vans leave in the afternoon.
[REPLACE] Confirm menu cycle, kitchen arrangements and every dietary claim above.
Occasions
Any excuse, really
Birthdays get a cake and a rendition of the song that nobody sings in the same key. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, Diwali, Eid and the Fourth of July are all marked, along with a few invented occasions when the calendar goes quiet in February.
Visit us
Sit in on a morning
Reading a schedule tells you very little. Come for an hour, watch the ten o'clock class, and stay for lunch if you like.