In celebration of International Talk Like A Pirate Day on 19 September, residents at a specialist dementia care home in Wellington donned pirate hats and eye patches, and spent the day enjoying nautical-themed fun and games.

Camelot House and Lodge’s very own Blackbeard, otherwise known as manager Zillah Oakes, said: “Theme days offer a great excuse for some out-of-the ordinary activities that amuse both our residents and our staff, and this year’s Talk Like A Pirate Day was enormous fun.

“To set the scene, we pretended to hoist the Jolly Roger and we supported our ladies and gents to decorate the lounge with pirate pictures and skull and crossbones images they produced themselves while listening to a curated play-list including the theme from Pirates Of The Caribbean.

“They always love a good sing-along, so in the morning we had a karaoke session when they enthusiastically joined in Drunken Sailor, Blow The Man Down and other shanties.

“My colleagues wore pirate hats and totally entered into the spirit of the day, with a variety of games with a pirate twist including a special quiz, and pirate-themed craft activities.

“In the afternoon the residents enjoyed listening to pirate stories whilst having a drink from our in-house pub and ending up with another round of shanties and pirate impressions.

“It was a fabulous day!”

Launched in 1995, the aim of International Talk Like a Pirate Day is simply to create a fun opportunity for people to express themselves in a humorous pirate-like way.

Camelot House and Lodge is run by award-winning dementia care providers Camelot Care, who also have three other homes: Avalon in Bridgwater, Butterfly Lodge in Plymouth and Chestnut Lodge in Yeovil, with a fifth, in Holsworthy, due to open in 2025.