Residents at a dementia care home in Wellington have been all fired up for Chinese New Year with a programme of themed activities, games and music over the last week and a grand Chinese buffet at the weekend.

Zillah Oakes, manager of Camelot House and Lodge, said: “We did an interesting bit of research and managed to establish that we have seven residents and four members of staff who were born in previous Years of the Dragon which, essentially, means 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989 and 2001.

“Our Camelot ‘dragons’ were all interested to learn that according to Chinese tradition people born in Dragon years are usually brave, persistent, clever, enthusiastic and confident. They were all very happy with that.

“The home is decorated with beautiful red lanterns, as well as dragon-themed arts and crafts which we’ve been supporting our residents to produce over the last couple of weeks.

“Our residents love listening to music, which has an important role in dementia care, so we compiled a play-list with some dragon or fire related themes featuring songs they would recognise and sing along to like Puff the Magic Dragon, Great balls of fire by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ring of fire by Johnny Cash.

“We also had some Chinese and dragon-themed games and quizzes including a chop stick challenge.

“And or kitchen team did a fabulous job with the buffet which featured residents’ favourite Chinese dishes such as spring rolls and prawn toast and the ever-popular fortune cookies.

“Residents really enjoy celebrations like this and are now looking forward to Pancake Day and Valentine’s Day, when we’ve got further treats planned for them all.”

Camelot House and Lodge is run by award-winning dementia care provider Camelot Care who also have homes in Bridgwater, Plymouth and Yeovil. Details at www.camelotcare.co.uk