At Foxholes Care Home, we’re thrilled to announce the opening of our brand new library! Following popular demand from our residents, who regularly use books as a way to boost their wellbeing, we’ve built an easily accessible, abundant retreat for them to get lost in their favourite reads.

Located in our new activities room at Foxholes Care Home, the bookworms amongst us can now pick their own novel from the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf that stretches across the entire room. Our residents are also looking forward to joining our new library club, in which they can enjoy losing themselves in a diverse selection of titles.

We hope that the library club will spread joy amongst our residents, whilst also working to improve their concentration and long and short-term memory. We also hope to see the making of stronger connections amongst our residents by taking part in reading groups. Whether it’s contemporary biographies, thoughtful non-fiction, standard novels or an array of historical yarns, our residents have already gained an insight into the world-view of others through the groups, which are inclusive to all members – including those with dementia.

The club will also enable our staff to gain insights into their residents’ lives and interests, while family members can also enjoy developing their shared interests in books and literature.

Neeti, our HR manager, said: “The pandemic has been a difficult time for everyone connected with Foxholes, particularly for our residents who had their regular programme of activities restricted during the height of the lockdowns. Books and reading groups proved to be a great distraction and after having become so popular, we decided to build our very own floor-to-ceiling library for the residents.

“They can now independently find something to occupy their time with, whether it be the articulate tales of Charles Dickens, or an autobiography recounting the lives of sporting greats – there is a little something for everyone.”

We were thrilled to see that the launch of our new care home library inspired one of our talented residents to write his own book, depicting the colourful events from his life. 

79-year-old Hilmar said: “I’m writing a book on my memories of growing up in Cornwall, going to the University of Cambridge, then to London as a medical student, before qualifying as a doctor. It also covers how I met my wife and obtained my PHD, before moving to Newcastle and finally going on to be a professor in Liverpool.”

“The primary reason I wanted to write a book was for my children and grandchildren, who will be able to read it later. When I started to write, I found there were so many interesting things to cover, mainly the drastic change in the way medicine has been practised, even in what I view as my short life.” 

Our wonderful resident, 88-year-old Roy, has kindly offered to help maintain the library and its books. He said: “I enjoy organisation. My favourite books are biographies. I enjoyed Seve Ballesteros’ autobiography as I also used to play golf. Tommy Cooper was another enjoyable read.”

We have also dedicated a large section of the library to local Hitchin history, which our residents have enjoyed exploring.

If you’d like to find out more about our care home library, or you’re interested to discover more about our care, just contact us.

Alternatively, why not find out all about our new outdoor wellness pods in our latest blog?