Chinese New Year a roaring success at Sutton care home

When resident Chiu-Oi Cheung shared that she was eager to celebrate the Chinese New Year and share her culture with her fellow residents, the team at Care UK’s Tennyson Grange, on Westmead Road, jumped at the chance to help her celebrate in style.

To mark the occasion, the care team at Tennyson Grange went all out, by inviting a Chinese master and two lion dancers to visit the home, which residents had the opportunity to take photos with.

The team also organised for two drummers to attend the home and provide entertainment for the residents, so that they could truly immerse themselves in the Chinese-culture. Residents enjoyed the entertainment, and tucking into a spread of delicious Chinese food prepared by the home’s Head Chef.

Resident Chiu-Oi, aged 96, said: “To celebrate the Chinese New Year, it is traditional for the whole family to be together for a wonderful dinner and we’d sometimes wear traditional outfits too. This has always been China’s most important festival.”

Chiu-Oi was born in Shenzhen, China, and lived in the countryside, where her family were farmers. She later moved to Hong Kong where she got married. In the 1960s, when Chui-Oi was in her 30s, she moved to London with her family.

One of Chiu-Oi's favourite memories was going to Chinatown in London to see the dragon and the lion dances on the sunday of the big Chinese New Year celebration. After the celebrations, Chiu-Oi would go straight to her church to wish everyone good wishes for the new year.

Brighton Nyagomo, General Manager at Tennyson Grange, said: “Everyone had a fantastic time marking the Chinese New Year and watching the lions – it was a roaring success!

“Here at Tennyson Grange, we understand the importance of residents living happy and fulfilling lives. Through celebrating and learning about different cultures, we are able to support residents to embrace new traditions and learn about one another – whether that’s trying new foods or sharing their own experiences of different countries and their traditions.

Tennyson Grange provides full-time residential, dementia and nursing care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives, while also promoting independence, the home incorporates plenty of space for hobby and leisure activities; and the layout has been configured to help facilitate the creation of close-knit communities and encourage social interaction among the residents.