At St Winifreds Care Home, our residents were eager to get involved in Nellsar’s Crafty Creature Competition and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of bringing their creature to life using repurposed and recycled materials.
Our entry: Fred the Dragon
Fred was constructed using a recycled biscuit box and egg cartons, all hand-painted by our residents. His glasses were made from plastic cups, and his hearing aid from an old fob watch! Our residents loved painting, sticking, and assembling him and love our finished piece – we may even take Fred out on some future adventures!
Our story
This is the story of Fred; St Winifreds’ newest resident. He never used to be Fred, most of the time he didn’t know who he was, where he was going or what he was doing. Fred was really lonely, he was old and grey, and everywhere he went people would ask him to leave. He was a bit clumsy, always bumping into things and very loud – everyone would shout at him to go away. He moved from town to town, place to place, garden to garden, and it was always the same, “Get out!” they would say.
One day, Fred stumbled into a garden with a nice warm lawn and flowers, where he found an outhouse to sleep in. From inside the house, he could hear music and singing. Through the windows, people were smiling and laughing. It looked wonderful and Fred fell asleep there, listening to the amazing sounds and smelling the wonderful food coming from inside as his belly rumbled.
Fred awoke in the morning to a lady’s smiling face. He was scared, waiting to be shouted at to go away, and he made a growling sound. The lady stepped back but she didn’t shout, nor did she wave her arms around or tell him to go as many people did, she just continued to smile and give him a cup of tea.
It took Fred a while to be coaxed into the house as he was always turned away but this time he wasn’t. He was given nice food, and some medicine which made him feel better. After spending some time with him, the lady pulled out a magic book and she put glasses on his eyes; wow he could see so much better and he then saw compassion and understanding in the lady’s eyes. She put something in his ears and suddenly he could hear voice clearly, even the soft hum of the fan kept him cool.
Then Fred understood this was his new home. He wasn’t clumsy or shouting because he was cross; he was tired, lonely, couldn’t see very well, couldn’t hear greatly, and often got confused.
Fred was timid at first, hiding in corners and behind plants, but soon he began to settle in. He knew which tables to be under at dinner or snack time to get an extra treat. He knew who he could jump on for a stroke.
Fred began to really enjoy his time; he loved music and joining in with a singalong and outside entertainment. He loved playing musical instruments, his favourite was a tambourine. Fred wasn’t too great at knitting but he gave it a go! He loved a beer in the garden with the gents on a hot summer’s day, and cream teas at tea parties. Fred loved to shout “Bingo!” as loud as he could for a prize. Namaste sessions helped him relax with soft music, great refreshing fruit drinks and a massage. Art and crafts could get messy, but they were great fun!
Fred didn’t know his birthday, so every year on the day he came to live at St Winifreds, he enjoyed a present and cake with a party to celebrate. BBQs in the summer were the best – he loved a burger!
In the evening after tea, Fred could curl up wherever he wanted and rest knowing someone would be there if he needed them. Fred was cared for, loved and happy. We can tell – his colours are coming back!
Our entry was one of the runners up in the competition and was commended for its touching story of finding happiness and acceptance. A huge thank you and well done to everyone who took part in creating our fantastic Fred!
