Care home staff stage panto for residents? Oh yes they did!

Care home staff have staged Snow White and the Seven Dwarves for residents after their annual pantomime trip was cancelled.

The show at Glencairn House care home in Auchterarder, Perthshire, took place on Saturday after months of preparation and rehearsals.

The care home’s residents normally make an annual pilgrimage to the Macrobert Arts Centre in Stirling for the Christmas panto.

But with performances across the country cancelled this year due to the pandemic, care home staff decided to host their own show.

Activities coordinator Julie Davies said it was important residents didn’t miss out on the festive tradition.

She said: “We spoke to the staff about staging a performance and they were all up for it – housekeeping staff, domestic staff, the day shift, the night shift and management.

“They have all been rehearsing in their own time since August. The residents have helped make the props and costumes.”

The performance took place at the care home on Saturday and Ms Davies said residents “absolutely loved it”.

“We brought the panto spirit and adapted it to suit the residents – changing the jokes and song lyrics to suit them, such as doing a bit of Vera Lynn.”

It’s been an extremely challenging year for residents and staff working in Scotland’s care sector – but Ms Davies said the build-up to the pantomime kept spirits high.

“Everyone was looking forward to the practice, they got really excited as it was something a bit different,” she said.

The show took place just days before care home residents in Scotland started to receive the vaccine for the first time after the Scottish Government announced a solution had been found to transport the doses safely from storage hubs.

Annie Innes became the first person to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in a Scottish care home on Monday.

The 90-year-old got the jab at Abercorn House care home in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, where she has been living for the past six months.