Homestyle Gossip

It can be very difficult when an elderly relative requires nursing care, especially if you are dealing with dementia.

When visiting your elderly relatives in care homes, you should be prepared for moments when they may not recognise you, or believe that you are someone else – possibly another relative from their past. It’s common for people in receipt of dementia care to believe that they are much younger, and that older, grown up children are still young. This can be difficult to witness, but it is a part of dealing with dementia.

One tip for dealing with the elderly in dementia care is to give them as many photographs as possible. They should have photos on the wall in their room, photo albums and constant reminders of their family and the lives they have led. This will help them remember important faces and hold on to cherished memories.

It’s also important that someone visits them regularly so that they have contact with the outside world. This doesn’t have to be the same person every time; the responsibility should be shared. It is better if more people visit as then the relative will stand a better chance of recognising faces and remembering names.

Finally, you need to show patience. It’s not use getting upset or frustrated if you are not recognised immediately. If you keep talking to your elderly relative, mentioning things that they should know, you will improve their chances of recognising you.

Here are some crazy beds and mattresses!

Cocoon Napping Pod

Is it a bed, is it a bookcase?

Sofa & bed combined!

Mouse Trap Bed

Beds suspended by rope!

It’s a common myth that you collect Airmiles by flying regularly. It’s also a myth that Airmiles can only be used to get free flights. Since its creation 21 years ago, Airmiles has become one of the most popular points collecting schemes available. Millions of people collect Airmiles on their everyday shopping to earn a variety of free activities and free days out – and free flights of course.

You can collect Airmiles for free days out and free activities by signing up for a Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo Credit Card, which will allow you to collect up to one Airmile for every £10 spent on your shopping. You can also collect Airmiles by shopping at Tesco, using a Tesco Clubcard, and exchanging your Tesco vouchers for Airmiles.

If you’re an avid online shopper you can get Airmiles for free days out and activities at the Airmiles eStore, shopping at websites such as game.co.uk, play.com and even the online auction website, eBay.co.uk. Simply shopping online as you would normally can see you collect a large amount of Airmiles, which can be exchanged for free days out and free activities, as well as free flights.

Once you have collected enough Airmiles, you are able to swap them for many different free activities, such as tickets to Alton Towers or Madame Tussauds. If you want more active free days out, you can even swap your Airmiles for experience days, such as driving days or flying experiences.

Theatre lovers can benefit from Airmiles too, with free theatre tickets available at many top West End shows, such as ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Mamma Mia!’.

So you could be choosing from free flights and over 250 free activities and free days out with Airmiles.

About 10,000 year ago people started using ‘beds’. Bed frames discovered in Egypt date to the Early Dynastic period, circa 3100 B.C. These early beds were little more than wooden frames with plaited rope or leather strapping stretched across them. The mattress, if one was used, was little more than a sack of linen filled with plant material or animal hair. The ancient Greeks developed a multipurpose bed called a kline. Used for dining, leisure and sleep, the kline was a couch made of wood, iron or bronze. The head was slightly raised and usually had a headboard of wood to allow for eating and resting in a semi-reclined position.

The Roman Empire saw the first ‘luxury bed’ which was decorated with gold, silver & bronze. In the Renaissance mattresses were made of pea shucks or straw, sometimes feathers, stuffed into coarse ticks, then covered with sumptuous velvets, brocades and silks. Throughout Europe, particularly in colder climes, the bed was a family affair. The entire family within a household, which could consist of three generations, slept together in one bed. These beds, of course, were very large, able to accommodate up to eight or more people.

Apparently Loius XIV was so fond of beds he had 413!

Mattresses did begin to appear in the 16th & 17th centuries as they were stuffed with straw and tied with rope. That’s where the expression sleep tight originates as mattresses were placed on top of ropes that needed regular tightening. In the late 18th century beds were made of cast iron and some had cotton mattresses. By the 18th century, the bed had gained a prominent position within the furnishings hierarchy. Wealthy European aristocracy often had elaborate beds, the frames made from hard woods, the turned posts decorated with intricate carvings and topped with large finials. The first coil sprung mattress appeared in 1865.

In the 20th century (1950) foam rubber mattresses and pillows appeared on the market. Airbeds were introduced in the 1980s. In 1999, the queen-size mattress became America’s most popular choice for mattress size – for the first time ever – beating the twin.

And today, we are spoilt for choice with a huge range of beds and mattresses on offer.