'Get your thinking caps on' as call goes out for quizzes and puzzles
A CALL has gone out for quizzes on a local theme as a way of helping to raise the spirits of vulnerable people in the Wick area who are coping with isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pulteneytown People's Project is urging members of the public to “get their thinking caps on” and devise sets of Caithness questions as well as puzzles such as wordsearches and crosswords.
The idea is that these will be placed in lunch bags when meals are being delivered, providing some mental stimulation and encouraging reminiscence among the older generation.
More than 30 volunteers have come forward to help PPP deliver services during the Covid-19 emergency, assisting with tasks such as dog-walking and picking up prescriptions as well as delivering hot meals for people who are shielding.
Staff have been working additional hours and Katrina MacNab, PPP's chief executive officer, says she has been overwhelmed by the dedication of the whole team.
Now she is inviting the wider community to join in by taking on the role of quiz and puzzle compilers.
“Our elderly people are missing the interaction with their families and we want to keep their minds occupied,” Katrina explained.
“This is week four and some of them are feeling quite down, so we are looking for help from the community. We would like to put in their lunch boxes a Caithness quiz to help keep their minds stimulated – it could be 'guess the streets' or 'name the old shops', or descriptions of prominent people and they need to work out who it is.
“Quizzes could ask about the names of fishing boats, or places people used to go, functions that used to be held – anything at all, really. We can even print out pictures of areas and people would be asked to guess where the places are.
“We would welcome entire 15-question quizzes along with wordsearches and other puzzles.”
Questions – and, importantly, the answers – can be emailed to info@pppwick.org.uk
“Staff will put the quizzes together and put them out in people's bags, and post them on Facebook,” Katrina said. “Family members will see the quizzes on Facebook and can do them with their isolated elderly folk over the phone, or ask them about it, and reminisce about days gone by.
“It is all about stimulating minds, and giving the day some extra meaning as we help our elderly and vulnerable people to get through this difficult time.
“Please get your thinking caps on and let's see what we can do. We will need a lot of help to pull this together.”
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