🍦 JULY IS ICE CREAM MONTH July is Ice Cream Month – the perfect excuse to celebrate one of the world's favourite treats! Whether your memories are of a 99 Flake from the seaside, a Mr Whippy from the park, an ice cream van playing its familiar tune, or making your own sundaes at home, ice cream has a special way of bringing back happy memories. This CST Activities page is designed to stimulate conversation, reminiscence and long-term memory through quizzes, discussion and mu

Welcome to my August Calendar of Awareness Months, Weeks and Days. This page brings together key awareness campaigns, commemorative dates and themed events throughout August to help you plan engaging Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) sessions, reminiscence activities, discussions, quizzes, music and themed group activities. Whether you work in a care home, day centre, community group, hospital, or support a family member at home, I hope this calendar provides plenty of idea

Anniversary of the Moon Landing 🌙🚀 Few moments in history captured the imagination of the world quite like the first human footsteps on the Moon. This CST activity celebrates the incredible story of the Apollo 11 mission - from the excitement of launch day, to the unforgettable moment Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the lunar surface, and finally the safe return of the astronauts to Earth. In this activity we will explore: 💬 Let’s Talk… – Share your memories of wh

MARY ROSE DAY – CST Activities On 19 July we remember one of England's most famous ships – the Mary Rose, King Henry VIII's favourite warship. Built more than 500 years ago, she served the Tudor navy for over three decades before sinking during the Battle of the Solent in 1545. Hidden beneath the seabed for centuries, the ship was dramatically raised in 1982, giving us an extraordinary glimpse into Tudor life. Today's activities take us back to the fascinating Tudor period. W

☀️ Summer Holidays – CST Activities Now that schools have broken up for the six-week summer holidays, it's the perfect time to celebrate one of life's happiest subjects - summer holidays! Whether you remember family trips to the seaside, camping under the stars, coach holidays, caravans, cruises or adventures overseas, holidays are often filled with memories that stay with us for a lifetime. This Summer Holidays CST Activities page is packed with activities designed to sti

Welcome to Simon's CST Activities and a celebration of World Listening Day. We spend our whole lives surrounded by sound, yet we rarely stop to appreciate just how important listening really is. A familiar voice, birds singing in the garden, waves breaking on the beach, a church bell, the whistle of a steam train or the opening notes of a favourite song can all transport us instantly back to another time and place. Our hearing is closely linked with memory and emotion. Many s

🍒 National Cherry Day Welcome to my National Cherry Day celebration! Today we’re celebrating one of Britain's favourite summer fruits. Cherries have been enjoyed for thousands of years and have long been associated with summer, orchards, good health and sweet memories. Whether you picked cherries from a tree as a child, baked them into a pie, enjoyed a Black Forest gâteau or remember a glass of Cherry B at a party, today's activities are full of opportunities to reminisce, c

St Swithun's Day – 15 July Welcome everyone! Today we're celebrating St Swithun's Day, one of Britain's best-known weather folklore days. St Swithun was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester who died in 862 AD. He was remembered as a kind and humble man who cared for the poor, built churches and repaired bridges. According to legend, he asked to be buried outside Winchester Cathedral so that "the sweet rain of heaven" could fall upon his grave. When his remains were moved insid

Welcome to our Bastille Day Celebration! 🇫🇷 Today we're taking a relaxing trip across the English Channel to celebrate the people, places, history, food, music and culture of France. Whether you've holidayed on the Côte d'Azur, enjoyed a ferry trip to Normandy, sampled French cuisine or simply love a good French song or film, there will be something here to bring back happy memories. We'll begin with a friendly Let's Talk About France discussion, sharing favourite holidays,

Today we're celebrating Barbershop Music Appreciation Day with a trip back to a time when a visit to the barber or hairdresser was much more than just getting a haircut. It was a chance to catch up on the local gossip, read the comics or magazines while waiting your turn, and enjoy the familiar smells of shaving soap, Brylcreem, hairspray and talcum powder. We'll begin by discovering a few fascinating facts about the history of barbershop harmony before sharing our own memori

Welcome everyone! Today we're celebrating National Mojito Day, a fun theme inspired by one of the world's best-known summer cocktails. Don't worry if you've never tasted a mojito - today is about the history, flavours, music and memories connected with Cuba and the wonderful herb mint. We'll begin with a Mojito Quiz to see what everyone already knows about this famous drink, before discovering some interesting facts about National Mojito Day and learning how to make a classic

🐴 Welcome to My International Horse Day CST Activities! Today we're celebrating the wonderful world of horses – faithful companions, hardworking helpers, sporting champions and stars of films, television and music. We'll begin with a Let's Talk discussion, sharing memories of horses, riding, working horses and visits to stables or the countryside. We'll then exercise our brains with horse idioms and sayings, before seeing how many of us can remember the nursery rhyme Ride A

🧸 Welcome to Simon's CST Activities – Teddy Bears' Picnic Day 🧸 Today's session celebrates the much-loved teddy bear and our fascination with bears of every kind. Together we'll enjoy a mixture of reminiscence, music, quizzes, fascinating facts and plenty of smiles. We'll discover how US President Theodore Roosevelt inspired the creation of the teddy bear, learn about the most expensive teddy bear ever sold, and enjoy the classic "Teddy Bears' Picnic" performed by Henry Hal

🫐 World Blueberry Day – CST Activities Welcome to my World Blueberry Day activities! Today we're celebrating one of nature's healthiest and tastiest little fruits while giving our brains a gentle workout through conversation, memory and fun. We'll discover some fascinating blueberry facts, test our observation skills by identifying different berries, and see how many delicious foods and drinks made with berries we can name. Then it's time for a memory challenge as we try to

Welcome to our World Chocolate Day special! Chocolate has been bringing smiles to people's faces for centuries and is one of the world's favourite treats. Whether you enjoy a creamy bar of milk chocolate, a rich dark chocolate, or a box of chocolates for a special occasion, it's guaranteed to stir up happy memories. Today's Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) activities are packed with fun, reminiscence and plenty of opportunities to exercise our brains. We'll start by discus

Welcome everyone! Today we're celebrating World Kiss Day, a light-hearted annual event held on 6th July that reminds us of the many meanings of a kiss – whether it's a greeting, a sign of love, friendship, congratulations or simply showing someone you care. Across films, music and popular culture, memorable kisses have become some of the most famous moments ever captured on screen. To mark the occasion, we're going to put our movie knowledge to the test with a fun "Match the

I hope you like my reworked 'The Hand That Life Dealt Me' reminiscence based card game. The questions have been refined and grouped into four categories - ❤️ Hearts – Love, Family & Happy Times; ♠️ Spades – Challenges, Courage & Mishaps; ♦️ Diamonds – Luck, Success & Adventure; ♣️ Clubs – Memories, Wisdom & Reflection and instructions for playing the game are below. Feel free to print off the cards and laminate them so you can make a pack (if you want to include a reverse pic

Today we're celebrating two fun summer-themed occasions that both fall on 5th July – National Fish & Chips Day and International Bikini Day. National Fish & Chips Day celebrates one of Britain's best-loved traditional meals. For well over 150 years, fish and chips have been a favourite seaside treat, bringing back happy memories of family holidays, walks along the promenade, and enjoying a meal wrapped in paper while watching the waves. International Bikini Day marks the anni

🇺🇸 Happy Independence Day! – 250 Years of American Independence (4 July 1776–2026) Welcome to today's special Simon's CST Activities celebration marking the 250th Anniversary of American Independence. Whether you've visited the United States, have family there, love its music, films and television, or simply enjoy learning about different countries, today's activities are designed to stimulate memories, encourage conversation, and have a little fun along the way. We'll begi