OLDER people in a west Oxfordshire care home have been shimmying their way to good health, with the help of some buxom friends.

The Middletown Grange Care Home, in Hailey, near Witney, west Oxfordshire, has organised special activities to keep their residents fit and healthy — and one of them is belly dancing.

The 45-minute sessions take place once every three months on a Thursday and are led by up to four professional belly dancers at a time.

The women, who also lead sessions at other care homes, wiggle, jiggle and gyrate along to a CD of Egyptian music and then teach one-on-one moves to residents who want to learn more.

General manager Sue Knight, said: “It’s very popular with the residents and really brings them together.

“Some of our clients really get stuck in and will be stood up by the dancers wriggling about.

“But some of them join in while they’re sat in their wheelchairs and wave their hands about to the music.”

The belly dancing lessons are part of a full calender of activities for the residents.

Earlier this year, the Oxford Mail reported on the brand new Nintendo Wii computer game the residents had been using as part of the home’s Fitness with Care programme.

Since then the home has bought a couple of steering wheel-shaped controls for the keen computer gamers to use with a game called Super Mario Carts, and a guitar shaped hand gadget to go along with the popular Guitar Hero game.

Lady Eliette Hulbert, 84, who lives in the home, is second in the Super Mario Carts game league.

She said: “I enjoy all of the activities though, particularly scrabble and I often do crosswords. The belly dancing is very popular.

“This week’s session was hilarious, we were surrounded by women shaking their flesh about the place. It was a huge amount of fun.”

Ms Knight added: “I must say some of the dancers’ outfits are particularly popular with the male residents.

“But it’s just a good way to keep everyone fit, healthy, and entertained.”

awilliams@oxfordmail.co.uk