Celebrating life at Barchester

Today, we celebrated Mother’s Day in the most heart-warming way at our care home.

Our residents were treated to a lovely afternoon filled with laughter, music, and special moments shared with family and friends. From beautifully decorated tables to delicious homemade treats, every detail was designed to make our wonderful mums feel truly appreciated.

There were smiles all around as we enjoyed tea together, shared stories, and celebrated the incredible women who have given so much love throughout their lives. 

A big thank you to our dedicated team for creating such a warm and joyful atmosphere, and to the families who joined us to make the day extra special. Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing mums — you are cherished today and always.       

We had a lovely turn out for our Easter bonnet making class as our residents were joined by grandchildren to create some beautiful bonnets. 

Sharing ideas to follow an old tradition, there was lots of fun had by everyone and some lovely creations.
There’s nothing nicer than seeing them come together full of smiles.     

We welcomed North East producers in for the Easter production when I’m cleaning windows. Our residents got involved in the show as Wendy was in the middle of the performers for a dance.

There was allot of singing as we sang along to George Formby. They said we were their biggest participating audience they have had and our residents enjoyed every minute of the show.

We also were thrilled our local M.P Kate Osborne joined us for the show.          

The Easter bunny came to Bedewell for an egg hunt. Our residents prepared all the gifts and sweets which we hid around the garden for the children to find. The children were joined by families and residents for a fun morning.

Our residents also enjoyed a visit from the easter bunny who gave out chocolate rabbits and lots of cuddles as our residents tucked into hot cross buns.       

Dictionaries at the ready! Today our wonderful scrabble club celebrated national scrabble day! Our scrabble club was set up by a group of residents with a mutual love for the game! Scrabble keeps us sharp and is a great bonding experience! It’s an honour to be able to support residents to have clubs that they love and that they’re involved in forming! 

We would love to host any local scrabble groups for a bit of friendly competition! If you know of anyone or want to take on our formidable bunch, get in touch!        

Today Strachan house had a visit from the wonderful Easter bunny! We had such a fabulous day celebrating Easter alongside intergenerational fun! We hunted for eggs, joined in colouring competitions and, best of all, residents and staff joined in creating these eggciting, eggcellent Easter bonnets!

We hope you all had a super day and that you were able to eat chocolate for breakfast!   

Field House hosted Peggy's 100th Birthday Party for her family and friends. With a fantastic turn out, Peggy shared a wonderful afternoon with everyone.

Peggy couldn’t wait to open her card from the king and enjoyed a special time with family and friends sharing life memories, and she was overwhelmed with her cards and gifts.        

We have recently introduced one mystery trip per month to our planner. Normally, we have residents pick our destination, but once a month our residents allow the life enrichment team to pick! They’re always so well attended to and brighten up everyone’s day. Who doesn’t love a surprise, right?!

Today, as the weather wasn’t on side, the fabulous Kiara became our tour guide, providing residents with information about the sights and allowing amazing reminiscence about where people used to live and where they would spend their time before coming to us at Strachan! 

Thanks to the team for yet another magical, mystery trip, we can’t wait till next time!    

Residents at Windmill Manor welcomed 5 duckling eggs into their home to hatch. After just three days, the first eggs began to crack and the residents, staff and visitors watched in amazement as these little creatures emerged.

Once dried and fluffy, we transferred them to their pen where they would grow for the next week, and boy did they grow!         

They brought so much joy, chirping away, we were able to let them have a swim, by filling a large tub with water, a rock in the middle, representing an island all in the comfort of our lounge.

Our Ducklings have now been adopted by a grandson of a resident of Windmill Manor who owns a small holding in South Godstone who is sharing photographs of our beautiful furry friends as they grow.