Celebrating life at Barchester

A lovely afternoon planting sunflower seeds together, enjoying time in the garden, the sunshine and warmer weather.

It has been wonderful to have the support of our Health and Social Care Students from Farnborough College of Technology helping us today. The residents have been thoroughly enjoying their company.   

Residents and families said they'd had a wonderful time being entertained by The Morrigan Academy of Irish Dance who wowed us with their wonderful dances and vibrant costumes.  

A talented group of young girls who brightened our day. We finished the day off with a quiz, singing and an Irish cream tipple.     

Such a joyful morning was shared with Judy and her gorgeous Ripley's Australian Labradoodle’s. Residents and staff enjoyed all the wonderful therapeutic benefits of spending time with the pups. 

The puppies all fell asleep at the end of their energetic and playful morning.   

It was World Theatre Day so we got a Creative Mojo kit: My Fair Lady Hat & Flower Basket. We had fun creating a spectacular hat and flower basket in preparation for watching the much loved musical, as a theatre play, in our pop-up cinema. We have discovered the pleasure of going to the theatre from the comfort of an armchair by using our Smart TV. It really was lovely. 

Every month we get a new Creative Mojo craft kit, and we make a variety of collages and other crafty things. They are always something topical, and we enjoy making little projects for the whole home to take part in.    

Staff and residents at Chater Lodge Care Home continue to support the Food Bank Second Helpings.  The local Food Bank aims to fill bellies and not bins and also to help with the environment. 

Over the past couple of weeks staff collected tinned items along with pasta, rice, breakfast cereals, tea and coffee as well as little extras including chocolates, and toiletries. The staff at Chater Lodge know their donations will be put to good use supporting a community. 

Staff and residents have successfully hatched 10 beautiful fluffy chicks from incubated eggs.

A lovely delivery of 10 incubated eggs from the company called ‘Living Eggs’ was delivered to the residents and staff at Elm Bank care home to take care of and hatch. All ten little eggs hatched in to beautifully fluffy chicks. It was a wonderful experience for all as residents and staff learnt about the process of hatching eggs from incubation. After hatching the little fluffy chicks were named and transferred in to the broad box where they have been enjoying lots of Easter cuddles.

Activities Lead, Tina said: “Living Eggs provided us all here at the home the chance to hatch our own fluffy chicks for Easter, we received 10 eggs and successfully we hatched all. It has taught us all here so much about the whole process and at the same time provided so much fun.”

General Manager Larisa Bledea said: “What a wonderful Experience here at the home for our residents and staff, something different and now they are all happy receiving wonderful cuddles from all here in the home and also those from the local experience. Many of our residents recall having kept chicken themselves and this was truly a lovely experience for them.”
 

The residents and staff were thrilled to receive a very generous donation of Easter Eggs and Flowers from Jeremy and business partner Antonia.

Jeremy and his partner run the business ‘Treasure Hunting Brothers’, the business also has a YouTube channel that explains how the business buys abandoned storage units and the contents of which are sold off to keep the business running. Jeremy and his partner decided they would make the kind donation of flowers and Easter eggs for the residents to spread some Easter joy. Jeremy has a great community link with the home and the activities team and gestures of kindness like this donation really has a lovely impact on the residents of the home.

Activities Co-ordinator, Tina said: “The wonderful donation of gifts from Jeremy and Antonia mean so much to us and they certainly put smiles of joy on our residents faces. We truly are so grateful for everything they do to support the home”

General Manager Larisa Bledea said: “We cannot thank Jeremy and Antonia enough for their generous donation. The gifts they have donated were greatly appreciated by our residents and it is wonderful to see a community that is wanting to be so involved in the home and all we do.”

Our residents recently enjoyed a gardening day at the home with some indoor plant potting!  These regular sessions have proved to be very popular with our residents and guests that we are now looking to purchase our very own potting shed.

We do our best to provide a wide range of activities and entertainment at Chestnut Gardens as part of the lifestyle enrichment programme and this has provided residents so much joy! living in a care home doesn’t put a stop to celebrating life, and our engaging activities are designed to be enjoyed by all who want to join in.

The sun always shines on the righteous, in fact, even when its cloudy outside the sunshine leads the way for the staff and residents at Mortain Place Care home in Eastbourne. This week, we escorted some of their Gentlemen residents to enjoy a Jolly Boys Outing! What could be better than a strong coffee served alfresco and a slice of cake, admiring the outlook across the amazing Sovereign Harbour and out to sea.

Not content with a few drinks and snacks whilst out and about, the team at Mortain Place, also managed to snag a great white shark. Good job it was only a baby 6-footer, as they would have needed a bigger boat! The thoughtful staff of Di lieto’s restaurant, provided the shark with a saucer of milk.  An impressive achievement by anyone’s standards, given it was just an inflatable version, caught locally.

You cannot beat a little sunshine brought into everyone’s lives, or even a little jolly madness. Great fun is what Mortain Place make of the experiences with their residents. The interaction with the general public and other local businesses were priceless. As the courageous explorers made their way around the delightful Sovereign Harbour, with a shark in tow, all happy people with beaming smiles and not a care in world.  Perfect! Positive fun interaction events such as these, enriches the lives of all our residents, especially those facing the challenges of dementia from their Memory Lane area. If you would like your relative or loved one to sample more of the same jolly positivity and stimulation you may contact Mortain Place on 01323 465150 . We will be happy to guide you on what we offer and how we can enhance your loved ones lives, with a stay with us.