Celebrating life at Barchester

Staff and residents had a magical fun packed day raising money for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day on March 21st.

Staff and residents at the home donned their red tops and got stuck in to help raise funds for this very important cause. The homes talented chefs created delicious cakes and biscuits holding a cake sale at the homes reception, this certainly went down well with staff and visitors making small donations for the perfectly baked treats. In the morning the residents were joined by the staff and pupils from Stone Lodge Therapeutic School who helped the activities co-ordinator in decorating cakes and biscuits with the dementia community residents. In the afternoon the home was entertained by Andy the Ace Magician, performing some delightful tricks that left the residents thinking.

Comic Relief spends the money raised by Red Nose Day to help people living tough lives across the UK and internationally. Since its launch 40 years ago, Red Nose Day has become a British institution when people across the country get together to raise money at their home, school and work, accompanied by an exciting night of TV on the BBC, full of comedy and entertainment to inspire the nation to give generously.

Tina, Activities Co-ordinator at Elm Bank Care Home, said: “Taking part in Red Nose Day has been a huge amount of fun for our residents. It was great that Stone Lodge Therapeutic School and pupils joined our dementia community in decorating cakes and biscuit’s. The intergenerational activity provides great benefit to both the residents at the home as well as the pupils from the school. It was lovely also that we had a fun packed afternoon full of magic, we are very glad to be able to do our bit as a home to raise further awareness and money for the charity.”

Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.

The residents and staff were delighted in welcoming local school children from St Peter’s School, Kettering, to their home for a magical afternoon of spring songs. It was an afternoon that allowed the residents to immerse themselves in the joy of spring and all that it has to offer.

Residents were very excited to have beautiful young voices echoing throughout the home spreading spring joy to all. The residents enjoyed an afternoon of singing along with songs that they knew and reminisce about when they were young and at school. It was a beautiful afternoon that was perfect to start celebrating the changing of the season. The pupils also delighted the residents with their new instrument, the ‘pBuzz’, for many of the residents it was the first time that they had seen the instrument and heard it being played.

Resident Hilda said, "It was lovely, to see all the children and to hear them sing so wonderfully, they all looked so smart and listening to them was lovely, I can say for all that it was certainly enjoyed."

Marvellous Bindura, General Manager said, “It is always lovely to invite the local school children in at this time of year, and to hear them sing their songs to us all is simply beautiful. It means so much to the residents and all the staff, it allows for the young and the old to mix and the wonderful experiences are shared.  I believe as do we all here at the home it is crucial to create links with our local schools and within the community to continue for our residents to remain a part of the community, it enriches the lives of all in many ways.”

Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.

This week at Claremont Parkway we celebrated the birthday of resident Joyce. She was presented with a lovely cake made by our chef and had a lovely day with family and friends. 

These special moments bring joy, boost self-esteem, and enhance overall quality of life, making residents feel appreciated and connected to their community. It also provides an opportunity to make them feel valued, loved, and remembered.

It was lovely to introduce a few more of our residents to the Ashton Keynes Village Hall coffee morning. 

Head Chef; Richard made one of his beautiful cakes for us to donate to the community, and we witnessed first-hand how the funds raised by the Ashton Keynes go to good use with cheque presentation to Kerry from the Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance Charity and Sharon from Dressability Swindon both worthy causes. 

Our residents love to make new connections, this wonderful group is full of friendly ladies and gentlemen always ready to chat. We're hoping to go further afield next week, venturing into Cricklade, to attend the Cricklade Memory Cafe. 

White Lodge care home is surrounded by such picturesque villages, we have many to explore. New group locations are always welcome, and don't forget White Lodge is always open and welcoming visitors for coffee, cake and chats, simply pop in or contact Shayla on 01666 860 381 to receive a copy of our monthly schedule.

The residents at White Lodge took the opportunity of the sunshine and gathered outside in the garden to enjoy the fresh air! the activity coordinator arranged a garden games named ''on target'' the aim was to score the highest number of points by landing the flying discs within the rings on the target mat.

The residents did really well with the help of the staff and family, we all agreed the wind was on our support today!

The afternoon was filled with laughter, sunshine and joy followed by cup of tea and cake.

Today two of our lovely residents enjoyed a trip out to Barn Farm Plants garden centre in Wardington. They both had a lovely time chatting and enjoying their coffee and cakes in the cafe, then got out into the spring sunshine to look at the flowers. 

Barbara was excited by the different types of flowers on display so we treated her to a lovely plant to put in her room.

While more and more people are happy to do their banking online, HSBC recognise that many of us still like to do it face-to-face. Understanding this need, Chacombe Park have teamed up with the local HSBC branch advisors to set up a 'Pop-Up' at our home. 

We have plenty of free parking and complimentary refreshments available so you can meet the specialists in comfort to discuss any banking queries you may have.

The first pop-up was a great success, with many of our own staff benefiting from the advice they provided on reducing the risk of fraud, and getting set up with online and mobile banking.

We hope this ease of access to your local branch advisors is of benefit to you. Please feel free to visit the homes' next session on 10th April 2025 between 09.30am – 1pm.  See attached poster for details, we look forward to welcoming you.

Today, our residents had a scone-derful time at our morning cooking club, making delicious fruit scones from scratch!

The fun didn’t stop there—we wrapped up the day with an action-packed indoor sports afternoon!  Keeping active and baking up a storm—just how we like it!

Appletree celebrated 'Nutrition & Hydration' week and our hospitality team absolutely smashed it! Huge thanks to our fantastic crew for keeping us fuelled and refreshed all week long. Extra special shoutout to Chef David, who’s pulled off one of his Ramsey-level fruit platters—seriously, a work of art!

 And if that wasn’t enough, he’s treated us to homemade fresh cream cakes and the fluffiest cream scones around. Talk about next-level nourishment! Massive appreciation to everyone behind the scenes making it all happen—you’ve outdone yourselves!

Our fabulous residents have been getting creative in the garden! They've had their green fingers out, planting seeds and sprucing up our outdoor space. And what better way to do it than on a sunny day? 

Nothing beats soaking up some sunshine while surrounded by nature. Great job, everyone! Our garden is looking better than ever!

St. Patrick's Day is one of our favourite celebrations here in Balclutha. We love to decorate, get dressed up and have a good old-fashioned party. 

This year we had live entertainment from the fabulous Gerry Everet, who never fails to get us all up dancing and singing along. Gerry was over the moon to meet our resident Paralympic champion Edmond. 

He was a little star-struck!

We enjoyed a trip to one of our local day care centres for a game of Boccia. We had a fantastic time playing and enjoyed socialising. We met new friends and old over a cuppa and a chat. 

On our way home, we tucked into some ice cream at the waterfront and reminisced about swimming in the River Clyde. We do love a wee day out.

Higher or lower, that is the question! We love games here at Balclutha, especially Guessing games. 

We decided that May has special powers as she could just seem to put a foot wrong in this game, and she promised she was not cheating! 

Residents at the home began celebrating Mother’s Day in earnest with a stunning afternoon tea for our resident Mums and relatives. The home was beautifully decorated with fresh flowers and bunting for the occasion.

Staff at Boroughbridge Manor led by our wonderful head chef, Karen. Delivered a stunning High Tea featuring freshly made cakes, pastries and savoury treats for our guests. 
 

This weekend we had some lovely sunshine over the Challoner House Gardens, so one of our residents, Margaret, requested to go and see the flowers as it was the start of Spring. 

Margaret was wrapped up snug and taken for a lovely peaceful walk around the beautiful grounds at Challoner House. 

We were really pleased to see some coccus, daffodils and primroses already in bloom, along with the camelia bush already showing some lovely buds. 

We welcomed the beginning of Spring in style last week with a wonderful fun Spring Party.

With live music from the fantastic Rob PianoHedgehog who entertained us with a range of songs that we could all sing along with. Followed by a decent amount of tea and cakes, of course. 

Such a fun afternoon, with smiles and laughter from our residents, staff, family and friends. The sun even made a small appearance to help welcome Spring and add a little more merriment.

We had Bowland farm come and visit us and show us a demonstration on how to hatch our own chicks. Bowland farm provided us with all the equipment and made this happen for the residents at Laurel Bank.

They have been so popular with residents, staff and even children. It was a fantastic experience that we would all try again.

We have trips out weekly to Laurel Bank. We had a trip to Positive Futures in Lancaster. 

The staff there were so welcoming and helpful and served us the most delicious cakes and told us all about the classes they do! 

We will certainly be seeing them again. 

To start off Nutrition and hydration week, we had a global talking tea party and, because it’s St Patrick's Day, we had a St. Patrick's-themed afternoon tea! 

We also had Bowland farm deliver eggs and all the equipment so we could hatch our own chickens. That definitely got us all talking at the tea party! 

Some of our ladies enjoyed a holistic day which saw one of our activities team demonstrate ‘how to look after your skin’ with a step-by-step guided facial routine. The ladies sampled the products and enjoyed the environment of our new refurbished relaxation room. 

While the demonstration was taking place, the aroma of the aromatherapy smells filled the room, while relaxing spa music was played. One lady said “I could just drift off and go to sleep after that session. I feel totally relaxed”. Another said how lovely her skin felt after sampling the products. 

During the session, residents asked questions and said how they’d all learnt something new that they would try themselves. 

Our themed dining experience took us on a virtual adventure to France this month. The dining rooms on all our communities were decorated in red, white and blue, with local landmarks displayed around the home. Our talented chef prepared a French-themed ‘Bon appétit’ menu and our activities team dressed as traditional French ladies with berets to match, whilst serving residents fresh baguettes to dip in their French onion soup.

The afternoon saw residents enjoy a traditional game of charades whilst others listened to famous French songs. The day was held to mark French language day, so a brief French lesson was also held during the day. 

Our resident, Dennis, thoroughly enjoyed speaking to us in French and explained his mother was French and how the day was particularly poignant to him, who went on to reminisce about his Mother. One of our carers, who is French, said “It was a great day put on by the team, and it was great to celebrate my country with the residents.” 

Here at Fordmill, we are very proud of our wonderful staff, and we really appreciate the work they put into every single day by looking after our residents at a very high standard.  

Today was International Women’s Day and to acknowledge it, we took the opportunity and cherished our staff with a little treat.   

The entire day was soaked in loving embraces as staff were singing songs throughout the home, and residents were encouraged to dance in the lounges.

We celebrated International Women’s Day, honouring the incredible women who have shaped our lives and continue to inspire us.

Our residents enjoyed a wonderful day of reflection, sharing stories and recognising the achievements of women throughout history and in their own lives.

We had a lovely afternoon tea with delicious-themed cupcakes made by our lovely kitchen assistant, Denise, to celebrate all the amazing women in our home.

We celebrated St Patrick’s Day in recognition of the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. 

The home was decorated with shamrocks, and we all enjoyed exploring the Irish culture through a variety of themed activities.

Our residents marked the day by learning many interesting facts with themed quizzes and completing puzzles together, whilst listening to Irish music. 

Our residents had a fun afternoon sharing memories of past trips to Ireland, with some taking the opportunity to try the traditional Irish beverage, also known as Guinness, or an Irish cream or two.

Today we had pet therapy in the home. In true springtime spirit, we had chicks come to visit us for the afternoon.  

Pet therapy visits every month with different animals each time!

Our residents look forward to seeing who we're going to meet next time!

For World Book Day today, our staff and residents dressed up. We had a little red riding hood, Where's Wally, Harry Potter and more. 

We had a local school come in who had also dressed up, and they spent some time reading to our residents. A wonderful afternoon was had by all!

Animal therapy is one of the cornerstones of our life enrichment program and features regularly on our resident-led weekly activity planner.

Our Residents enjoyed visits from some four legged friends this week. There were smiles all round and even the odd treat or two and not just for the visitors as we all enjoyed some afternoon tea and cake.

Residents at Ritson Lodge love the animal therapy sessions that our dedicated Activities Team organises . As one of the foundations of our Life Enrichment program, we know that animal therapy can help reduce blood pressure and improve overall cardiovascular health. 

Iris Courts Gardening Club is begging to become into a full bloom, with more and more residents falling in love with by watching the progress of our hard work blossom. 

With an amazing donation of all planting tools & seeds to grow fruit and veg at the Iris Court Gardens via Ground Work East and their Home Grown Initiative which is designed to bring groups together to build social connections, learn valuable life skills, to boost wellbeing and of course learn about how we can be better connected to nature, whilst learn more about the big issues affecting our environment locally and globally together!. 

Following this amazingly kind donation, some of our gardening club members took a swift visit to local Vanstones gardening centre, to stock up on essentials for our garden and their own gardening space with a popular choice of tomatoes, fuchsias and geraniums being purchased to decorate our wonderful gardens!.

Today we took a trip down memory lane for our residents, Madge and Kitty, who both lived, worked and brought up their families in Battersea. So we decided to take a minibus trip back to the area to visit some of the places where they made lots of special memories. 

First we stopped at Kitty’s first family home, where she had her children, followed by a cup of coffee and some lunch at The Latchmere pub, which Madge’s sister and brother-in-law owned and ran in the 60s, which Kitty also used to go to. We then drove to see Madge’s estate and her old workplace, Healthbrook school, where she used to work with her husband. 

We then visited Kitty’s second family home and went to Northcote Road, where Kitty would walk and do her shopping at the open market. Kitty and Madge had a lovely trip back to Battersea and enjoyed reminiscing about their times in the area. It was a very special day and brought back lots of memories for them both.