Celebrating life at Barchester

The wonderful ladies of Strachan House enjoyed a wonderful Costa trip yesterday! As the colder weather draws in there’s nothing quite like a coffee and a cake to start the day right! 

As we move into autumn and winter, what are your favourite ways to start the day? 

We saw the return of the fabulous Ukulele Henry at Cookridge Court! Residents gathered together to enjoy the wonderful afternoon entertainment! Ukulele Henry loves to engage and include the residents in his performances by letting them have a go at singing along and making them feel special! 

Residents have commented on how much they enjoy Ukulele Henry and how they look forward to him coming back to Cookridge Court!

We had the wonderful singer Emily Wild visit us to share her incredible talent! Emily visited our residents directly in their rooms, bringing room-to-room performances filled with warmth and personalized musical moments.

At Vecta House, we know how vital it is to adapt and deliver tailored activities to suit every resident's individual needs. Music has a magical way of connecting with everyone, and seeing today's smiles, singing, and clapping along to Emily’s songs warmed all of our hearts.  

A huge thank you to Emily Wild for brighting up our day and making it so special for our residents!       

This month saw Cookridge Court host their first monthly Community afternoon tea. We had the brilliant Chris & Bex from Foolish Alibi who came and performed for us, setting a wonderful ambience for all to enjoy, along with some delicious afternoon tea platters made freshly by our brilliant kitchen department.    

Our next afternoon tea will be held on Monday 30th November at 3pm.

James Bond Day – held on October 5th – the date of the World Premiere of the first James Bond film Dr. No in 1962.
Residents enjoyed watching the 5Oth Anniversary concert with the Royal London Philharmonic orchestra and special guest Honour Blackman who told some interesting behind the scenes stories.

Julie and Martin , on our Activities team gave a rendition of Licence To Kill and Paige served Martini cocktails, shaken not stirred!

Resident Nathan said “There are some fantastic bond songs all classics, my favourite James Bond was Sean Connery, thank you I enjoyed that!”    

We had some very special guests today as pupils from Cookridge Primary visited Cookridge Court care home for an afternoon of shared reading.

Our residents absolutely loved listening to the children read their favourite books (and sharing a few stories of their own!). There is nothing quite like the joy of a good book to bring everyone together, no matter the age gap.

A huge thank you to the children and teachers for bringing so much energy, smiles, and laughter into our home today. We already can't wait for the next chapter!      

Residents enjoyed a lovely afternoon at Jephson Gardens in Leamington Spa. They took their own picnic and enjoyed the warm weather, beautiful gardens and fountains. 

Jephson Gardens also has a lovely glass house garden, a smaller version of Kew Gardens in London, a 9-acre botanical garden, and an idea that came from Princess Augusta, the mother of King George III. 

Resident John said, “I’m glad I came. Thank you so much, we are very lucky and I feel truly spoilt." Joan, June and Evelyn also commented on what a lovely place it was and how lovely it was for an October afternoon, to enjoy the fountains and squirrels who were extremely tame and cheeky.  

At a Residents and Relatives meeting, residents came up with the idea of starting a Choir Club. So, in October, we had our first choir practice and it was a huge success. 

Residents and relatives from all communities gathered in the music room on Memory Lane, and together they picked songs to practice from their song books, which included: I have a dream by ABBA, Edelweiss from The Sound of Music, Close to You by The Carpenters and What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. Everyone enjoyed themselves and is looking forward to continuing practising and building confidence in order to perform for the other residents.