Celebrating life at Barchester

What a wonderful way to start the day — a scenic minibus trip to the breathe taking Upton House & Gardens, complete with a cosy hot drink to keep us warm as the summer weather brought some cooling winds. Our residents loved exploring the beautiful grounds, soaking up the fresh air, and sharing laughter together.

Regular outings are just one aspect of our life enrichment program and all the trips we take are at the request of the residents. Our monthly activities calendar boasts a range of outings and entertainment. Here’s to more memorable moments and joyful adventures. 

Today we had a Mad hatters themed tea party where by residents, family members and community guests gathered together in the garden to have fun and enjoy the delicious cakes and scones baked by our talented chef Gill.

We were joined by the lovely singer Vintage Ruby who sang a brilliant variety of songs from 'Run rabbit run' and 'All around my hat' and in honour of the party theme, and as it's American Independents day too she sang some classic American tunes including 'Achy breaky heart!

We had a wonderful afternoon taking a drive to Burton Dassett hills as requested by some of our residents. 

Everyone enjoyed beautiful views, a lovely change of scenery, good company and a delicious picnic of sandwiches, fruit, and cool drinks. A peaceful escape to nature and a wonderful afternoon well spent.

Regular outings are just one aspect of our life enrichment program and all the trips we take are at the request of the residents. Our monthly activities calendar boasts a range of outings and entertainment.

Today marks the end of our successful 5-year contract with Oxfordshire NHS Trusts and the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Chacombe Park. We’re proud of the excellent care standards we maintained, helping patients regain independence and return home with improved quality of life.

Sincere thanks to the Discharge Coordinators Sharon Wells, Fay Kempson and Tima, and the wonderful Physiotherapy Team; Mitali, Bridget, Lesley and Siju their expertise, compassion, and tireless efforts in helping the individuals in our care reach their full potential.

This partnership stands as a testament to what can be achieved when healthcare professionals work together with a shared goal: better outcomes for patients.

'Namaste everyone'

Our residents enjoyed a peaceful yoga session with Sarah today, helping everyone feel calm, stretched, and refreshed. A perfect way to relax and unwind.

We had a lovely visit from Isla the PAT dog from Therapy Dogs Nationwide.

The concept of Therapy Dogs was originally devised by Lesley Scott-Ordish back in 1976 when she discovered the trauma experienced by the elderly if forced to give up a much-loved pet upon going into residential care.

Isla and her wonderful volunteer handler brought so much joy, cuddles, and wagging tails to everyone at Glebefields care home. 

Our residents enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with freshly baked scones, lashings of cream and jam, and plenty of tea to go around. A perfect treat and a lovely way to spend time together!

A lovely visit to Cotefield Nurseries today! 

Residents enjoyed seeing beautiful British flowers and had some tasty refreshments too, it was such a peaceful and refreshing day out in the summer sun!

Our residents had a great time during their exercise session with Alfie from G-Fitness. His energy and encouragement always get everyone moving and smiling! Staying active is so important — and fun too, especially with Alfie leading the way!

Our residents enjoyed a relaxing afternoon creating beautiful flower arrangements. It was a lovely way to spend time together and brighten up the home with fresh, colourful blooms.

Our Deputy Manager, Lynsey has received a prestigious 20-Year Service Award in celebration of working at Barchester Healthcare for 20 years.

Lynsey Clark, now Deputy Manager, started at Barchester in July 2005 and has worked with residents and their relatives to ensure that their needs have been met over the years. 
 

On 3rd July, staff and residents dusted off their dancing shoes for the launch of their new Dementia Disco initiative.

Knowing how much their residents love to dance, the activities team at Cookridge Court care home came up with the genius idea of a dementia-friendly disco.  The team invited along members of the local community and friends of the home to the first official dementia-friendly disco, which went down an absolute storm.

Our home is inviting members of the local community to join them at their weekly book club, hosted by local volunteer Glen.

The sessions take place every Monday at 10:30am, offering a warm and welcoming space for book lovers to come together, share their thoughts, and enjoy lively discussions over a cup of tea and a slice of cake, courtesy of the home’s hospitality team.

ANOTHER WONDERFUL REVIEW THIS WEEK!

We are on a roll, so the saying goes.... receiving another glowing review in a matter of days from a lovely couple that stayed with us for some respite.

They wanted to take a break from having to worry about their care needs at home and their family suggested they stay with us here for a couple of weeks. We loved having them and they are rebooking another respite stay with us very soon.

We offer short stay and respite stays for anyone in need of a break or maybe their carers need some well earned holiday time off. Either way we can help and happy to do so.
 

This morning some of the residents enjoyed a trip out to Ripon spa gardens where we enjoyed a hot drink and picnic in the gardens.

We then had a game of crazy golf and then had a walk round the gardens looking at the bandstand that has been decorated for Alice in wonderland day. A lovely morning was had by all.

PEN PALS WITH WORPLESDON SCHOOL

In the world of iPhones, tablets and social media platforms the art of letter writing is sadly less and less..... NOT for our residents though and for Worplesdon Primary School who are bridging the generation gap by becoming pen pals. 

It's a wonderful feeling to receive a letter and enjoy the words that someone has taken time to share, our residents have absolutely loved these moments. The theme has been 'earliest memories' and so both the pupils and our residents can share their own earliest memories over these precious letters.
 

We ventured out to enjoy our very first Exmouth Beach Wheelchairs adventure. The weather was perfect for a picnic by the sea. We got to feel the sand and the sea on our feet and take in the sea air.
For those struggling with mobility, this is a wonderful opportunity and thank you so much to the Exmouth Beach Wheelchairs for their brilliant service.

Another lovely outing yesterday – a truly special moment for one of our residents, Brian, who was delighted to buy a beautiful potted flower plant for his beloved daughters. For us, it may have been just another day, but for Brian, it felt deeply meaningful and fulfilling.

Later in the afternoon, we enjoyed another cheerful trip to Tesco, where our lovely ladies had a wonderful time browsing clothes and picking out thoughtful gifts for friends and family. It was a truly joyful day filled with smiles and laughter – our residents had an absolutely lovely time.

There was a hive of activity at the home yesterday as the residents were treated to a virtual talk by beekeeper Julia Young.  

Based in Cheshire, Julia has been a beekeeper for 14 years and has around 10 hives.  The residents were fascinated as Julia gave an understanding of the daily life of bees inside her hives.  Her talk took the residents on a whirlwind tour of the life and times of a honeybee and a hobby beekeeper and covered topics such as communication in the bee hive, the pecking order – who does what and even the darker side of the bee world with tales of regicide, sex and violence!!

This was a different experience for the residents but one that they thoroughly enjoyed and will never forget.

Wonderful singer Aimee treated us to a wonderful afternoon of music and dancing to timeless classics from across the decades with some extra-special wartime songs to mark D-Day and honour the occasion. 

Aimee’s infectious energy and beautiful voice brought so much joy to our home.  

Our residents were delighted to get out on the Solent on Sunday morning in the sunshine.  The clouds had parted, and the wonderful charity run boat, the Alison MacGregor, set sail!  The residents at the Cedars had a fantastic time taking in the sights of Southampton’s busy shipping lanes and then into the calm waters with beautiful swans, black and white, along the river and up to the mill at BItterne. 

One resident wanted to be the skipper and, with the help of the staff on board, she was able to steer the boat calmly back to the boat’s home in Hythe Marina. 

Rivermead is overjoyed when Wathcourt preschool children come in and visit us. This time we decided to take the games into the garden and enjoy the weather. We had games of large connect4, ring toss, crafting at the table and some lovely chattering with all the residents.

 Our residents really benefit from this intergenerational activity. They reminisce and have lovely fond memories and form meaningful friendships with the children.  

Our residents really enjoy being hands on with the activities here at Rivermead. We have been doing a spot of baking on our memory lane community. Everyone got involved, from measuring the ingredients out, then mixing them up in the bowl. 

Then we had to wait for the crucial part of them cooking in the oven before we could taste them! All the residents enjoyed testing the buns to make they were delicious of course!  

Great day out meeting the Owls at Knockhatch Adventure Park. Such beautiful birds of prey, the residents loved being so close to these rarely seen amazing animals. 

Yesterday we wrapped up our busy month of birthdays with the lovely June's 90th birthday! We had lot's of fun singing and dancing to live music from the fantastic Anouk who really helped get us all in to the party spirit!

Rivermead have been making the most of the sunny weather recently, and we decided to have a lovely walk into Norton town. We started by walking to the duck pond where we fed some swans and ducks, and spent some time chatting and admiring the peace and quiet, then we were greeted by a lovely little fury friend who enjoyed some petting from our residents. 

Then we walked up to the local pub, The Derwent Arms, for a lovely drink and a spot of lunch. The residents thoroughly enjoyed their day out, thanking the whole day for being able to come out of the home. 

It has been all about the men in our home, the ones who brighten our days with their smiles and conversations. We would love to wish every dad, father figure, granddad and great-granddad a Happy Father’s Day. 

We also remember those Dads who are no longer with us, but are always in our hearts. We celebrated Father's Day at Newlands with a social afternoon, live entertainment and tasty treats. We were entertained by one of our residents, Alan’s son. Alan could not hide his excitement and joy, he had been waiting for this day and he expressed his joy.

We’re excited to announce that our brand-new digital clinical system, Enable, is officially live! This is a big step forward for our care home – helping us deliver even better, more efficient, and more personalised care for our wonderful residents. 

Our amazing staff have been gearing up for this moment with training, teamwork, and a lot of excitement. Enable will make care planning smoother, documentation smarter, and communication stronger – all while keeping residents’ wellbeing at the heart of everything we do. Everyone is excited and curious. 

We had a great time welcoming our cyclists to our home for their last stop of day 1. Our residents, staff, our community friends and the Mayor of Workington, Cllr David Farrar were on hand to welcome this amazing team. What better way to do so other than to throw a BBQ party with live entertainment? 

Our residents had an opportunity to chat and spend time with our cyclists and our guest (The Mayor of Workington, Cllr David Farrar, with his consort Cllr Allan Hodgson). This really brings the spirit of the community together. A lovely time was had by all.