Celebrating life at Barchester

Residents at Westergate House went on a minibus trip to Chichester Library for a very enjoyable visit. Jen was excited to set up a personal library card so she could download her own e-books, and we’re also delighted to have our very own Westergate House library card, so residents have access to a super range of books, large-print books and audiobooks to enjoy at home.

Felicity was enthralled with the non-fiction section, bringing back memories of her family’s bookshop and her own career in publishing.   

Christine enjoyed chatting with the library staff, asking questions and finding out more about local services. A very informative visit!

One of our lovely residents at Westergate House spent some time at the piano in the lounge. Shirley shared her wonderful musical talents with friends and staff who loved hearing her play – recognising how music has remained such an important part of Shirley’s life. Having studied at Trinity College, and then working as a secondary school teacher and choir mistress throughout her career, music has clearly always held a special place in Shirley’s heart.  

She loved arranging shows and concerts for everyone to enjoy.  A lovely reminder that life experiences, talents and passions always remain an important part of us.        

Westergate House was delighted to welcome back the Sussex British Motorcycle Owners Club for a very special morning. The bikes and their riders arrived in style and were warmly greeted by residents, family and friends. Great excitement ensued when we realised two original telegram bikes and their riders, who used to be telegram boys, were part of the group. Dressed in full uniform, they showed us original examples of the telegrams they delivered. Our resident, Ken, used to do this as a young man on these bikes and was thrilled to relive the experiences, chatting with the riders and reminiscing about priority telegrams and how they had to be dealt with.  

Some of the bikers were familiar faces to another resident, Ian, who also shared a passion for riding. We heard so many delightful memories, sparked by the super visit, another one being Auriol’s recollection of riding a pillion on her boyfriend’s motorbike from Kent to Brighton! The years simply melted away when these wonderful memories were shared.     

Our lovely residents enjoyed a trip out to M&S for a spot of shopping. They had a great time browsing the aisles, choosing a few treats and enjoying some time out together. They also stopped off for a sweet treat and coffee to finish off the afternoon.   

We had a fantastic time at Florence Court celebrating Oktoberfest. 

Our residents enjoyed a delicious selection of Bavarian food and some German beer, followed by a fun Oktoberfest quiz. A huge thank you to our kitchen team for the delicious food.       

Residents at Collingtree Park love the animal therapy sessions that our dedicated Activities Team organises *weekly/monthly*. 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. 

On Monday, we had a very special visit from Little Hooves, who brought the lovely Blue to meet our residents.
Pet therapy is wonderful for our residents, and seeing a pony in the home brought so many smiles, joy and magical moments.

With the leaves turning such beautiful shades of red, gold and orange, our activities team thought it would be lovely to bring a little of autumn indoors.

After gathering a colourful collection of leaves, our residents had a wonderful time choosing their favourites and arranging them into beautiful autumn scenes, which were then carefully sealed and framed.

Everyone was so pleased with their creations, and it was lovely to see them proudly taking their pictures back to their rooms to display.

Such a simple activity, but one that brought so much pleasure and a little piece of autumn to treasure!

This morning was full of fun, singing and dancing to the lovely Carrie, some lovely songs from the likes of mamas and papas to Elton John, our residents loved singing along and even dancing along to her singing, she got a lot of compliments after.

We had a wonderful harvest home afternoon with the lovely Thea coming to sing some beautiful harvest songs and telling us the meanings, the residents loved singing along to them and having a chat and some cake afterwards.