Celebrating life at Barchester

One of the cornerstones of our life enrichment program is live musical entertainment. Resident involvement in choosing genres along with feedback after each performance means that we are able to constantly improve our activities calendar.

Our Residents enjoyed a fully themed Western Wednesday. Cowboys hats on they enjoyed a special western menu and all our communities came together to enjoy some classic country and western favourites form one of thier favourite entertainers Ray. There were Yee ha's and yippee ki-yay's all around.

At Alice Garnge that's what we like to do - create memories, and ensure our residents are leading full enriched lives.

Our Activities Team is dedicated to ensuring that we organise events that encourage our residents to host their families and friends at Alice Grange. Our home is always to open to loved ones who wish to take part in our life enrichment program. 

Families and friends form the local community came together for a fun filled day. There were Entertainments, refreshments, BBQ and a well deserved Ice Cream. The weather was glorious and as you can see there were smiles all round.

Ensuring that we host events that relatives and friends can join is very important to us here at Alice Grange. 

Saturday 8th August, we held our annual Summer Fair, and we couldn’t have been happier with how the day went! The sun was shining, and the air was filled with music, laughter and a wonderful atmosphere. Our residents, families, friends and staff all had a fantastic time enjoying the games, stalls and entertainment.

A huge thank you to all our stallholders for bringing along such a wonderful variety of products and making the fair so colourful and enjoyable. A special thank you to Chris the Magician, who entertained and amazed us all with his fantastic magic tricks! 

Thank you also to everyone who took part in the raffle and tombola. Their support helped us raise valuable funds for our residents, and we are incredibly grateful for their generosity. Last but certainly not least, a heartfelt thank you to all our friends and staff members who gave their time, energy and support to help make the day so memorable. 

Thank you to everyone who made it so special, and we look forward to seeing you all again at next year’s Summer Fete! 

For today’s Residents’ Choice trip, we headed out to beautiful Alum Chine beach. Everyone had a fantastic time soaking up the sunshine, listening to the waves, and enjoying the fresh coastal air alongside our lovely team. We even took a stroll to explore the local Robert Louis Stevenson sculpture.

During our recent Residents’ Meeting, many of our residents shared how much they miss singing the traditional hymns from their church and school days. With the help of members from Mixed Blessing (our local church), the Hyacinth House team and our wonderful resident, who found and printed all the hymn sheets, we hosted a fantastic afternoon of singing with friends. Hymns included timeless favourites like "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." Afterwards, everyone headed out to the garden to enjoy the summer weather, homemade cake, a hot cup of tea, and great conversation.

Our wonderful resident spent her life as a dedicated horse rider, collecting countless trophies and competition wins throughout her professional career. To honour her lifelong passion and make today extra special, we brought a sweet little horse right into our home for a visit. It was an incredible moment watching her lead Mr Kellogg by her side once again, just like in her riding days. This brought back a lot of memories, which she shared with us though her photos. The look of pure pride on her face was absolutely priceless. She cherished every single minute of it, and we loved sharing such a magical moment with her and getting some joy from Mr Kellogg ourselves.

Tracy and her sweet cat Lola brought the ultimate surprise today: a whole bundle of cuddly, curious kittens.
Our residents had the best time watching them explore. The biggest smile came from one of our residents, a lifelong cat lover who used to look after 30 cats at home.

Enormous plant selection, exploring autumn clothing options and a fresh cup of tea = the perfect day out.
Our residents had the best time exploring Stewarts Garden Centre in Christchurch, smiles all around.

We took another delightful trip out to Poole Harbour, and it was pure bliss. Our residents soaked up the warm weather while taking in the gorgeous views.