Celebrating life at Barchester

Residents enjoyed a lovely trip out to Evesham Valley Garden Centre! 

Pat, Terry, Pat, Carly and Rachel enjoyed a lovely outing to Evesham Valley Garden Centre last week. We had a little wander around, enjoyed some tasty samples of pickles and mustards, and, of course, Terry’s favourite … the biscuit samples! 

Pat found herself a rather fetching hat and Pat S was very interested in having a look at all the beautiful jewellery. After a lovely browse and a few treats along the way, we took the scenic route home, enjoying the views before arriving back just in time for supper. 

A lovely afternoon filled with good company, plenty of smiles and, naturally, a few samples! 

We travelled to our adventure today on our mini bus and a limousine provided by David Silveys and driven by Amber, who volunteered her services. We are so grateful to her and David Silveys.

The Rivertime Boat Trust offers an accessible boat trip on the River Thames for our care home residents, and those with reduced mobility. This custom 42-foot passenger boat named Rivertime features a hydraulic wheelchair lift, an accessible toilet and a sliding roof.

The route was from Henley-on-Thames to Bisham Abbey near Marlow, and we brought our own picnic including prosecco and wine, creamy cakes and enjoyed a 1st class treat.    

Chocolate brownies on offer are baked by our chef, Paula. Bribery I hear! Well, if it encourages our residents and families to complete the survey privately and in the privacy of the garden lounge. 

Why not we are proud of our care and our home! It was so lovely for families to share their remarks after they’ve completed the survey and let us know that the survey reflects on how well and caring we are and how well we are doing!    

Picnic – Friday lunchtime – Jane, our resident ambassador, community picnic continues …

Throughout the summer months, Jane’s friends from Wycombe organised a picnic which they held in Shelburne Lodges garden. Now the weather is not so bright, it was held in the dining room and it was still a great success. Thank you for organising and making the getting together, and making the picnic social for Jane so wonderful.

Lili’s 89th birthday party – Friday lunchtime was Lili's 89th birthday lunch – Her wish was to spend the day with her family and her family made sure they made it very special for her …

Her comment was, “It was such a wonderful day."   

Today our residents enjoyed a lovely Social Club session filled with flowers, creativity and plenty of laughter! There was lots of knowledge shared, stories told, jokes exchanged—and, of course, a few very important opinions on how the flowers should be arranged! 

A beautiful afternoon of friendship, creativity and good company.    

Our residents and staff had the great honour of visiting some of our amazing emergency services to say a huge THANK YOU for everything they do for our community. We visited the Fire & Rescue Services, the ambulance team at Distington, and our local police station, taking along some lovely treats to help get their day going.    

What a lovely morning our residents had at Café West upon their visit! There was plenty of chatting, laughter, delicious refreshments and, naturally, a little bit of people-watching! 

The beautiful weather was definitely showing off, and the gorgeous plants and flowers around us made the perfect backdrop for a relaxing morning out.

Our residents had a fantastic time embracing all things Italian.

We started the morning by getting creative and making our very own little passports, adding Italy to our travel adventures.  We then enjoyed a virtual tour of Italy, discovering some of the beautiful sights, culture and landmarks this wonderful country has to offer. 
After working up an appetite, we spent the afternoon making homemade pizzas! From choosing our toppings to creating our own delicious pizzas, there were plenty of smiles, laughter and, of course, lots of tasty treats!

A lovely day filled with creativity, learning, travel and delicious food. Grazie for a wonderful Italian Day!    

Last week, we had a fantastic Networking Afternoon at West Oak, with many local professionals joining us for an engaging and informative event.

A special thank you to Chris Rose from Rose Partner Solutions, who shared his expertise on Fall Risk Screening and how identifying risks early can help prevent falls and support the safety and wellbeing of those in our care.

The success of this event was made possible thanks to the fantastic support and partnership of Blue Angel. Their continued collaboration helps us bring local professionals together, strengthen community connections and create meaningful events like this one.
A huge thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to such a successful afternoon. We look forward to many more opportunities to connect, learn and work together!