Celebrating life at Barchester

Residents and their relatives enjoyed a fantastic afternoon in the garden, making the most of the beautiful sunshine while being entertained by the talented Dave Dawson.

There was plenty of singing, dancing and smiling as everyone joined in with the music, creating a lovely atmosphere and making special memories together.

A huge thank you to Dave Dawson for another brilliant performance and to everyone who came along to make the afternoon so enjoyable. Here’s to many more sunny days filled with music, laughter and great company! 

As part of the celebrations for Global Beatles Day residents enjoyed a memorable day out to a Beatles Celebration Party hosted at Age UK Ashington, where they were treated to an afternoon of live music, delicious food and fond memories of one of Britain's most beloved bands.

The special event featured live entertainment from a talented Beatles tribute act, who performed a selection of the band's greatest hits. Residents sang along to familiar songs, tapped their feet to the music and embraced the lively atmosphere as they relived the soundtrack of their younger years.

The residents and staff were recently treated to a truly regal and joyous celebration, marking the birthday of His Majesty King Charles III. The atmosphere was one of palpable excitement and warmth, making for a memorable occasion described by many as a “lovely, patriotic afternoon”.

The home was filled with a wonderful patriotic atmosphere, with flags waving and everyone joining in the celebrations. Matt Miller provided fantastic music which had residents dancing and singing in their seats, Matt also shared many interesting facts about the King, which added to the afternoon celebrations. The afternoon celebrations were perfectly ended with delicious cake and a cup of tea, allowing for all a chance to simply relax and reflect on a truly memorable afternoon of celebrations together.

Tina, Activities Co-ordinator said, “It was a wonderful afternoon of celebrations, it was great to see the residents waving their flags and enjoying beloved tunes with classical hits that spanned the decades. Every resident found a song to cherish, and it is really important to us all that we mark these national celebrations.”

General Manager Larisa Bledea said: “What a truly spectacular performance from Matt for the special occasion, it was an afternoon full of joy, very uplifting and one that all our residents will remember.”

We celebrated Pride with a party and a wonderful ABBA tribute band, the has been beautifully decorated with rainbows and flags as We wanted to honour our residents lived history. Because they have lived through decades of varying social attitudes and hardships, fun and laughter was had by residents, family members and staff.

At Bryn Ivor Lodge we Foster a safe "woke" environment where all staff and residents feel valued, Respected, seen and empowered.       

Welcome to our new Bryn Ivor Little Dragons group that will be taking place every week at the home. 

The first session went well and fun an laughter was had by the children as well as the residents. It was nice to see the generations enjoy time together in activities, Resident of the home are looking forwards to many more sessions to come.  

We had a great turn out for our Understanding Dementia Talk today, delivered by Emma & Jacqui from the Alzheimer’s Society.

A big thank you to Emma and Jacqui for their time and for sharing their knowledge with us and our guests.

We look forward to welcoming the Alzheimer’s Society to Iris Court again.  

We celebrated a day full of culture from display, food, traditional clothes worn by staff and a fantastic display from a native tribe with dancing and music, and we were honoured to have our staff sing their national anthem for us all. 

Residents cared for in their rooms didn’t miss out on the fun either, with singing and dancing going around to all the rooms.

International cheese day celebrated with a cheese and wine social for our residents that wished to join in, it was a fabulous social event and got residents talking about favourite drinks and food.

We all tried some cheese that we wouldn’t normally have gone for which added to the fun and some comments like ”yuk that’s stinky” “ oh no that’s not for me” added to the fun of the afternoon. Residents cared for in their rooms were also treated to a glass of wine and some cheese and enjoyed chatting with staff about their preferences