Celebrating life at Barchester

Regular trips to local attractions, and other excursions are important parts of our life enrichment program and feature often on our resident-led activity planners. 

Our Residents enjoyed a trip to the local garden centre. The Residents love to get fully involved and took a trip to buy Christmas Trees and decorations to get Ashfield's Care Home ready for Christmas. Now our Activities Team can plan in home events such as Tree dressing, wreath making and present wrapping.

Regularly popping out for coffee, pub lunches, mini-bus trips, and other outings is an essential part of our weekly activity calendar. 

This week, we proudly marked Remembrance Day with heartfelt tributes and meaningful activities throughout Shawford Springs.

Our residents and team came together to paint vibrant poppies, craft beautiful remembrance displays, and share cherished wartime memories in our dedicated History Club. The week culminated in a moving Remembrance morning, where we gathered for reflective poetry, prayers, and a two-minute silence in honor of those who served.

These moments of reflection strengthen our community and ensure the sacrifices of the past are never forgotten. Lest We Forget.

Animal therapy is one of the cornerstones of our life enrichment program and features regularly on our resident-led weekly activity planner.

Our Residents enjoyed a visit from Bert's Amazing Creatures this week. They got hands on with snakes, guinea pigs and even a tarantula. There were many curious creatures a bit different from our normal furry friends who visit the Ashfields and our Residents loved it.

Residents at Ashfields Care Home love the animal therapy sessions that our dedicated Activities Team organise as one of the foundations of our Life Enrichment program, 

At Shawford Springs, we are passionate about enriching the lives of our residents and staff through meaningful activities that connect us with the vibrant history of Winchester. Recently, our team set out to explore one of the city's esteemed military museums: The Rifleman's Museum, located in the historic Peninsula Barracks in the city centre.

We were truly captivated by the museum's immersive exhibits, which bring to life the daring stories of Britain's rifle regiments. Highlights included the awe-inspiring Waterloo diorama with over 30,000 intricately detailed models of soldiers and horses, hands-on opportunities to handle artifacts like the iconic Baker Rifle, and realistic recreations of World War I trenches. The museum's focus on the regiments' unique ethos of innovation, swift action, and unbreakable loyalty, embodied in their motto "Swift & Bold"- made for an unforgettable experience that highlighted extraordinary acts of bravery across centuries. 

Vicki, our Deputy Manager, has received a prestigious Long Service Award in celebration of working at Cookridge Court for 10 years.

Vicki, now Deputy Manager, started at Cookridge Court in 2015 and has worked with residents and their relatives to ensure that their needs have been met over the years since starting as a carer.

Dannie Tsoneva, Regional Director of Cookridge Court, said: “We’re delighted to be celebrating 10 years of loyal service to Vicki. She has demonstrated her dedication and loyalty to this home and its residents year after year. I speak for all the staff at Cookridge Court when I say that I’m looking forward to many more years of working with Vicki!”
 

Remember, Remember the 5th of November, Gunfire, treason and plot! We are all still smiling after having such a gorgeous Bonfire Night this year! We kicked off early in the day with a quiz all about Guy Fawkes, then eased our way into the afternoon with a singalong over a cocktail. 

The evening fireworks were our best ever yet! We are extremely lucky to have beautiful grounds and balconies to hold this event and would like to say a huge Thank You to our Maintenance Man Dave for setting off a fantastic display.

Our Kitchen staff provided beautiful hotdogs while all the carers made sure residents were all able to safely see the fireworks and were warm and happy.

Binni, our Activities Lead Coordinator, kept things organised and Cynthia, our Activities Assistant for keeping the vibes high! Great memories spent with family, friends and staff, an evening we will all never forget! What a 5 star Team we all are at Bryn Ivor Lodge!

Residents shared a deeply moving and memorable experience by attending a special Armistice Day Service held at St Thomas More Catholic Primary School. The intergenerational event beautifully honoured those who had fallen in conflict and demonstrated the children’s profound respect for the day.

The service provided a solemn yet uplifting atmosphere for remembrance, the residents, some of whom have direct memories or connections to wartime, joined the children and staff in prayer and in observing the two-minute silence. This shared moment of quite reflection underscored the importance of remembering the sacrifices made by previous generations.

Activities Co-ordinator Tina said: “The performance was wonderful, the residents, many of whom have vivid memories of the era, for them it was deeply moving. A real touching element of the service was the tribute created by the pupils, they created handcrafted poppies that were then planted in the school field at the end of the service. The poppies had poignant words written on them by the children, it was simply a powerful and tangible way to honour the fallen.”

General Manager Larisa Bledea said: “The morning service held at the school meant so much to our residents, and to have these close links with the school really provides the intergenerational connections for both our residents and the school. The children engaged in the service so respectfully, and the kind words of appreciation from our residents on their return were beautiful to hear.”