Celebrating life at Barchester

This Halloween has been a real treat at Bryn Ivor Lodge! Our residents and team truly embraced the spooky spirit with a week full of laughter, creativity, and delicious fun. The festivities began with a lively game of Halloween Audio Bingo, followed by plenty of entertainment and themed activities in our seasonal coffee club.

One of the highlights of the week was welcoming the Rantastic toddler group, who came to visit and went trick or treating with our residents — their costumes and smiles brightened everyone’s day! We ended the celebrations with a fabulous Halloween party, filled with music, decorations, and laughter.

Our talented head chef, Karen, delighted everyone with her amazing themed menu — from her mouth-watering pumpkin pie to playful treats like mummified sausages, chocolate-dipped strawberries, and gummy worms that made everyone giggle. The evening was rounded off with a toast of prosecco, shared stories, and happy memories.

What a fantastic way to celebrate Halloween and welcome the winter season together!

Bonfire Night at Crandon Springs Care Home was all about celebrating the simple pleasures that make life sparkle!

Earlier in the day, some of our residents rolled up their sleeves to prepare delicious marshmallows, topped with melted chocolate and a generous sprinkle of colourful decorations - the perfect treat to enjoy with a comforting cup of hot chocolate.

As evening fell, everyone wrapped up warm and gathered in the garden to light sparklers and listen to the distant pop and crackle of fireworks. The air was filled with smiles, and plenty of cheerful conversation. We may not have had a grand display, but we didn’t need one because, as we’re often reminded here at Crandon Springs, sometimes the simplest moments shared together are the loveliest.

Our residents had a truly wonderful evening celebrating Bonfire Night on the 5th of November! The excitement began as everyone wrapped up warm and gathered together to enjoy one of Britain’s favourite traditions. Some residents headed outside to watch the colourful fireworks burst across the night sky, while others stayed cosy indoors, watching the spectacular display from the windows with big smiles and plenty of “oohs” and “aahs.”

The atmosphere was filled with laughter, joy, and a real sense of togetherness as sparklers lit up the garden and residents reminisced about Bonfire Nights from years gone by. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed a delicious treat of creamy hot chocolate topped with marshmallows — the perfect way to end the evening.

It was a truly special celebration that brought warmth and happiness to all. We’re so grateful to our wonderful team for organising such a fantastic event and to everyone who joined in to make the night memorable.

We’re incredibly proud that Pete Laing, Senior Head of Maintenance at Crandon Springs Care Home, has been crowned National Health & Safety Champion of the Year at the Barchester Care Awards 2025!

Chosen from over 5,000 nominations across the UK, Pete’s dedication, professionalism, and proactive approach to keeping our home safe have earned him this prestigious national title. His passion and integrity shine through in everything he does, ensuring our residents and team enjoy a safe and welcoming environment every day.

Our General Manager, Meg Cleal, says it best: “Pete is always one step ahead when it comes to health and safety. This award is a truly well-deserved recognition of his hard work and excellence, and everyone at Crandon Springs is delighted and proud of him. Congratulations Pete, you make Crandon Springs simply the best!”

In the week leading to Halloween, our care home was transformed into a spooky wonderland filled with laughter, creativity, and community spirit. Residents and staff joined together for a fun-filled day of pumpkin carving, showing off their artistic flair with everything from cheerful smiles to frightful faces. The excitement continued as everyone got crafty, making their own Halloween decorations to brighten up our home with cobwebs, ghosts, and glowing lanterns.

On Halloween the atmosphere buzzed with joy as we hosted our Halloween party. Residents enjoyed delicious treats, music, and games. The highlight of the day was the visit from local children who came trick or treating! The children loved showing off their fabulous costumes and their bright smiles and playful energy brought warmth and delight to all our residents.

It was truly a wonderful celebration that brought generations together and filled our home with festive fun. We’re already looking forward to making next year’s Halloween even more magical!

Our home was glowing with light, laughter, and love as residents and staff came together to celebrate the Festival of Lights! From decorating diyas and colourful rangolis to sharing delicious sweets and heartfelt wishes, the day was filled with joy and togetherness. We’re grateful for moments like these that bring our community closer and fill our hearts with warmth. Wishing everyone a bright, joyful, and safe Diwali from all of us at Cubbington Mill. 

A huge shout-out to the team from VR for Care Homes – Virtual Reality Activity Services for their wonderful performance today. Care Practioner, Jeet, prepared traditional Indian dishes including a range of warming curries, spicy samosas, crispy bhajis and papadums with lime pickle and chutneys, followed by traditional Indian sweets such as laddoo and barfi for the residents to enjoy. The Resident Ambassador, John, commented: “I love all the different cultural events that we celebrate here, there’s always something going on.  I especially like the religious festivals of other cultures and sampling the wonderful food.  It makes me feel like I am travelling abroad!”’  

We all know that people living on their own are most susceptible to loneliness and isolation, going days, weeks, months or even years without speaking or seeing anybody else. In our bid to tackle loneliness and isolation in our community, this afternoon we had the pleasure of visiting DayBreak Respite Care in Staines. 

Daybreak opened in 2008 and offers care, entertainment and delicious food for elderly and disabled people whilst their carers take a well-earned day off. 

We enjoyed having a chat with members and staff, including Cllr Denise Saliagopoulos. We introduced ourselves and explained some of the free community events going on around our home and encouraged everyone to pop along and join us.      

We’re delighted to share that our recent Community Menopause Workshop was a huge success!

Our very own talented Activity Assistant, Karen, hosted two wonderful sessions where she guided participants through Breathwork, Facial Massage, and Meditation — all fantastic techniques to help support women going through menopause.

We also shared informative leaflets and resources. Everyone also enjoyed a selection of herbal teas and delicious fresh fruit platters lovingly prepared by our amazing kitchen team.

A big thank you to everyone who joined us, and an extra special thanks to our beautiful Karen for leading such an inspiring and nurturing workshop.