Celebrating life at Barchester

Today we worked as a team to set up our Wimbledon themed display for the reception area. Some of our residents got stuck in creating hand-made tennis balls and rackets. They were given the materials and had a little help with the cutting but the rest was left to them. In between their arts and crafts activity, they had a little game of batting the balloon to each other... Wimbledon players watch out! 

All before sitting down with Strawberries and cream and a glass or two of Pimm’s to watch the tennis.

This morning some of our residents had a blooming good time making their very own flower centre pieces.

They had petals of joy seeing the results when they finished. Well done ladies!

Residents have been taking part in lots of outdoor activities, and enjoying the warm weather lately, we have also been out and about in the community, and some residents have tried drinks they have never had before, such as cold frappes, chocolate, smoothies and mocktails, instead of their normal tea and coffees. 

Our Activities Assistants Sita and Zahra introduced these to residents while at The Barn Garden Centre, and Esquire Coffee House, and residents are now looking forward to recreating some of these drinks at Woodland View.

In celebration of Alice in Wonderland Day, our residents enjoyed a delightful art afternoon inspired by this timeless tale. They unleashed their creativity with themed crafts in our beautiful garden, savoring homemade jam tarts and tea under the summer sun. This enchanting event reflects the vibrant, person-centered lifestyle at Shawford Springs, where we create magical memories for our community.

While the crowds danced in muddy fields, we brought the festival magic right here to our own beautiful gardens this weekend!

Residents and team members alike enjoyed a day full of music, memories, and sunshine — and it was truly something special. We kicked things off by sharing our all-time favourite tunes (some serious classics in the mix!), before taking to the great outdoors for our very own Henford Fest.

From tambourines to maracas, everyone had a go at making music — we even had a visiting drummer who brought the rhythm alive, and a miniature Worthy Farm Tractor rolled in to make it official!

Of course, no festival is complete without a bit of indulgence — afternoon tea, a cheeky glass of wine, and plenty of laughter made it a day to remember.

Music has such a magical way of bringing back memories and creating new ones — and this weekend, Henford House was absolutely buzzing with both.

Our residents enjoyed spending time in the Garden with a nice cold beverage yesterday. 

We put on our fancy hats and sun cream and had a wonderful time!

We had a truly wonderful weekend celebrating Armed Forces Day here at Waterside Court! The atmosphere was filled with pride, joy, and a deep sense of remembrance as we honoured the incredible service and sacrifice of our armed forces.
Our mini concerts were a highlight — featuring beloved classics from Vera Lynn, Doris Day and other wartime legends. 

As the music played, it stirred powerful memories for many of our residents, who sang along with smiles and even a few happy tears.

It was more than just a celebration — it was a heartfelt journey through time, bringing people together through shared stories, songs, and a deep appreciation for those who served. A truly special weekend we’ll all remember.

At Westergate House we have been making the most of the fabulous summer sunshine. With a focus on keeping cool, uniform has been relaxed for a few days and we are ensuring everyone keeps hydrated. 

Added to this, was the delightful treat of a visit from the Pinks ice-cream van. Paul, our Senior General Manager, arranged for the special surprise for everyone, and we were only too happy to enjoy refreshing ice-creams with a chocolate flake. Happy summer days! 

Our residents enjoyed two delightful outings in our home’s minibus. We visited the charming Hampshire Pantry in Winchester, savouring coffee and homemade cakes in a cosy setting. We also ventured to Rhinefield in the New Forest, where we shared tea from our flask and indulged in ice cream amidst towering trees. These adventures showcase the vibrant, person-centred lifestyle at Shawford Springs, creating joyful memories for our community.

Everyone at Westergate House was delighted to take part in ‘Get Barchester Moving Week’, the annual charity challenge, in aid of the Barchester Foundation. There was a range of activities in place to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy movement, exercise and to feel fabulous.

As well as our weekly regular exercise class, we enjoyed a visit from a local yoga instructor who delivered yoga sessions across all of our communities.

We tuned into a live event, which explained the merits of engaging in gentle exercise on a regular basis, and also took part in Seated Sports from local fitness experts Rise Life. We couldn’t wait to hear their tips on how to improve our mobility and movement.

With all this activity and stretching out, we went head-to-head with our sister home, Marriott House and Lodge Care Home - Barchester Healthcare on exercise bikes to see whether Westergate or Marriott could win the challenge of the most miles cycled. A fabulous team effort by everyone at Westergate House! 

We have bright shiny new wheels! Our new replacement mini-bus arrived this week and we can’t wait to take a first trip.  Lee, Lifestyles Lead at the home, already has several trips planned over the next few weeks; plenty of opportunity to visit the local community and enjoy the early summer sunshine.  

Paul, our Senior General Manager, took to the driving seat for a dry run, ‘She runs like a dream.  We are looking forward to many happy excursions.’

We have been doing lots of exercise activities from sports in the garden, to a live exercise class that was broadcast to all Barchester homes, movement to music, walking laps in the garden and activities that encourage arm movements using the Digital table.

Physical activity is part of our weekly regime here at Kingfisher Lodge. We encourage physical activity in many forms. We understand the individual needs of each resident and what people are able to achieve may vary. Most of all it’s about having fun while keeping our bodies as mobile as possible.  

What a fantastic time we had at Chalfont Lodge with Andy's amazing 50s, 60s, and 70s show on the decking! The residents loved every moment, singing along to classics like "Stand By Me!" 

It was a wonderful way to bring everyone together for some fun and nostalgia. Refreshments were also available for everyone!

Our residents recently enjoyed a delightful morning at Lepe Beach in the New Forest. A group of our ladies savored tea and homemade cakes at the seaside café, taking in breathtaking views of the Isle of Wight. They then strolled along the shore, basking in the fresh sea breeze and scenic beauty. These outings highlight the vibrant, person-centred lifestyle at Shawford Springs, where we create cherished memories for our community.

Here’s just a few pictures of our successful Summer Fete at Paternoster house yesterday, Saturday 5th July.

Everyone had a fabulous time dancing, enjoying our BBQ, drinking, having a look around the stalls and buying items from the stall holders.

We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who attended, also to all the lovely stall holders from our local community and Colin & his rock n roll friends musical entertainer for all your support and hard work for making it a successful day.

What a beautiful outing our residents and staff enjoyed today! We had the pleasure of meeting a couple of friendly Irish Wolf Hounds on our walk around Rickmansworth Lake. 

The weather was perfect, we stayed refreshed with iced drinks, and spotted some lovely wildlife along the way! 

we sent out a Facebook post to the community to help us with our classic car show and our amazing community did just that.
The beautiful cars that arrived by the dozen ranged from a 1934 American REO to a bright red Ferrari and every other car in between including an MG, Ford Popular, a Chevy Bel Air, a Morris Minor and many more.

For two hours we managed to bring so many residents out to see the cars and meet the owners, many of them recognised cars they learned to drive in!

Our resident Tony admired the spitfire as he owned them throughout his life, “it just makes me want to take it out for a spin in the country like I used to”, he said.  

Another Resident, Harry, cheered with Glee saying “it’s so beautiful” when he saw the bright red Triumph, then shed a happy tear when he noticed a classic mini, “that’s my old car” he said. Two of our Ladies Sheila and Diane enjoyed the more modern and very shiny Ferrari and luxury Bentley that came along “Very classy like us” Sheila said with a huge Grin. 

The much awaited evening of the Rutland Morris performing to our home. This has been in the diary for a year (it isn’t even guaranteed to get a yearly performance, because they are just that busy covering events across the county, sharing their talents with so many). A few residents chose to brave the elements (yes, in June, there were elements!) and be seated outside for the performance, but for most, they were seated in the Garden Lounge, with large windows overlooking the evening entertainment. 

The Rutland Morris made introductions and shared information to all residents throughout the evening, the attires filled the home with colour and jangles and with the dancers we didn’t know which way to look, there was so much to watch. For those, where the event wasn’t accessible, or they were too tired from the day’s events, the care-team put on Morris Dancing on the screens across the home. Rutland Morris filled our Main Lounge following, taking the time to join our home for refreshments and to speak with our residents and staff. Now, I just need a staff member to join the folk dance group, as a way in to get regular bookings, any takers?!

We came together on Sunday to have a day to celebrate our diversity "Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself" and inclusivity "Pride is for everyone." The home has been decorated in hearts (I really don't want to take these down!) All of our staff came together in their colours (don't they look fabulous!) and we used edible pens to decorate our biscuits, which everyone, residents and staff were able to enjoy. Literature was printed, including pride activity books, pride picture quizzes and pride true or false quizzes. 

Lots of 1-1s were logged by our carer-team, who took the time to sit down with residents alongside the literature and have meaningful interactions and discussions surrounding ‘Pride;’ to ensure deeper context is provided besides colour flooding our home. Residents praised the staff, with lots of compliments, in seeing what their staff team look like in regular clothes as opposed to their tunics. A huge well done to the staff-team at Tixover for celebrating diversity not just for the month of pride month, but by being exemplary of celebrating differences on every date of the diary. 

We saw the return of Wittering Community Choir to our home, passing a Sunday afternoon singing uplifting songs to our residents, staff and lots of weekend visitors in our Main Lounge. A particular highlight was when the room was split into three parts each singing different parts to a song, including ‘I’m good, I’m good, I’m feeling good,’ I found myself singing all three parts, but it honestly didn’t matter, it was so interactive and ‘bouncy.’ 

The atmosphere was joyful and full of energy, including Pharrell Williams – Happy, ‘Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth, clap along if you know what happiness is to you.’ We simply adore the community contacts we have to our home and are always looking for new connections; adding to the varied nature of our life enrichment programme. 

With it being picnic week, we got together with our sister home Werrington Lodge, for a trip to Ferry Meadows for a picnic. 

We played some games and flew kites. Our residents enjoyed chatting with each other and swapping stories, It was a wonderful afternoon.

We had the pleasure of Having a visit from Gorefield alpacas who brought the wonderful boys with them, our residents were loving every minute, feeding and stroking and learning about all their Alpacas. 

The afternoon was a wonderful experience and we look forward to seeing them again in September. thank you for a wonderful afternoon Gorefield Alpacas. 

We Held the first of our blue light breakfast , and had the pleasure of having breakfast with the lovely firefighters from Red Watch at Dogsthorpes Firehouse. Our residents enjoyed sharing their breakfast table, eating, and chatting about life at Longueville. 

They then had a demonstration of some of the amazing equipment used. Red Watch then enjoyed a tour of our home and met residents and staff. 

We look forward to having them back again in the near future.

The ladies in our care basked in the warm sunshine, savoring the delightful experience of afternoon tea in the garden. Laughter and chatter filled the air as they enjoyed an array of fragrant teas accompanied by freshly baked scones and delicate pastries.

Surrounded by blooming flowers and the gentle rustle of leaves, each sip and bite became a cherished moment, fostering connections and joy among friends. The serene atmosphere was a perfect backdrop for creating beautiful memories together. 

Over Father’s Day weekend we celebrated Fathers, Father figures, Step Fathers and all the wonderful men in our lives. The activities team treated our gentlemen to a selection of gifts including sweet treats, cold beverages and plants. 

We welcomed families and friends to join their loved ones for afternoon tea and celebrated throughout the home.

It was our first boat trip of the season, and we were taken for a leisurely cruise up the river by the Kingfisher Medway Trust at Wateringbury. 

Residents took in the scenic views of the beautiful Kent countryside while enjoying afternoon tea including homemade cake on board the boat. Our residents enjoyed reminiscing and feeding the swans and ducks on the river. A memorable time was had by all and we are looking forward to our next trip.

What a beautiful day for a trip out to the amazing Hitchin Lavender, with is fields fresh lavender for our residents to meander around. The sun shone making it just the perfect day!

We also stopped off for a well deserved drink at the Plume and Feathers pub in Hitchin, where we even met some chickens before we heading back home to share across the Paternoster communities the luscious lavender we'd collected.

We celebrated National Volunteers Week by saying a big thank you to all of our volunteers, especially Lis, our Anna Chaplain from Newington Church who has supported Newington Court for number of years. We thank Lis for her commitment, hard work, and dedication in supporting our residents to continue to follow their faith, by holding Church Services, and offering Holy Communion for residents within our home. Lis is a great listener and brings a sense of calm, peace and kindness to residents, their families and staff alike.

We would also like to recognise Sharon and Caroline, who have also become valued weekly visitors for our residents. These wonderful ladies not only support Lis and offer companionship and prayers with our residents, but also more recently have been volunteering at our monthly Community Craft Club! Our volunteers are much loved by our residents.

On a delightful evening, our Ladies n Memory Lane community , particularly the spirited ladies, embarked on a joyful outing to the local pub for dinner. With smiles lighting up their faces, they reminisced about fond memories as they walked together, their camaraderie evident in every shared laugh. 

Once seated, they ordered large glasses of gin and tonic, the refreshing drinks bringing a sparkle to their eyes. As they enjoyed their meals, the atmosphere buzzed with stories of days gone by, each sip of their drinks accompanied by the warmth of friendship and the joy of living in the moment. 

Pet therapy sessions with kittens have brought a wave of joy and comfort to our residents with dementia. As the soft, playful furballs scamper around, their gentle purring and affectionate nuzzles evoke smiles and spark cherished memories. 

Interacting with the kittens not only provides emotional support but also stimulates the senses, prompting laughter and warmth in the room. These furry companions create a soothing environment, fostering connection and engagement, reminding everyone of the simple pleasure that animals can bring to our lives.