Celebrating life at Barchester

Here at Archview Lodge, we got into the spooky Halloween spirit by hosting a fun-filled party in the evening with delicious Halloween-inspired treats, mocktails and themed music. 

With the best dress competition with great prizes. We all had a spooktacular time.         

We had a wonderful time celebrating National Baking Week, getting hands-on with baking sessions with our Chef Ahmet, decorating cakes and testing different recipes. We all enjoyed sampling the delicious treats together.   

Today we celebrated World Animal Day and learnt interesting facts about various animals and how we can improve their welfare. To make things even more interesting we had a lovely visit from Kasia who is our administrator her son Elliot who bring his two friendly guinea pigs Cotton and Popcorn. 

It was a fun-filled day, enjoyed by all.     

Our residents enjoy showing their artistic flair and being creative in our regular craft classes. We used recycled products and a bright colourful mix of paints to make a firework display for bonfire night.

The finished products were lovely and our residents displayed them for everyone to see. Our residents enjoy the sessions as they enjoy sharing ideas and enjoying time together.  

What a dazzling afternoon at Vecta House as residents and staff celebrated World Opera Day! The atmosphere was full of glamour and anticipation as we welcomed the incredibly talented opera singer Annalisa Vaughan, Opera Singer and Voice Coach and pianist Alan Nicholls.

Everyone was absolutely mesmerised by Annalisa's beautiful voice! She performed some wonderfully familiar songs that brought back fond memories for our residents. It was a truly spectacular show! Take a look at the photos from our special opera performance below!          

Our monthly intergenerational dance class was a huge success as always. We celebrated Bills birthday with the little movers and Stanley nursery. Bill  was thrilled to be serenaded with the children singing happy birthday.

Our residents and children had lots of fun as we sang along and danced to the music with pompoms and colourful scarfs.

This is a favourite activity which our residents always look forward to.    

What a truly magnifique (magnificent) afternoon our residents enjoyed celebrating World Ballet Day! We were treated to a special, interactive performance that was both graceful and educational. A huge thank you to the talented dance teacher, Miss Ann, and her student, Hope, who guided us through the world of ballet. We learnt that the names of all the beautiful positions, like Plié (to bend) and Arabesque (a pose on one leg), are all in French!  

A Lesson in Grace. The residents got to see real Pointe shoes up close and asked Miss Ann lots of interesting questions about her dancing.

The best part? At the end, Miss Ann demonstrated simple, elegant arm movements—like moving from a gentle Bras Bas (low arms) to First Position (arms rounded in front)—and everyone happily joined in!
It was a fantastic session of music, learning, and elegant movement. We are so grateful to Miss Ann and Hope for sharing their passion with us and for a wonderful afternoon of dance!  

We at Vecta House Care Home want to send a massive thank you to our incredible families, and staff who donated to our recent pet food collection for Friends of the Animals Charity Shop – 123 Pyle Street, Newport. 

We were absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of generous donations we received—you truly opened your hearts (and pantries!) for the local animals in need.

When we delivered the food, the team at Friends of the Animals was incredibly grateful and so thankful for your support. These donations will make a huge difference in keeping bellies full and tails wagging! Thank you again for helping us support such a worthy cause. Your kindness is an inspiration!     

We had an absolutely delightful day today at Vecta House, thanks to a very special visit from the incredibly kind and talented Christopher Hayton.

Chris delivered a beautiful, personalised garden trough for our residents to enjoy and get their green fingers working. This wonderful gesture alone would have brightened our day, but Chris went above and beyond! He put on his fantastic chipmunk costume and brought so much laughter and joy to our residents with his visit! We're still smiling!   

Did you know Chris makes these amazing garden troughs to raise donations for mental health charities? What a fantastic cause! Chris is a true community champion and has won several accolades for his efforts, including the recent Gold Award for Recycling Project of the Year and Silver for Community Project of the Year!

From all the residents and staff at Vecta House, we send a huge thank you to Chris for his generosity, creativity, and for making today so memorable. We wish him all the very best for his future projects!