Celebrating life at Barchester

The home in partnership with Dementia Forward, hosted a special edition dementia coffee morning during Dementia Action Week, aiming to raise awareness of dementia.

The theme of the event was ‘Don’t keep Dementia Under Your Hat’ in which Dementia Forward hosted events in and around Yorkshire to raise awareness and support for those living with dementia.

Residents and visitors to the event, wore their best and brightest hats with pride as they came together to enjoy a morning of good company, laughter and conversation, whilst enjoying a selection of sweet treats and refreshments. 

For the fifth year running, staff from Barchester Healthcare’s care homes and hospitals took on a gruelling cycling challenge, this time from Thurso to Edinburgh.  Their aim was to raise money for Barchester’s Charitable Foundation, which supports older people and other adults living with a disability or mental health conditions by helping them to connect or re-connect with others in their local communities. Set up in 2000, this year marks the Foundation’s 26th year, supporting individuals, community groups and small charities all across the country.

Over four days, from May 19th to 22nd, a team of Barchester staff cycled over 200 miles from Thurso, through Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee to Edinburgh and finally Glasgow, stopping at 16 care homes across Barchester’s Scotland & North East division to meet well-wishers, have a well-earned break and refuel before continuing on their way.

South Grange had the pleasure of hosting our Barchester Cyclists who are taking part in the Tour De Barchester. The cyclists were welcomed in true Scottish style by a bagpiper and drummer. Before being served a delicious breakfast spread prepared by our chef and kitchen team. The cyclists rested, fuelled up and chatted to residents and staff before being piped on their way again.

Our residents had a wonderful train journey around Peterborough, and they thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. We departed from Wansford Station and made several stops through Nene Valley and Ferry Meadows.

The natural scenery outside the windows was absolutely stunning. We could spot geese swimming in the water, sheep relaxing on the grass and deer chasing each other in the fields. The journey sparked many happy memories for our residents. They reminisced about past train journeys, as well as the days when they used to go fishing and walking in these very places.          

Residents and staff at Waterside Court enjoyed a fascinating and interactive World Bee Day celebration with special guests Yvonne and Rodger, local beekeepers from the community. The visit gave residents a wonderful opportunity to learn about honey bees and the important role they play in nature. 

During the talk and demonstration, residents were able to see real honey bees up close and even identify the queen bee. Yvonne and Rodger shared interesting facts about beekeeping, how bees produce honey, and the importance of protecting bee populations. 
Residents also had the chance to taste delicious fresh local honey, which was a lovely highlight of the visit.              

The visit created a real buzz around the home, bringing smiles, knowledge and a unique hands-on experience for everyone involved. 

Our community all joined together to celebrate the wonderful nurses who work in our home and around the community. We also recognised and appreciated our fabulous residents, who were also nurses. 

Nurses, thank you for everything you do for us, your patience, kindness, hard work and long hours certainly don’t go unnoticed, and we appreciate you!

We were also joined by Dr Akinola for a special talk on the NHS and the impact of our nurses!     

Residents and staff had a joyful time visiting the Donkey Sanctuary in Wallingford in the beautiful sunshine. We enjoyed exploring the farm and meeting some donkeys… and a couple of friendly goats! 

To top off the trip, we also enjoyed refreshments outside and watching the farm in action! There certainly was never a dull moment at the sanctuary!   

Today one of our fabulous residents took a trip down Memory Lane and got the opportunity to ‘pull a pint’. This brought back many memories of her time serving the locals and making sure the good folk of Lewisham were watered.

As the sun decided to pop out, we treated ourselves to a pub lunch and a glass of fizz. Magical Memories Made!  

To celebrate the Chelsea Flower Show at Rivermead Care Home, we decided to do some flower arranging of our own. With some beautiful flowers of all different types and colours, our residents were thrilled to see and smell them.

The colours and scents brought back some lovely memories of their own gardens. They were choosing the flowers that meant something to them and arranging them in vases which were then placed around the home for everyone to enjoy. A blooming good time had by all.        

Our resident's family let us know their fondness for birds and bird watching, so we arranged an outing specific for this gentleman. It was great as the day we planned was the day the ospreys were due to hatch (coincidence not activities planned unfortunately). 

We enjoyed an informative talk on arrival and had refreshments. On return to home, we are broadcasting the live feed from Rutland Water to keep an eye on the Ospreys hatching (it has become quite addictive to follow).