Celebrating life at Barchester

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.”

Hazel Lodge has joined forces with other volunteers and businesses to help Battle Poppy Appeal turn the town red with poppies to mark Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day 2025.

11th November signifies the signing of the Armistice Day agreement on the day that the guns finally fell silent at the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, of the eleventh month. As well as wearing poppies, sharing memories and observing the national two-minute silence, residents and staff have been busy over the past few weeks transforming plastic bottles into beautiful red poppies that can be found decorating roundabouts and other communal areas around the town of Battle.

Kieran and Deborah Doyle from Battle Poppy Appeal, said “Sharon and the team made hundreds of amazing plastic poppies for the town. True Community spirit. We couldn’t recommend Hazel Lodge more highly.”

Sharon Ward, Home Services Advisor at Hazel Lodge, said: “It is very important that we keep the memories of those who fought alive and that we also think about those involved in conflicts around the world today. We’ve loved being able to support Kieran and the Battle Poppy Appeal and to see our small contribution come together in remembrance with the other amazing Poppy displays around the town.”
 

We had such a lovely afternoon when the Battle Rainbows ( Girl Guides) came to see us recently . We heard all about the things they've been doing and they even treated us to a little song they've been learning . Many of our residents were able to tell their own story of being in the Girl Guides . The Rainbows are the youngest of the Guides being between 4-7 years old and do fun activities such as singing, games and making things . The residents loved chatting to the girls and we can't wait to see them again soon.

Celebrations have been in full swing recently when we had the absolute pleasure of celebrating a very special resident's 104th birthday at Hazel Lodge.

Edith Walker – known fondly as Pat, was joined by her daughter Jane and other relatives for a special birthday lunch prepared by the hospitality team at the home .

Pat who was born in 1921 grew up in Mansfield, Nottingham and went into the RAF as a WAAF RT Operator during the war. Stationed near to Ipswich Pat found life very different to living with her parents but took it all in her stride learning new things. When the war came to an end Pat was transferred to West Malling in Kent where she met her future husband who was an aircraft fitter in the RAF and had served in Africa during the war. Shortly after meeting the couple married and lived with Pat’s Mother-in-law for a few years before moving to Burwash where they had their beautiful daughter Jane. Pat had many happy years at home where later Jane cared for her before making the move to Hazel Lodge in 2023.

After lunch, Pat was joined by local members of RAF, residents and staff as they toasted her milestone birthday and enjoyed a slice of cake made for an extraordinary and very special lady.