Celebrating life at Barchester

Residents at Tandridge Heights recently enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of autumnal flower arranging, creating beautiful seasonal displays to brighten their rooms and celebrate the colours of the season. The activity provided residents with an opportunity to get creative, arrange a variety of flowers and foliage, and enjoy time together in a relaxed and sociable setting. 

Flower arranging offers a range of benefits, including encouraging creativity and self-expression, supporting hand-eye coordination and dexterity, and promoting relaxation and wellbeing. It can also provide valuable opportunities for conversation and social connection.   

Resident Jean was delighted with her finished arrangement, commenting: “It was so lovely, and it really brightens up my room.”

We recently enjoyed exploring our local history with a visit to the Museum of Technology.

The journey began with lots of fun on our minibus as everyone chatted excitedly about what we were going to see and explore. Our residents truly admired the stunning museum, which tells the interesting story of the evolution and development of technology from 1830 to 1980.

We were given an interesting talk about the A & B telephone and the working telephone exchange, which sparked many lovely stories and memories among our residents.

Billy particularly enjoyed looking at the rifles and was amazed at how big they were. He also enjoyed seeing the army jeep and tank.

What a fantastic Friday at the home! We have been delighted to welcome more new faces and wonderful additions to our home.

There was certainly no need for our new residents, loved ones, and families to worry about settling in — our warm welcome, caring atmosphere, and friendly faces helped everyone feel right at home from the very start.

Our live entertainment brought the home to life, with laughter, singing, and music echoing through the foyer. The room was full of smiles and joy, and we even had the pleasure of witnessing some fantastic dancing skills!

It was a lovely opportunity to come together, make new memories, and celebrate the newest members of our home. We are so pleased to have you with us and look forward to many more happy moments together! 

What can you do with a large collection of buttons? Our residents demonstrated their creativity in a recent craft club, when they selected buttons to produce amazing artwork to decorate their rooms. 

We decided to host a beach day as our residents love the seaside, from sand castles, cocktails, hooking the duck and a dip in the pool while enjoying ice cream.    

We were delighted to welcome our new pet therapy dog Bess to Woodside. Our resident had a wonderful time meeting their new four – legged friend with plenty of smiles, cuddles and gentle strokes.

Animal visits bring so much joy, comfort and companionship, and it was lovely to see the happiness our new visitor brought to everyone.

We were so grateful to Cycling Without Age for giving our residents at Waterside Court Care Home the chance to enjoy the magic of BunkFest! From live music and dancing to watching the fantastic Morris dancers, enjoying ice creams and soaking up the atmosphere, it was a day full of joy and wonderful memories. 

But the highlight was seeing our wonderful resident Peter take to the BunkFest stage and play the drums! 
Peter used to be a drummer, so watching him reconnect with a passion that has always been such a special part of his life was truly unforgettable. Seeing his joy and pride as he played was a moment we will treasure.

A huge thank you to Cycling Without Age for helping make these precious memories possible — and a very special well done to Peter!

What a great success for another year!

Our resident, friends and families summer barbecue. From a miniature donkey to a wonderful music performance of sunset steel pan band and a barbecue made by our hospitality team. As always, we all came together.        

As we age, factors like financial constraints, health challenges or social inequalities can create barriers to connecting people with places and events that have helped shape their lives. This can lead to social isolation or despair and block their ability to age with hope and joy. At Tyspane Care Home we are changing this, one wish at a time.

Pat, a resident at Tyspane Care Home, had been telling stories of hosting cheese and wine evenings in her youth and then dancing to jazz music with her beloved husband. She remembered preparing the cheese and pineapple, lining up the cocktail sticks, slicing the celery (every piece being the exact size), and creating a perfect cheese board for her guests. Pat describes her earlier days as blessed. She would often entertain, visit shows, restaurants and theatres with her husband.      

To support her life story, Tyspane Care Home hosted a Cheese and Wine evening in her honour. The room was thoughtfully dressed to mimic how she would entertain in her youthful days, dressed pineapples were prepared and took centre stage, whilst Jonathan played jazz music to remind Pat of her dancing days.

The evening was a joyful one, full of chatter, dancing and laughter.  The atmosphere was warm, inviting, and comfortable.

Thank you to everyone who made this event possible, and never forget it’s important to dream!