Activities at Austen House Care Home

Austen House have recently hosted an Intergenerational Playgroup for residents and members of the local community. The event welcomed the Thrive Early Years & Intergenerational Childcare  group led by Joe and Rebecca and the group of mums and their toddlers who live locally as well as carers with babies to enjoy music, games and activities with residents at the home. The Intergenerational Playgroup is a long term project which will continue to take place at Austen House every Friday.

The group of mums and toddlers also enjoyed sing along with residents to their favourite songs such as “You are my Sunshine”, “Che Sera, Sera” and Nursery Rhymes. The catering team at the care home provide a selection of healthy snacks and refreshments on the day.

We all had a lovely time and it was so wonderful to see the interaction between the generations.

Our resident, Valerie had always wanted to play with The Salvation Army band again, so staff at the home set about making her wish a reality.

We were delighted to be a part of making her dream come true, as we knew how much it meant to her, and we all wanted to be there to see the smile on Valerie's face when her dream was realised.

Iuliana, Activities Coordinator, first found out about Valerie's dream when Valerie was reminiscing about how she loved to play in a band in her youth and ever since then, she has been dedicated to helping Valerie achieve her goal. 

Valerie' s father was a Band Master in the Salvation Army when she was born, and Valerie has always considered herself to be part of the band too. At the age of 7 she started learning to play the cornett, she fell in love with this musical instrument and never gave it up.

Iuliana and Valerie's daughter Vanessa made arrangements for Valerie to go to the Salvation Army on Oxford Road and play the cornett with the band again. Valerie had a brilliant time, she loved being back with her friends and said: "I never thought that I would be here with all of you today."

Valerie was over the moon and would like to thank everyone who organised this wonderful surprise for her.

Residents and guests at Austen House enjoyed an afternoon of grins with a live music performance that took place at the home. Local group, Reading West Choir performed a selection of Gospel songs/Hymns that they regularly perform in the Seventh – Day Adventist Church.

It was a magical hour of singing from our local community choir who treated our residents to their huge repertoire of music.

With lots of chatting and laughter to accompany the music, it left everyone happy and smiling into the weekend.

Staff, residents, relatives and the local community came together at Austen House to enjoy our annual Summer Fete on 12th August.

Even though the weather wasn't perfect, it couldn't stop us from enjoying delicious BBQ and cakes prepared by our head chef and his team, refreshments, cocktails and live entertainment from the amazing Gary.

It was a really special day with lots of laughter and fun!

Residents at Austen House enjoyed a minibus trip to Henry Street Garden Centre. 

We had a great time admiring and smelling the beautiful flowers and were delighted to see and feed the colourful fish.

Austen House organise regular minibus trips and our residents really enjoy finding new places to visit.

Brian, a resident at Austen House , had always wanted to go fishing again, so staff at the home set about making his wish a reality.

Brian has lived at Austen House since January 2023 and is beloved by staff and residents alike. Staff at the home were delighted to be a part of making his dream come true, as they knew how much it meant to him, and they all wanted to be there to see the smile on Brian’s face when his dream was realised.

Chris Rees, Head of Maintenance, first found out about Brian’s dream in March when Brian was reminiscing about past fishing trips and, ever since then, he has been dedicated to helping Brian achieve his goal. 

Chris and Daniel from the homes Maintenance team made arrangements for Brian to get out and fish at Ashmoore Lakes, near Old Basing and the hospitality team arranged for a packed lunch for them. Realising they had a good day for it and keen to head out for their fishing trip, Brian, Chris and Daniel got ready early on a Friday morning and set off with their bag full of fishing gear. Brian caught and hooked several different fish such as common and mirror carp during the day out. Brian had a great time, he loved being back by the water with his fishing rod in hand.

In response to this wonderful surprise, Brian said: It is such an amazing feeling to know that such a lovely group of people care so much about me that they helped me to live out a dream and go fishing again. I absolutely loved it, nothing beats a day spent fishing it reminded me of so many other fantastic days I have spent by the water over the years. It is good for the soul. I am so grateful to everyone who helped make it happen.