Activities at Cumberland Grange Care Home

We are super proud of staff members Bob & Chris who joined the Tour de Barchester peloton on the first day of this year’s event, as they started off on their 276 miles journey from Exeter to Purley

To show our appreciation for their effort and support for Barchester’s Charitable Foundation event, they were presented with a commemorative medal and water bottle holder.

Well done Team Cumberland!

Being outdoors in the fresh air when the weather is this glorious, is such as simple pleasure and our weekly gardening club allows residents to be involved as much, or as little as they please.

Whilst some people are fairly active and get involved in potting, digging our raised beds, planting and pruning, others simply enjoy being outdoors and watching what’s going on in our lovely sheltered garden.

This week it was time for planting out some more of our seed grown fruit and veggie plants, to add alongside our sweet tasting strawberries and courgette plants which are flowering nicely.

Taking advantage of the glorious sunshine we’ve been experiencing this week we welcomed members from Ottery St Mary Scout Group who joined us all for a picnic tea, as a fantastic way of continuing to bridge the gap between the older and younger generations

Our residents were really interested to learn about everything that the group do at Scouts, and particularly about all of the badges they proudly displayed on their uniforms. All of the scouts spent time with our residents individually, explaining what they needed to do to achieve these awards, and it seems that some of the more traditional badges haven’t changed much since a couple of residents were Scouts themselves!

The enjoyment and interaction shown by everyone was fantastic and we hope to welcome the scout group back into our home again very soon.

Congratulations to our wonderful resident Viv on being selected as one of the winners in this year’s #BarchesterPets competition, a nationwide event where residents in care homes up and down the country competed for the chance of winning the prize of a  £100 gift voucher.

Residents were asked to put on their creative hats and write a story or a poem about a favourite pet as part of a reminiscence session. Viv wrote her original story, based on memories and memorable experiences that she shared with her dog, called Baron, and it certainly sounds as if they had the most remarkable relationship.

Viv was absolutely thrilled that her story had been chosen as a winner and quite rightly so! With 250 care homes in the Barchester portfolio across the country and a large number of entries for this competition, her win is even more special to everyone here at Cumberland Grange!

Well done Viv – we are all so thrilled for you with your win and for continuing to be a real inspiration to us all with your wonderful stories and poetry.

National Carers Week Celebrations

We’ve had a fantastic week recognising all the truly amazing members of our care team here at Cumberland Grange during this year’s National Carers Week. We are so proud of all of our carers and we wanted to say a huge thank you, for everything they do to help, support and enhance the daily lives of all of our residents.

What has made it even more special is that our residents have been holding a daily poll to vote for their carer of the day, highlighting one individual has who gone above and beyond with their outstanding levels of support and care. All of our daily winners were presented with flowers and certificates in recognition of their achievements. Congratulations to all - we really appreciate everything that you do to make our home such a happy and welcoming place every single day.

Cumberland Grange were delighted to host the start of this year’s Tour de Barchester bike ride in support of the Barchester Charitable Foundation. Following on from the great success of last year’s inaugural event, the 4 day cycle ride will wind its way from Exeter, then along the south coast and finally arriving in Purley, south London this Friday, a total of 278 miles

Along with cyclists from the Tour de Barchester core riding team, our very own staff members – Head of Maintenance, Bob and Chef Chris were also lined up on the start line for the initial stage ride down to Exmouth.

All cyclists were waved through a magnificent balloon arch as they started off on their long ride to cheers and applause from both residents and staff members and there was even a special bubble machine and music to add to the uplifting atmosphere.

Good luck everyone!