Activities at Laurel Bank Care Home

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Laurel Bank were invited to a virtual tour and talk about the wonders of Hereford Cathedral led by a team of staff and volunteers who look after the magnificent cathedral building.

Hereford is home to one of the oldest cathedrals in England.  The site of the cathedral has been a place of worship since the 8th Century, the date the cathedral was founded is thought to be 696 and religious services have taken place since medieval times. 

Residents were invited to join the team from Hereford Cathedral as they were given a glimpse of the spectacular building and its treasures as they were taken on a tour of the site. From the stunning gardens which lead down to the River Wye, to the Mappa Mundi and Chained Library, the virtual visit shared the history and beauty of the historic building.

As part of National Volunteers’ Week, we spent some time acknowledging the fantastic contribution that volunteers make to our community.

To recognise our hard-working volunteers and to say thank you, we prepared goody bags along with certificates to be delivered to our local volunteers’ organisations as a token of appreciation including our beloved PAT dog, Aggy and her owner Jo.

We’ve had many volunteers throughout the years and we are grateful for all they have done and continue doing for us and we’ve been lucky this week to interview for volunteers from Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Lancaster Girls Grammar School as part of our residents befriending service. Thank you.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Laurel Bank in Lancaster were treated to an exciting live streaming tour of Knowsley Safari, hosted by Engagement Assistant, Verity Dann.

Knowsley Safari has been welcoming visitors for 50 years since it opened in July 1971.  Situated in the Knowsley area of Merseyside, the safari park is home to 750 animals on a 550 acre site, it boasts the longest safari drive in the UK.

Verity’s workshop took a peek behind the scenes at Knowsley to find out what it is really like to work in such a demanding yet rewarding world.  Residents discovered what a day in the life of a keeper entails from feeding time with the giraffes and meerkats through to training sessions and everything in between.  Verity explained some of the conservation projects that Knowsley Safari is involved with and how this is positively affecting some of the world’s most endangered species.

Bring me sunshine! What a beautiful day for a trip to the seaside, now that we are able to take residents out we took Janet and Vera for a lovely walk down Morecambe promenade, stopping at The Midland hotel for a tasty hot chocolate. Everyone had a great time and we can’t wait to do it all again!

There were so many happy faces today when we welcomed our PAT dog Aggie back into Laurel Bank for the first time since last February. We took Aggie room to room to make sure everyone that wanted to see her go the chance and she look just about as happy as we are!’

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Laurel Bank Care Home in Lancaster were treated to an interactive virtual floristry masterclass courtesy of Master Florist, Michal Kowalski, from Blooming Haus. 

Blooming Haus started with a small pop-up shop in Chelsea.  They have since blossomed spectacularly on to the floristry scene as ‘floral engineers’, carving themselves an outstanding reputation as one of the UK’s most innovative floral design studios. The company is the vision of Master Florist, Michal Kowalski and his business partner, Michael Dariane. The pair bring a completely fresh approach to floristry and their ambition to push the boundaries of traditional floristry has laid the foundations of Blooming Haus’ success to date.

Residents and staff were invited to gather together flowers and foliage chosen by themselves and follow Michal’s demonstration to create their own displays.  Residents’ arrangements will be entered into a Facebook competition judged by Michal and Michael to win Love2Shop vouchers.