Activities at Leonard Lodge Care Home

Today, we enjoyed a wonderful ‘Tea with a Pony’ event at Barrow Farm Riding for the Disabled.

We were treated to an impressive display in the arena, where the ponies showcased their talents. From graceful movements to a thrilling canter, as we encouraged them on with our clapping. The ponies were a joy to watch!

Meeting the three stars of the day up close was the highlight of our visit:
Starra - a beautiful chestnut pony, full of grace.
Oural - a gentle grey pony with a calm demeanour.
Nicco - a striking palomino, radiating warmth and charm.

We rewarded their patience and soft, gentle natures with a carrot each, which we had brought along. It was hard to say goodbye but we then enjoyed delicious refreshments and had the opportunity to learn more about this school and its wonderful work.

What a perfect way to end the week with our Christmas Fete!

Our community came together to shop for gifts, buy raffle tickets in aid of local charity SNAP, enjoy hot dogs, and indulge in some festive cheer!

A big thank you to everyone who made it possible, especially our stall holders: Janice and Peter from Remus Horse Sanctuary, Carol, Kerry, Sabina, Gerry, Lauren, John and Angel.

And thanks to everyone who came along for being part of our celebration!

Today, we had the absolute pleasure of enjoying a truly magical Christmas choral concert, beautifully performed by the talented students of Brentwood School. 

Their angelic voices filled the hall with cherished melodies of our favourite Christmas hymns, creating a very festive atmosphere.

As if that wasn’t enough, we were treated to a tasty afternoon tea, making the experience even more special. It was a heart-warming and memorable afternoon, perfectly continuing our festive celebrations here at Leonard Lodge.

Thank you to Brentwood School for sharing your wonderful gift of music with us again!

We enjoyed a lovely visit from year 3 Beech Class from All Saints Church School. 

The children started by singing in the corridor for the residents in their rooms. 

They moved onto the dining room where they did some readings from the Bible and sang some more Christmas carols. 

The children then chatted to the residents, shared their Christmas cards and tree decorations and then visited some residents in rooms. 

The children were a delight and we were thrilled by their visit. 

Thanks to Rev Lisa, the teachers and teaching assistants who made the visit possible.

Residents were pleased to welcome Geoff Rudd from Brentwood Museum to Leonard Lodge in Hutton. Geoff who is a volunteer at the museum gave a fascinating talk about the history of Brentwood starting with the origins of the name Brentwood which was Burnt Wood at one point and  talked about pilgrims passing through Brentwood on the way to Canterbury. 

Some residents have lived in Brentwood for over 50 years and were very interested to hear  about the building of the railway station and that there was even an airport at one time. General manager Fiona Crickmore said everybody really enjoyed the talk and  this sort of activity is made possible through our close links with the local community. 

We hope to visit the museum next year as part of our regular outings programme.

We invited local schools to take part in a portrait competition the subject of which would be a grandparent. We were overwhelmed by the number of entries we received and the residents spent hours sorting through the entries. We originally had 3 categories with 3 winners in each one, but it was so hard to make decisions, that we ended up with 18 winners! We welcomed children from Woodlands school Hutton Manor and St Joseph the Worker primary school, together with parents and grandparents. Our residents were thrilled to spend time with the children who were excited to chat about their pictures and show their grandparents their winning entries. We love getting involved with our local communities and building strong relationships with our neighbours.