Activities at Marnel Lodge Care Home

We marked International Nurses Day with a heartfelt celebration of the incredible nursing team here at Marnel Lodge Care Home.

Residents created beautiful handmade cards filled with personal messages, and our kitchen team cooked up a special treat to say thank you. Each nurse also received a small gift, but it was the love and gratitude behind it all that truly made the day special.

One resident, Joan, summed it up perfectly: “The nurses here feel like family—they look after us so well.”

A big thank you to Jeanne, our wonderful volunteer, for her generous donation of plants to our gardening club! She kindly provided tomatoes, peas, red and white onions, and a lovely selection of herbs. Jeanne mentioned she would have brought even more, but space is currently limited — so the veggies are sharing their raised bed with the fruit for now, until the rest of the beds are ready.

We have also sown some carrot seeds, and several residents got stuck in helping to build a frame to support the fruit netting. The netting is doing a vital job protecting our fruit bushes from hungry insects and birds.

It’s been wonderful to see everyone getting involved — here’s to a bountiful and colourful season ahead!

Phil—one of our wonderful volunteers at Marnel Lodge Care Home—accompanied resident Ian to An Evening with Simon Reeve: To the Ends of the Earth at The Anvil Theatre.

Ian had spotted the event on a previous visit and expressed a keen interest in attending. Thanks to our dedicated Activities Team, tickets and transport were arranged for both gentlemen to enjoy the show.
Ian shared that it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening—and we hear there may have been a favourite tipple involved during the interval too!

At Marnel Lodge, we love creating opportunities that are personal and meaningful. If your loved one has a special wish or interest, please let our Activities Team know—we’ll always do our best to make it happen.

Our latest canal boat outing was a great success – this time it was the gentlemen's turn to enjoy a relaxing cruise from Odiham towards Winchfield.

With calm waters and beautiful scenery, the trip offered the perfect setting for a leisurely afternoon. Chef treated everyone to warm Cornish pasties, which were happily washed down with cold beers and refreshing juices. Barry, our knowledgeable volunteer skipper, shared fascinating facts about the boat and the history of the canal. The residents were full of curiosity, asking plenty of questions and keeping the conversation flowing throughout the journey.

The gents returned with big smiles and said how much they had enjoyed the day – a truly uplifting experience for all involved. 

The afternoon was absolutely amazing as a group of residents from Marnel Lodge enjoyed a special visit to Basingstoke College of Technology. We received a warm welcome from Fi, the staff, and the students, who all went out of their way to make the experience memorable.

The ladies particularly loved their time in the college hair salon, where they were pampered and had their hair done beautifully. We were then treated to a delightful afternoon tea, joined by none other than Anthony Bravo, the Principal of the college. He spoke warmly about the value of students connecting with and giving back to the community.

The sandwiches were lovely, and the cakes were simply divine. Following tea, we joined the Health and Social Care students for a fun session of games, which had everyone smiling and laughing. Fi thanked us for attending and shared how valuable the afternoon had been for the students as a learning experience. She called it a great learning curve and appreciated our patience as the event was a first for them. We felt the whole afternoon was a brilliant success.  

On Thursday mornings, residents from Marnel Lodge Care Home enjoyed a heart-warming visit to Lenny’s Dementia Café, where they were joined by Mark, the vicar of St Leonard’s Church.

This wonderful initiative, run entirely by trained volunteers, offers a welcoming and supportive environment for people living with dementia and their carers. It's a place to relax, share experiences, and connect with others in similar circumstances – and it’s completely free of charge.

Our residents always come away feeling uplifted and valued. During the morning, they enjoyed reminiscing, playing dominoes, decorating cakes, and even taking a gentle stroll around the beautiful grounds with support. As always, we were treated to lovely refreshments and made to feel truly welcome.

Perfectly timed in the middle of a heatwave, staff and residents had a fantastic time celebrating National Ice Cream Day on July 21st, a brilliant excuse to sample lots of cooling treats. Residents experimented with many different types of toppings and flavour combinations, from the exotic to the traditional – sorbets, frozen yoghurt and good old dairy-based ice cream, they tasted and savoured them all.

Staff, residents, relatives and the local community came together to enjoy a community BBQ that was held in the home’s beautiful garden. The hospitality team served a selection of BBQ favourites and delicious refreshments, which were enjoyed by everyone who came to the event. We all enjoyed singing and dancing along to local singer Amanda Parsons who sang a variety of classic hits. Thank you to all those that attended, we raised an amazing £595.45 for our Resident's fund which they will decide in their next meeting how they want to spend the money and to donate some of the proceeds to a local charity.

This Week's Trip Out Was To The Seaside at Bournemouth. The weather was perfect, dry but not too hot. There was a ride up the cliffs via a cable car. The Residents said they had a lovely day.