Activities at Overslade House Care Home

Violeta Baesu, Senior General Manager at Overslade House Care Home,  completed a sponsored skydive to raise funds for the charity  Myton Hospice. Myton Hospice were urgently appealing to raise £240,000 which could fund the recruitment, training and salary for five registered nurses for a year, to ensure more people in Coventry and Warwickshire can access a Hospice Bed.

The skydive took place on 26th April, at Langar Airfield, where Violeta Baesu took a leap of faith and dived through the clouds in a tandem skydive in honour of the charity, and raised a total of £680  with the support of sponsorship from donations.

Violeta has been a Senior General Manager at Overslade House care home for the last 7 years, but has been at Overslade House for 20 years working her way up from being a carer. Residents, relatives and staff at the home were cheering Violeta on as she aimed to beat her target goal of £500 and surpassed this.

Violeta said: “My goal for taking part in this challenge was to raise awareness of the fantastic job Myton Hospice does for the people and the families they support. Everyone at Overslade House and their friends and relatives have been so supportive and I would like to personally thank each and every one who donated to this cause.   I didn’t know what to expect but it was beautiful up there, it was for such a good cause so that kept me focused. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Residents celebrated V E Day on the 8th May with a lovely service in the morning, conducted by Cecil and Angela from Gift of Years, with some thought-provoking readings and lovely hymns. This was followed by a 2-min silence at midday and hearing the chimes of Big Ben ring out in London. In the afternoon, we had a good old singalong to Lambeth Walk, The Old Bull and Bush. We’ll meet again, and it’s a long way to Tipperary, amongst many others

On the 5th May, residents enjoyed watching the live broadcast of the V E Day celebrations, including the Red Arrows flypast, and also enjoyed V E Day quizzes. In the afternoon, residents, friends and family had a wonderful time listening to some of the members of the Bilton Silver Band playing nostalgic songs and also some fun tunes to singalong to, including “Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler”, which brought a smile to many faces.   Mavis said her grandfather played with the Bilton Silver band and Josie said her husband had also played with the Bilton Silver Band.

A wonderful spread was laid on by Head Chef Corey Leake and Second Chef, Dario Mozzettini, for our street party and flags were waved to Land of Hope and Glory.

The weather was so kind to us at our Spring Fair residents. friends and relatives enjoyed a lovely afternoon basking in glorious sunshine.

Thank you so much to everybody that came to our Spring Fair. Residents, friends and relatives enjoyed listening to the fabulous voice of Neil Richardson whilst eating hotdogs prepared by Head Chef Corey Leake.  The children enjoyed playing skittles, bowls, and enjoyed a little fishing also.  We were pleased to have raised money with our Bric a Brac stall for the Tour de Barchester.

On June 10th, Divisional Sales & Marketing Manager, Amy Melia, will dig out her cycle shoes and literally get on her bike to complete the four-day cycling challenge. Amy is joining a team of Barchester staff to cycle a mammoth 225 miles through Dumfries, Cumbria and Lancashire to Cheshire, stopping at 17 care homes across Barchester’s North West & Midlands division to meet well-wishers, have a well-earned break and refuel before continuing on their way. The team will be cycling in order to raise funds for Barchester’s Charitable Foundation, which helps combat loneliness and isolation.

Amy comments: “This is my first time doing a cycle challenge, and I’m really excited yet terrified to take part. I have been running on and off for years and I absolutely love it, but getting on two wheels is a completely different thing! It’s years since I’ve been on a bike, so wish me luck! I’m hoping to raise lots of money for the Foundation. I know all the staff, residents and relatives at Overslade House Care Home plus my family and friends are behind me and their support plus the money I’m raising will help me go the distance!”

Many thanks also to our stallholders. We look forward to seeing you again in July for our Music Festival.

Overslade House recently presented The Croft Happy Circle with a cheque for £1000. The Happy Circle is a friendly village social club with around 50 or more regular members and have been meeting in Croft for the last 62 years.

The grant had been awarded by Barchester’s Charitable Foundation, a charity that helps older people and adults with a disability or mental health problems across England, Scotland and Wales by offering grants to help people connect or re-connect with others in their local community.

Overslade House welcomed Alan Wing, Secretary/Treasurer for The Croft Happy Circle along with members and committee members to a small gathering in the home with live entertainment and Afternoon Tea to receive the cheque from resident Ambassador Anne Fletcher and celebrate being awarded the grant.

Alan, Secretary/Treasurer, said “We are very grateful for this donation and this will help immensely towards offering outings to people feeling alone or isolated”.

Violeta Baesu, General Manager at Overslade House Care Home, said: “We are always keen to show as much support as we can to local charities. The Croft Happy Circle is close to our hearts as we also try to alleviate the feelings of isolation or loneliness in our home and also for people struggling with mental health. Our doors are always open for people to join us for Afternoon Tea or events and activities.

A huge congratulations to all our Regional Directors who swapped their business suits for aprons and took part in the Charity Cook-Off to raise money for Barchester’s Charitable Foundation!

The competition was fierce, the creativity was outstanding, and the dishes were nothing short of exquisite. From mouth-watering starters to delicious desserts, each team truly impressed the Barchester Executive Board judges, who had the tough job of selecting a winner. 

Thanks to everyone’s efforts and generous support, the teams raised £16,000 to help vulnerable people and those living with disabilities connect with their communities. Overslade House were pleased to have raised £50 towards this amount with their bric a brac stall and guess the sweetie jar and also held a food quiz and live entertainment whilst awaiting the results. Our Divisional Managers won best dessert and personal favourite of CEO Dr. Peter Calveley.

We had so much fun following along with some of the amazing recipes.

Residents at Overslade House started Easter week with Arts and Crafts on Wednesday with Creative Mojo, also recognising World Art day and Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday. Our artist of the day was John, who looked very pleased with his certificate and this collage was displayed during our Easter Service on Maundy Thursday.

Many thanks to Cecil and Angela from Gift of Years for conducting our Easter Service with lovely hymns and readings.

On Good Friday, Easter Gifts were delivered to all of our residents by the Mad Hatter and his two white rabbits. A huge thank you to Anton Swaby, another friend who has become a family member, whose mother was at Overslade House and has a lovely memorial bench, magnolia tree and memorial stone in our gardens. Anton always offers his services for free and was our Father Christmas last year, and now he has swapped clothes for the Mad Hatter.  

On Easter Saturday, we held our Easter Fayre with a visit from the gorgeous Alpaca Pals, who also visited residents room to room. Anton again assisted and became the Alpaca whisperer. We were also treated to wonderful hymns from the SDA church choir and hope to see them again.

Easter Sunday residents enjoyed singing hymns and family visits.

Rachel Coldicott, Learning & Engagement Assistant, Suzanna Vandervelden, Education Facilitator and Bernadette Griffin, Volunteer from the Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, joined residents in arts and crafts for VE Day.

Inspired by a bustling street party, with crafted 'sponge' cakes and vibrant bunting. Union Jack Mosaics and charming decoupage tea, the team also brought with them reminiscent boxes and books and residents enjoyed talking about their memories. Resident, Joyce, was joined by her son, Paul, who has retired from the military and helped his mother create a stunning Union Jack college.

Our residents had a wonderful session attended by relatives and are looking forward to seeing their creations that will be on display at the exhibition, from Tuesday 29th April–Sunday 25th May, in Rugby Art Gallery and Museum's Community Space in the main foyer.

Overslade House had a Hoe Down for International Day of Happiness. We were joined by the Southam Stompers Line dancers, who danced for our residents and put everybody in a country mood. Even our Nurses and Activities Team joined in to learn some line dancing, with lots of Yeehah's and thigh slaps and a few beers or shandy to refresh us.

We did have a few suspected wanted criminals in the room and also some lovely relatives who joined us.

We had a wonderful time and hope to see the Southam Stompers at our saloon again soon.

Overslade House had a fabulous St Patrick's Day afternoon celebrating. We were entertained by Bob Oakley with some lovely country and Irish music.

Our pot of gold was taken around to all of our residents to guess how many coins were in the pot of gold. Our lucky winner was Sheila, guessing 110 coins and there were 113 coins. 

Our Memory Lane residents played a game of Paddy Pairs in the morning and also did exceptionally well!! Many thanks to Head Chef, Corey Leake, for our St Patrick's Day-themed cakes and to all our residents for getting into the spirit of things, dressing up and singing along.