Activities at Westergate House Care Home

Westergate House sponsored Sage House to host an afternoon tea party last Wednesday. 

Bernice Jenkins, Head of Memory Lane communities, and Kay Vevers, Activities Co-ordinator, attended the event with residents from Westergate House. It was a super afternoon.  Sage House had created a wonderful atmosphere with a traditional afternoon tea and vintage singing from entertainer Dawn Gracie.    

Celebrations were in full swing at Westergate House as one of its residents reaches 101 years old.

Joan was joined by her friends in Memory Lane and staff for a beautifully presented tea party with music, and a

stunning birthday cake which was made with cracked chocolate edging with a  fresh fruit topping made by our Head Chef, Chris.

It was a glorious afternoon when Westergate House hosted it’s very own Antiques Valuation Afternoon. London Antiques Expert, Mark Oliver, of Bonhams and Bargain Hunt fame, kindly agreed to visit the beautiful grounds at Westergate House and share his expertise with residents, relatives and guests to the home. Mark has enjoyed a fabulous career culminating in becoming the Head of the Decorative Arts department at Bonhams since the late 1990s. Mark’s specialist field of knowledge is Art Nouveau, Art Deco and 20th Century decorative art.

The valuations afternoon was a huge success. Residents from our residential and dementia communities enjoyed the sunshine and a delightful cream tea prepared by the Westergate House chefs Chris and Konnie. Relatives and guests from the community joined the event and brought in their treasures for Mark to appraise. 

Time was spent chatting about provenance and value.  Mark was delighted to offer insight and history to the pieces.  Resident at the home, Dennis, was thrilled to hear the background to a much-loved decorative silver jewellery pot and to a Dutch water-scene oil painting. Visitor, Lesley, learned about the history of a pair of Chinese cats designed as a cruet set.

It was time to celebrate long service at Westergate House yesterday.  General Manager, Paul Middleton-Russell, presented two staff members with vouchers, gifts and Barchester Healthcare reward badges to recognise their commitment and loyalty to Westergate House. 

Bernice Jenkins, our RMN, has completed 20 years’ service.  She is the Head of Memory Lane Communities and sees Westergate House as her second home.  She is devoted to our residents and ensures their day-to-day health, happiness and security. 

Marc Freeman, an RGN who works with our residential residents, has worked at Westergate House for 10 years.  Marc is calm, caring and dedicated to his role - with the additional skill of entertaining residents and staff with magic tricks!  Congratulations and best wishes to both Bernice and Marc.  We hope you spend several more decades with us!

With our very own resident artists at Westergate House, we were glad of help when it came to painting cups and saucers to put in goodie bags for NHS staff. Dennis and June were only too willing to share their wonderful artistic skills and create beautiful designs on the crockery.

It was a lovely activity which resulted in unique gifts to put in each of the bags. The Big Tea fundraising event took place at Westergate House on Monday 5th July to celebrate the NHS' birthday where residents, relatives and staff enjoyed a garden tea party with entertainment from Jodie Shemmans. The completed gift bags were delivered to St. Richard's Hospital.

Residents at Westergate House celebrated the NHS’s birthday on Monday with a delightful garden tea party supporting the NHS Big Tea National event.  The celebration was arranged to share gratitude to every member of the NHS who has put themselves on the line this year to keep us and our loved ones safe.   A 1950s tea party was fitting for the theme and singer Jodie Shemmans created a wonderful atmosphere with popular songs throughout the decades.  ‘Let’s twist Again’ was a favourite and residents, relatives and staff engaged with the music and sense of fun.  Westergate House chef Chris put on a wonderful cream tea with beautiful cakes, strawberries and Pimms to tempt us all. 

To raise funds for the NHS a raffle was held which included donations from Vicky Heron Adams, the Community Engagement Manager at Morrisons Bognor Regis and Gary McGuire from Tesco Bognor Regis.   We arranged a craft stall for the residents living with dementia, where goodie bags were made up for staff at St. Richard’s Hospital.  The bags included boxes of tea, skin care products and the beautifully decorated cups and saucers that the residents painted during the afternoon.

General Manager Paul Middleton-Russell said “This has been an incredible afternoon.  A wonderful atmosphere where our residents and their relatives have been able to engage in a worthwhile cause and enjoy the delights of a super summer tea party.”