Activities at White Lodge Care Home

White Lodge residents had a great time modelling clay. Arts and crafts are always popular and the use of clay gave a great opportunity to get creative, but was also very tactile and easy to handle for everyone. The creations are setting which won't take long in the heat and then can be painted.

White Lodge residents enjoyed a relaxing craft session. We printed baskets and then everyone decorated them with plants and flowers. The pictures look lovely and it was a very sociable session with residents from all floors taking part with Margaret as DJ in the background with some great tunes!

White Lodge have launched their Dementia Cafe with a talk by Deena Heaney MBE, Barchester's Dementia Care Specialist. Deena spoke about the types of dementia, outlining how they impact each person differently and this was the theme throughout that the absolute focus is on person centred care and working with the individual. Deena talked about the Barchester's Dementia Care Framework and how this looks at every aspect of the individual from food preferences to the importance of the right method of communication. Deena then spent time talking to those who attended one to one answering questions.

White Lodge team members who are dementia champions also attended and there were some good ideas for developing the Memory Lane Community. White Lodge never stands still so watch this space for some new displays.

Thank you Deena for such an interesting talk and for imparting your knowledge. We would love Deena to attend every cafe, but as she is based in over 200 miles away this isn't possible! However we will be continuing the cafe and the theme of the next one will be about activities on Memory Lane including a demonstration of the Magic Table.

Congratulations on your 75th Wedding Anniversary Ruth and Fred.

On this day in 1947 Ruth and Fred married at the age of 21, having first met at primary school, their romance blosoomed from the age of 16. They courted during World War II and Fred enlisted in the RAF, flying Lancaster Bombers. The couple have three children, Christine, Jenny and Gordon, Fred stayed in the RAF until his retirememt, with the couple spending time in the Far East with their young family.

White Lodge really pulled out all the stops to celebrate what is a very rare anniversary. There were VIPs in attendance and we would very much like to thank:

Master Air Crew Brian Kayll and Sargent Isla Cudlipp from RAF Brize Norton

Mayor of Royal Wootton Bassett Pat Farrow

President of Royal Wootton Bassett Women's Institute Shelia Rumming and member of the WI Beth Carrigan

Master Air Crew Brian Kayll and Sargent Isla Cudlipp presented the couple with a framed photo of the Lancaster Bomber and spoke about the planes and postings over the years.

Mayor Pat Farrow presented flowers to Ruth and a gift for the couple of a lapel pin with the town's crest. Pat, a former councillor knew some of the residents and spent the afternoon chatting to many residents.

Ruth was very actively involved in the Women's Institute and was President for Royal Wootton Bassett so we were delighted representatives from this branch attended and spent time with Ruth.

It was a very busy and tiring day for the couple with television and press interviews, formal presentations, a buffet and cutting of the cake followed by live singing by Andy Yapp.

Today was a real team effort, our hospitality team made the delicious cake, with Deputy Manager Iaona decorating, everyone decorated outside it really did feel like a wedding and the stunning floral decorations finished it off. The maintenance team were kept busy finding more and more chairs, we are so delighted that so many of our residents and their families were able to join us to celebrate. The weather was glorious, unlike that day in 1947 when it rained!

Margaret and Lucy, the White Lodge activities team planned the day with military precision including requesting the card from the queen.

Thank you so much to the VIPs for their time and to everyone who made today such a special occasion.

The event was attended and covered by local media:

Liz, Reporter for BBC Points West and her Camera Man Steve and was shown on this evening's Points West which is available in iplayer and is at the end of the show.

Daniel Angelini Senior Reporter at the Swindon Advertiser who interviewed many of those attending.

We thank our amazing carers every day for all they do for our residents. Barchester White Lodge celebrated Carer's Week by presenting each member of the care team with a sweet treat and card of appreciation. Ramona and Iona arranged for a special buffet and our hospitality team made a cake, which really was as delicious as it looked! It was also so nice to take time out and be together.

Thank you to every carer, your dedication, commitment and kindness really does enrich the lives of those you care for.

White Lodge has a "Magic Table" which is an interactive games system. The acitivities team use the table regularly as the residents really enjoy the variety of games. There are also regular live updates, so we have just had some new games downloaded for residents to enjoy. Today the residents were deep in concentration, but it is a resource guaranteed to bring some laughs!