Woodland View resident, Gary, had a suspicious mind ahead of a special treat and received a thrilling surprise for his birthday, when his family and everyone at the home came together to show him that he was on their minds.

The hound dog was treated to a hip-gyrating performance from Elvis impersonator, Pete Webb. There were tears of laughter mixed with clapping and dancing – and singing filled the coffee lounge, as so many unchained melodies were performed with enough energy to almost lift the roof off!

This was a shared experience that you had to see to believe. Happy birthday, Gary!

Relatives and friends of loved ones who have passed away over the last year at Woodland View were invited to a special memorial service.

Reverend Ray Gibbs delivered a touching tribute to the memory of former residents. Those attending were then invited out into the gardens to each place an ornament on the Woodland View Memorial Tree, followed by a moment’s silence. Both the service and the placing of the ornaments on the tree were very touching.

On returning indoors, refreshments and cakes were offered to everyone and singer, Robert Jerome, made a very welcome return to the home to sing for everyone.

Residents came together ahead of Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday to remember those who were loved and lost, but also to recall the good memories of those times too.

Residents wrote down memories on slips of paper, which were shared with others, for a very personal account of the darkest days of the past, but balanced these with better memories when happiness seemed hard to find.

Woodland View created 'Remembrance Corner', and there were many who found reading the various contributions a very moving experience.

Residents will be welcoming pupils from the Queen Boudica Primary School later this month, repeating a similar event from last year, where a Q&A session was held for two groups of 30 pupils from the school. Last year's event was very successful and this year will be taking a similar format, but with a focus of 'What is Armistice Day & Remembrance Sunday and why do we have them?'

Following on from the Barchester Care Awards in Manchester, a certain little lady was unable to attend, despite her being one half of a winning combination.

Colin Bennett won both the divisional and national 'Volunteer of the Year Awards'. However, the award also belonged to the cute part of the double act (no offence, Colin!). Martha delights residents each week and gives as much affection to the audience as they give in return.

Resident, Mary, was chosen to present a winner's medal to Martha, along with a special bag of treats for her to enjoy (Martha that is – not Mary!).

As a one-off, Martha sat on the chair next to Mary and remained there for the rest of Colin's weekly performance – and she appeared to thoroughly enjoy the show!

It's official! Woodland View has its very own national treasures – and we can prove it!

Colin and his lovely dog, Martha, visit Woodland View every Monday morning, and Colin plays piano and tells related anecdotes to residents. Colin's sessions are hugely popular and bring great delight to residents.

Colin and Martha were nominated for the Barchester Healthcare Divisional 'Volunteer of the Year Award' for the central region – and won! Both Colin and his wife, Sue, were subsequently invited to attend the Barchester Care Awards Luncheon in Manchester.

There were four finalists for the national award, and both Colin and Sue were shocked to hear Colin's name as he was announced the winner. Colin was presented with his award by Barchester CEO, Pete Calveley, and Director of Care, Risk & Compliance, Mike O'Reilly.

Martha wasn't able to attend the awards ceremony, but plans are in place to have one of the residents present Martha with her own special award.

Well done, Colin and Martha – we're all so pleased you have gained recognition that's so richly deserved.

London-based touring theatre company, Spare Tyre, spent a day at Woodland View, performing two shows of their production, 'The Garden'. The interactive experience is specially designed to engage with those in later life, especially people living with dementia.

Dried leaves, fake snow, puppets, water, projected seasonal backgrounds, live music and sound effects came together to create a magical, non-verbal show.

The team of three – Nick, Yolanda and Charlotte – brought each of the residents into the world they had created and each interacted with the performers as everyone travelled through the seasons of the garden.

Residents who would not normally be capable or interested, were clearly engaged. You only had to watch their faces and see their reactions to know this is a wonderful and effective team and production.