Residents and staff at Woodland View applauded General Assistant, Vimla Parmessa, as she was named ‘Employee of the Month’ for being very helpful in all areas within the community.

Vimlar was nominated by residents, staff, colleagues and family members who felt she really deserved extra recognition for the amazing work she does every day. Relatives of our residents nominated her because she is always so kind, caring, polite and efficient.

Vimlar said: "It is an honor that my colleagues and residents put my name forward; it is a wonderful achievement for me. I love my job, it was a dream for me to work in a care home to help people and make them feel at home with us at Woodland View.

Well done, Vimlar!

National Poetry Day and its theme of messages was marked at Woodland View Care Home with a selection of poems being read to residents and visitors in the coffee lounge.

Both Activities Coordinator, Kevin Riley and David Mills, nephew of resident Frank Mills, read out the poems. Woodland View was very proud to be able to read a poem written earlier this year by Memory Lane resident, Sylvia, seen here in the picture, which tied in nicely with the theme of this year’s Poetry Day. Sylvia's poem titled, 'Spring is Full of Promise', delivers a message of renewed hope and awakenings.

Spring if Full of Promise

Spring is full of promise,
The promise of new growth.
New warmth, more light and raindrops,
To nourish the new spring life.
Shoots appear, attracted by the light,
Warmth and rain strengthens them.
Blossom bursts clinging to branches,
Gentle spring winds blow, petals afloat,
Giving the illusion of snowfall.

This special time of spring, when birds start to sing,
Cheerily, as they make their nests tiny twitters can be heard.
From the hedgerow as fledglings compete,
For nourishment to gain strength.
Soon they will be ready for flight,
Having practiced fluttering their wings.
They bravely leap forward into their new adventure,
It is the beginning of new life.

Woodland View are following up today's activity with a visit next Thursday from a couple of local poets, who will deliver performances of their own works to residents. 

Woodland View is a proud sponsor of Colchester Bowls Club.

Colchester Bowls club was established in 1982 and is located in Colchester, Essex. The Club is affiliated with the English Indoor Bowling Association Limited (EIBA) and the Essex County Indoor Bowling Association (ECIBA), together with the London & Southern Counties Bowling Association. The Club has six bowling rinks, a restaurant, bar, shop, changing rooms and the unusual feature of an excellent viewing gallery for spectators to watch the bowling.

This week was the evening of the awards ceremony and, as sponsors, we were invited to present the trophies to the winners of many competitions.

Ashley Hanmer, Honorary Secretary, who hosted the evening was pleased to see so many people and thanked us for sponsoring them throughout the year.

The main speaker and presenter for the evening was Peter Thompson, Chief Executive of the English Indoor Bowling Association, and it was great to share the evening with him.

Wendy Twydell, Home Services Advisor, said: "It was a pleasure for us to be there on the night and share this wonderful ceremony with them that was enjoyed by all."

Woodland View hosted a Macmillan Coffee Morning event on 30th September.

Residents, visitors and staff enjoyed fresh coffee and home baked cakes whilst participating in a 'who's the baby' interactive quiz, which mixed celebrity baby pictures with baby pictures of staff. All those attending needed to do was to identify who the celebrity was and who the staff member was - easy, right? Nope! It was however, hysterical at times, as Joanna Lumley, for example, was identified (incorrectly) as Riet Jones, Woodland View's General Manager! Barchester Divisional Carer award winner, Tom Young, was mistaken for John Travolta - and the hilarity just continued!

As the chaos ensued, resident, Anne Harvey, moved around the coffee lounge with a raffle book in her hands and a smile on her face. A combination of cake and coffee sales, raffle tickets and cash donations, culminated in £105 being raised for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The raffle prize - a lovely chilled bottle of Prosecco - was won by visitor, Ivy Longshaw.

All that remains is for us to sincerely thank everyone who supported the event in so many ways.

Throughout the week, staff at Woodland View rallied round in collecting food, fruit items and toiletries to be given out to our local charity, Beacon House Ministries.

Beacon House Ministries is a Christian charity that was established to help homeless people, those in insecure accommodation and those at high risk of homelessness. Beacon House offers a wide range of support services, providing a necessary and vital lifeline to these vulnerable individuals.

We presented them with boxes of goodies for everyone to share.

Residents enjoyed Woodland View's very own Thanksgiving service, which was conducted by Reverend Gibbs of Mile End Parish.

The modern British tradition of celebrating Harvest Festival in churches began in 1843, when Reverend Robert Hawker invited parishioners to a special thanksgiving service at his church at Morwenstow in Cornwall. We sang lots of Victorian hymns at our service, which was a lovely way to spend the morning.