Celebrating life at Barchester
We celebrate life through everything we do, from our thoughtful experiences and activities to our delicious food. We offer the latest technology as well as sensory engagement to nurture the wellbeing of our residents. With a wide variety of tailored activities and events we make sure our residents have the best physical, mental, spiritual and social stimulation, all bespoke to them. Take a look at what we’ve been up to…
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Exercises with Amanda
Exercising and stretching is such an important part of wellbeing and is a regular event in our Activity Planner. Amanda comes to put us through our paces and the residents and staff certainly benefit
“Practically Perfect” Mary Poppins Sensation
It was a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious musical adventure for our residents who visited Moulton School and Science College to attend everyone’s favourite, Mary Poppins the Musical.
Residents and staff had a wonderful trip out today in the minibus to see the amazingly orchestrated musical performance by the young performers. Residents enjoyed one of the most popular Walt Disney movies of all time, with the Banks family adventure and their curious new nanny, Mary Poppins. The children of Moulton School captured the audience’s attention with this irresistible story showcasing a strong iconic female performer Mary Poppins, jack of all trades, Bert and the children Michael and Jane adorning vintage costumes, performing unforgettable songs such as “A Spoonful of Sugar” and “Feed the Birds”, with choreographed dance numbers and with amazing stagecraft and production team effects.
Moulton School and Science College, nominated for the National School Theatre Awards, Music Subject Leader Katie Tuck expressed “it has been a delight having the residents of Brampton View Care Home join us for the performance, the musical is about being practically perfect in every way”.
Janet Brampton Views Resident ambassador who attended the performance today said” entertaining, fantastic, very well done from start to finish. Bert was amazing and the performance was so much better than expected”
Pat, Brampton View resident said “Just Loved it”
Home Services Advisor, Louise Ramage said “a great amount of effort and dedication has gone into bringing this production to life from costumes and sets to the lighting and sound”
General Manager Mo Masedi said “One of the cornerstones of our life enrichment program is live musical entertainment and this was an opportunity for our residents to go out into the community that we couldn’t miss”.
This sort of activity is made possible through our close links with local schools, colleges and nurseries. Intergenerational activities are a cornerstone of our life enrichment program.
Chair Exercises for Improved Stability
At The Fernes we are very fortunate to have a qualified exercise instructor on our Activities Team, Karen loves to work with the residents on improving their core stability to decrease their likelihood of falls.
Group Exercise is also fantastic for socialisation and just great fun.
Flower Arranging
In readiness for Spring ithe residents enjoyed some flower arranging. This is a great way to socialise and enjoy others company with tea and biscuits and beautiful flowers which we then display around our home.
Chinese New Year
Our residents have enjoyed celebrating The Chinese New Year, they created their very own Chinese dragons during Arts Club and our home chefs brought a taste of China to our menu! Serving us a delicious King Prawn curry, Chicken mushroom and vegetable stir fry, sweet and sour vegetables with egg fried rice finishing off with a yummy Chinese mango pudding and doughnuts
Dementia Coffee Morning with friends
Open Weekend
International Pizza Day
Residents enjoyed Celebrating International Pizza day by making their own pizzas and choosing lots of delicious toppings that they enjoyed for their supper.
The topic of conversation was whether pineapple should be on a pizza or not. It was a 50/50 divide.
Wishing Well Wish
Another Field House make a wish! Peter wanted to go Ten pin Bowling so we did! We popped over to the Hollywood bowling alley. Peter, Hilary, Janet and Gillian battled for the winning spot!
It was a close race, but the top bowler was our lively Gillian. Residents enjoyed a go on some of the games to try and win a prize and Gillian saw a pool table and started reminiscing about the times she would play pool and darts with her husband and shared stories with us.
Such a fantastic morning with everyone, making wishes come true. That’s what we like to do!
Sea Shanty singing at Burwood Grange
We had a lovely treat yesterday at Burwood Grange when we welcomed the Sea Shanty group to come and sing a wide variety of sea shanty songs for us all.
A Creative Day at Hyacinth House!
We had an absolutely fantastic day getting creative at Hyacinth House this week, all thanks to the amazing Sonja from Uptown Junk and her coasters workshop!
The brilliant team from Action for Children (based in Ferndown) kicked off the morning with a fun and creative team-building session. Then, in the evening, members of the community joined in to make their own unique coasters proving just how simple yet effective the process can be with Sonja's instruction!
A huge thank you to everyone who took part and to Sonja for leading such an engaging and enjoyable workshop. We loved seeing all the creativity in action!
If you are interested to take part in a workshop visit https://uptownjunk.uk/
We got our brains working this morning....
...with a great game of scrabble!
A fantastic way to start the day to keep us sharp! Everyone took the challenge seriously with plenty of friendly competition and there were some impressive word scores on the board!
Little Acorns Nursery
Residents enjoyed their monthly visit from Little Acorns Nursery.
They brought along games to play with the residents. One game was a sound and picture game of bingo! The children helped by shouting out the sounds and the residents thought it was great. Having the children visit is such a special time, and we always look forward to it.
Bird Watching Weekend!
Residents started getting ready for this weekend’s big bird watch! Making their own feeders with seeds and nuts, everything a bird loves.
Also, lots of crafts happened throughout the week. Peter and Joe had a great time making bird boxes to put out in the garden ready for the weekend and everyone was so excited! The weekend of bird watching in the comfort of our beautiful conservatory. Joe had also been busy making a bird table for the garden.
Gill, Jean, Maisie, Peggy, Janet and Mary loved watching out for the birds coming to the fat feeders we made last week.
Quiz Evening
Field House residents enjoying an afternoon quiz hosted by the lovely Kerry!
The quiz covered British birds, Elvis Presley and general knowledge groups. The four teams battled for the winning place! Today’s winners were Peter, Jean and Howard. Well done everyone!
Good Friends Club!
In today’s fast-paced world, mealtime has become a solitary experience for many individuals, especially for seniors. However, research has shown that eating together with others, whether it be family, friends, or in a communal setting, can have numerous positive effects on overall well-being, particularly for seniors. Mealtime conversations provide intellectual stimulation, which is crucial for seniors to keep their minds sharp. Engaging in discussions on various topics, sharing stories, and even challenging each other’s perspectives can help exercise cognitive skills. By being exposed to different viewpoints and engaging in thought-provoking conversations, seniors can foster intellectual growth, enhance their communication skills, and keep their minds active and engaged.
To support this, Tyspane Care Home formed the “Good Friends Club,” which is held every month at 6.00pm. Residents choose which meal they would like to eat, and it is then acquired from a local restaurant or takeaway. This month, residents chose to eat an authentic Chinese meal from the local village.
David J Prior (Resident Ambassador) said, “It has been a wonderful evening full of wonderful conversations.”
James (Resident) said, “A lovely evening.”
Michelle (Visitor), “It has been a wonderful evening. I am grateful to have shared this evening with my friends.”
It was a wonderful evening, full of laughter and merriment.
Bunnies at Bushey House
Family Matters
Coffee With a Firefighter
The home was privileged to welcome the local fire brigade to our coffee with a firefighter community event.
Our Cambridgeshire Fire Brigade met our residents and visitors and spoke about their day to day lives in the fire service and news from the local community whilst enjoying tea and cake together in the home’s café area.
We were also delighted to warmly welcome the Mayor of Wisbech. Councillor Sidney Imafidon, Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and parishioners from the local St. Johns Church.
Our guests enjoyed a selection of freshly prepared cream scones and a variety of cakes prepared by the homes head chef.
Birthday Celebration's
Creature Comforts
Long Service Award!
Congratulations to Zosimo on his milestone of 20 years service with Barchester Healthcare.
Zosimo was presented his award by Sally Coletti, General Manager. Sally said she was incredibly proud of Zosimo. The care and support he gives to our residents is a testament to him, and we are very lucky to have Zosimo working with our team.
Zosimo received his 20 years of service badge, some chocolate treats and a voucher from Barchester Healthcare.
Well done Zosimo, and here's to your continued success with Barchester.
Hot Chocolate Day
Our residents enjoyed the day making and tasting a cup of hot chocolate!
Each one added a special filling, choosing between marshmallows, grated chocolate, dark or white, etc. We also accompanied them with cakes of 2 flavours.
It was a sweet morning with a chocolate flavour.
January Community Cafe
January saw us hosting our first community café of 2025. We welcomed in volunteers from our community charities that have helped us out over the last year, including Cycling Without Age Scotland – Monifieth and Monifieth Befrienders.
It was lovely to see everyone chatting over a well-deserved cuppa and indulging in some cake. This morning gave us the chance to not only chat to the community but to say a big thank you for all the time and effort in supporting our home in the last year, and we look forward to working with them again this year.
Our Community Café is open to all members of the public on the last Tuesday of every month. Please feel free to pop along as our residents love to chat and find out all the interesting things happening in our community. Family and friends are welcome too!
Pamper and Games
We spent the morning with the lovely Sofiya pampering our residents with hand massage, manicures and nail painting.
Residents enjoyed one-to-one time being pampered while having meaningful conversations, which means a lot.
The wonderful Swapna and Matthews then headed some physical activities. Simple ball games to encourage focus and coordination and velcro darts promoting concentration and hand eye coordination.
Music in Mind
Al from Music in Mind entertained our residents communally and went the extra mile by going round to residents' rooms individually for that person-centred touch.
Music therapy can help improve cognitive and physical health, and reduce feelings of isolation and depression. It also helps with motivation for movement and suppleness.
Jeremy Hunt comes for a Visit
Jeremy Hunt local Conservative MP visited Mill Court. Jeremy joined residents of the home for afternoon tea in their private dining room. He chatted to residents and was given a tour of the home. He even surprised one of the carers Maria and presented her with an award and voucher for Barchester’s celebrating success initiative as the employee of the month. Everyone had such a lovely afternoon and we cant wait to have him visit us again.
Karaoke!
We have had an array of activities over the weekend to keep our residents entertained.
It was like being on The Voice with some karaoke and everyone enjoyed their time on the mic. Hazel and Tom sang the classic 'I can't help falling in love with you' by Elvis Presley brilliantly.
Christine, as always, enjoyed a dance or two with a staff member, Amber. Brenda and Ellen enjoyed some time knitting. And last but not least, we had arts and crafts with Lauren.
Phew.... there was definitely a well deserved brew after all that.
Community Links with Local School
Pupils from local primary schools are regular and popular visitors to Highview House. From treasure hunts to book readings, and from theme days to special occasions, our intergenerational activities are one of the most popular events on the calendar.
Furthering links between the home and the local community is a key part of our activities programme, so don’t be surprised if you see a small army of school kids when visiting loved ones at Highview.
Community Cafe
At Tewkesbury Fields we value the support from our local community. And as a thank you we host a monthly Community Café. We enjoyed welcoming local residents and offering complimentary refreshments, whilst we sat and talked in our Cotswold Dining Room.
Choice of soups was homemade Mushroom or Roasted Vegetable and Tomato served with warm cheese straws, followed by Chocolate cheesecake or Fruit trifle - enjoyed by all!
Next date is Thursday 6th March - Wonder what flavour soups and desserts our Chef will be offering?