Celebrating life at Barchester

Tennyson Wharf held a fabulous party to celebrate 10 years of serving the local community.   Staff, residents and guests commemorated this special occasion with entertainment from the amazing Abbamia, a delicious buffet and cake provided by our chefs, Dawn and Deepu, and visits from Sir Edward Lee MP for Gainsborough, Mayor Allan Briggs and High Sheriff Philip Dymoke.

Tennyson Wharf has built up an excellent reputation within its local communities. The home regularly holds events and activities for its residents and surrounding neighbours.  Tennyson Wharf is a modern purpose-built facility set in a stunning location overlooking the Burton Waters marina.
 

Residents and staff explored 500 years of Postal History during a Live Virtual Event with The Postal Museum alongside the General Manager, Paula Melerski. 

From the early days of Henry VIII’s couriers to the modern postal network, we learnt about the incredible innovations that kept Britain connected through the centuries. It was a fascinating talk by Sharon and made even more special thanks to Paula who was an avid stamp collector and showcased her incredible collection. 

Everyone enjoyed seeing the different stamps and reminiscing about their own collections when they were little. There were collections that matched residents’ interests, from Nobel Prize winners to horse racing, and sparked wonderful conversations. Residents also loved reading Oomph Wellness' fun facts about the penny black stamp and wrote back to some wonderful pen pals too. It was a fantastic afternoon together! 

Is there anything better than listening to amazing live music and enjoying a cold brew on a warm day? We don't think so at Hickathrift House.

Residents enjoyed a fabulous afternoon with The Rummuns with a delicious beer tasting trolley. The music, beer and conversation were flowing all afternoon and many arms waving in the air and songs being sung. 

Residents all have fond memories of the old pubs in Wisbech and Kings Lynn and shared memories of their days spent in them. We talked about the music they played in the pubs, the bar singers they saw, the friendships they made and for some when they worked as a bar lady and pub owner. The afternoon was truly enjoyed by all.

We’ve had an egg-citing time at Hickathrift during this year’s Easter celebrations. The Easter bunny hopped around the home, bringing laughter and delicious chocolate treats to everyone. Everyone loved the bunny hugs and singing the Easter bunny song together. The residents could pick between white, milk and dark chocolate as well as sweet baskets to ensure there was something sweet for everyone. 

Marjorie said, “Oh how sweet it is that you’ve come to visit us. I’ll make sure to share this with my friends and family”. 

Established in 1997, ZooLab is a family-run business which aims to educate audiences about animals and the natural world. They amaze, educate and inspire through our ethical and engaging animal encounters.

Our residents were educated and shown a variety of animals in our home. Most residents were brave enough to handle and see for themselves some different animals, such as Dexter the Snake! Sammy the Scorpion and Tilly the Tarantula.

They learnt many facts and had a fascinating afternoon and our Zoo Ranger was amazing. He adapted to meeting the differing needs of our residents and was knowledgeable and patient and engaged with everyone! 

Something a little different for an afternoon at The Fernes!

We had a wonderful workshop with Anna Chaplin from St Peter’s Church , along with Lynne who gave their time to come and create a Easter Garden with our residents at the start of Holy Week.

Not only did we get creative, we sang hymns and listened to some readings, discussing and listening to each other after.  Anna also read a beautiful prayer to our residents and blessed our home.

“Creating Easter gardens for residents offers numerous benefits, including promoting engagement, sparking creativity, and encouraging social interaction.“

It's a meaningful way to connect with the Easter story, explore faith, and create lasting memories, so thank you, Anna and Lynne for gifting your time to our home.

Through using our ‘Getting to know Books’ and practicing person-centred activities, we focus on the interests and needs of the person.

With VE Day approaching we have been reminiscing about our residents memories and duties as young men. Naval, a Royal Marine Commando and a Pilot are just a few of our wonderful residents who have honoured our country with their services.

With interest in planes and learning more about the Military Era of our local Solent Airfield, we spent the morning watching Spitfires and other planes taking off. We also met with two Pilots from The Spitfire Academy who took great interest in our resident Pilots memories of learning to fly during National Service! It was a great conversation to listen to!

Our Gentleman really enjoyed our outing and are planning to come back again! 

The spirit of Easter was alive and well at Broadway Halls this year, as residents enjoyed a day filled with laughter, gifts and community. The celebrations brought everyone together for a joyful mix of traditional festive treats, 

The Easter egg hunt was a bit of a wash-out, but a resident still braved the weather to finish the hunt in Priory Park for a chocolate bunny.

Residents enjoyed a joyful film Mamma Mia on TV, singing along while enjoying their sweets or Easter chocolate bunnies.

We had a fun-filled day yesterday, as we raised a glass and tasted top ales in recognition of National Beer Day.

Some of our residents enjoyed a trip out in the minibus to the local pub and got involved in beer tasting and reminiscing about the younger days and what local pubs they used to drink in.

We also spent time learning about craft brewing and the history of beer! It was a wonderful day for everyone.

What a wonderful day out on the water! Our residents had a fantastic time on a narrowboat trip on the Staffordshire canal, enjoying the peaceful scenery, fresh air, and lots of smiles along the way. It was a lovely change of pace and a great opportunity to relax, chat, and soak up the beauty, wildlife and countryside.

Residents enjoyed lunch at the local fish and chip shop. It was delivered to the boat. The food was very nice.  Thank you to the amazing crew on Truman Enterprise Narrowboat Trust who made the journey so smooth and memorable. 

A resident said thank you to the staff for organising such a special outing. It’s my first time out of the care home and I can honestly say it’s been an amazing day. It’s given me so much confidence from small walks to socialising with others, I’m already looking forward to the next adventure!

Today we, Lisa from Hampton Grove and Tracie and Lesley from Werrington Lodge activities, did a sponsored walk around the ham trail in Ferry Meadows to raise money for the Barchester foundation charity. 

It was a great morning. The sun was shining, and it was all for a good cause.

Over the Easter weekend we had a lot happening. We had the Easter egg delivered to each resident’s room, and an Easter tea afternoon with Lesley.

Vikki also held a 'find the Easter bunny' competition for the kiddies, which was a huge success. The kids and residents really had a fun afternoon. It really was a wonderful weekend.

This afternoon we celebrated St George’s Day with a party. We had some very special guests from our sister homes, Werrington Lodge and Hampton Grove. 

Our residents really enjoyed meeting their fellow residents from our other homes. It was a wonderful afternoon with dancing, singing and lots of laughs...

What a crack-ing Easter celebration weekend we had here at Lindum House. On Saturday, the residents and their families all had an egg-citing time at the Fun Day, where there was an Egg Hunt around our fabulous gardens, a photo booth and even an Egg & Spoon Race - where we all cheered each other on! 

On Easter Sunday, our residents were greeted by the Easter Bunny who gave out the Chocolate Eggs.

Residents and guests at Lindum House, enjoyed a magical afternoon, with a live magic performance that took place at the home.

Local magician, Ray Burrell performed a delight of magic tricks. Residents joined in with the magical phrases, such as ‘Lindum House is magic, abracadabra & ray even had us clucking like chickens!’’.  Ray also made the staff and each resident, wonderful balloon models after the performance.

One resident said “I really enjoyed the performance, he was very good with his hands & humorous too!”

Thursdays are now our ‘Trip Thursday’. Staff and residents had a lovely time visiting their local Morrisons shopping centre where they all enjoyed a stroll around the shop & stopped by the café for cake & refreshment.

Activities coordinator, Kelly Rolph said: “We absolutely love being able to take our residents out and about on local shopping trips, we are truly spoilt to have our own minibus to enable these trips. It has been a lovely morning and we’ve all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.”

Resident, Carol Gibson said” Just nipping out and being able to walk round the local shop, is something we take for granted. I really enjoyed myself this morning, it’s lovely that we are lucky enough to have a minibus & the staff are always so helpful.”

On Easter Sunday at Parkview, we were invited to an Easter breakfast celebration at the Thurrock Hotel. 

We had a delicious fry-up and an Easter egg hunt. The Easter bunny also came to visit!

Today our cook, Georgia, and the other staff made some delicious Easter eggs served with a nice tea or coffee.

Renata, the general manager, did an Easter quiz and Raffell which was great fun residents and family joined in.

Today we had a Spanish lesson at Parkview which was brilliant fun. We laughed from start to finish. One of our residents lived in Spain and had a blast remanding and helped teach
The lesson.

We smelt all kinds of herbs and made our names from play dough. We can't wait for the next lesson!

James really wanted to go to the zoo, so Jason, our maintenance manager, fulfilled his wish. 

James had the best time and is looking forward to going back soon. 

James' favourite time was seeing the lions. 

What would life be, without a song or a dance what are we?  

A wonderful afternoon of familiar favourites to toe tap and clap along too. Some residents are brave enough to take the mic!

Today at Hampton Grove we had the pleasure of Gorefield Alpacas visit. 5 beautiful Alpacas, residents helped feed them and got to stroke them, two went in the home and did a few bedroom visits which residents loved. Animal therapy is the best kind of therapy for people with dementia.

Visits from animals can be an energetic experience or an exciting part of a person's day. Residents said “it was so nice to get up close and feed them stroke them. The experience of this was amazing.”

The Mayor of Ashford opened our new memory lane community. Janet, our resident Ambassador, was very proud to lead the Mayor the way to cut the ribbon.

Residents , staff, families and the community enjoyed an delicious buffet created by our amazing catering team.

The Lindt chocolate shop at the outlet welcomed residents to a chocolate feast from dark chocolate to strawberry and champagne.

Pauline a chocaholic was in her element tasting the variety of easter eggs.

To celebrate World health day residents enjoyed a fruit tasting platter prepared by our talented chef.

Fruit juices and homemade fruit smoothies were served too, followed by a fruit and veg quiz!