Celebrating life at Barchester

Residents at Marnel Lodge Care Home enjoyed celebrating Holi, the festival of colours, with joy and excitement. 

The home was filled with vibrant colours, laughter and music as residents came together to learn about the meaning of the festival and celebrate the spirit of happiness, unity and positivity. It was a wonderful and colourful day enjoyed by all.   

Residents from Marnel Lodge Care Home recently enjoyed a fantastic outing to The Leisure Park in Basingstoke, where they had great fun playing a friendly game of bowling. 

There was lots of laughter, cheering and a bit of healthy competition as everyone took their turn aiming for the pins. The trip was a wonderful opportunity for residents to get out, stay active and enjoy a fun day together, creating happy memories along the way.  

Residents at Marnel Lodge Care Home enjoyed celebrating Pancake Day with plenty of smiles and delicious treats. Everyone had fun watching and taking part in pancake flipping while choosing their favourite toppings. 

From sweet to savoury, the pancakes were enjoyed by all, making it a lovely and cheerful afternoon for residents and staff alike.   

Residents at Marnel Lodge Care Home enjoyed a lovely Valentine’s Day celebration, spending time making beautiful cards for their loved ones and sharing sweet treats together. 

The day was filled with warmth, laughter and reminders of the importance of love, friendship and kindness, making it a truly special occasion for everyone. 

Mother’s Day at Ashlar House was a lovely and very busy occasion. Residents enjoyed spending special time with their families, with many visitors coming throughout the day to celebrate together. There were plenty of smiles as beautiful flowers were received, and rooms were brightened with colourful bouquets.

For those whose families were unable to visit in person, FaceTime calls were arranged so that everyone could still share in the celebrations and feel connected on this special day.

We were also delighted to welcome some very special additional visitors. Brooke and Darcie came along as part of their Girlguiding activities. Brooke is currently working towards her Kindness Badge and Darcie towards her Helper Badge. They are members of the 1st Fyfield Rainbow Unit and the 2nd Fyfield Brownie Unit.

It was wonderful to see the girls spending time with our residents, sharing their kindness, enthusiasm and smiles. Their visit brought great joy and was a truly lovely addition to our Mother’s Day celebrations at Ashlar House.

Residents at Tandridge Heights had a wonderful time celebrating Mother’s Day with a lovely afternoon party. The celebrations included a fantastic performance from singer Andy Mace, glasses of prosecco, and delicious homemade scones prepared especially for the occasion.

It was a joyful afternoon filled with family, friends, music, laughter, and great company as everyone came together to celebrate and make special memories.      

Here at Mulberry Court we have been celebrating Mothering Sunday. Did you know that Mothering Sunday traces back to medieval times and was originally a call to return to our “mother church,” the parish that connected our family to its faith? Servants and apprentices were granted a day off to visit their mother church, normally the parish of their baptism.   

With this in mind, Derek came and held a special Holy communion for us. These services are held fortnightly and everyone is welcome to attend.

We also made sure all our lovely ladies had a gift from us all. Here are a few pictures of some of our ladies with their presents.

Mother's Day at Oaklands was a full weekend of celebrations. Residents got involved with making flower arrangements for others cared for in their rooms and unable to do it themselves and then shared the joy of delivering goodies to them. As you can see, Kate loved pushing the trolly and having purpose in her day. 

We then welcomed local florist Jackie from Mill blossom flowers in Lode into the home to help teach and guide us to make some beautiful little table decorations and dried flower cards to gift to loved ones at a later stage. All residents were included Janie and her family, in her room having the same experience as all the other residents, just from the comfort of Janie’s room. We shared chocolates and sweet treats throughout the morning and filled the home with beautiful scents of the spring flowers.     

We are working hard on an ongoing art project with a community organisation, Red2 green, working towards an exhibition in June. We were fortunate last week to visit them for a collaborative art session with collaging, paint and clay and everyone had a fantastic morning. 

Ann, in a former life, worked with adults with additional needs, so she feels this project is well worth all the time we are giving it, and can’t wait to see the end result.