Celebrating life at Barchester

We had a wonderful time celebrating Housekeeping Week and recognising our fantastic housekeeping team for all their hard work and dedication.

Our residents joined in by decorating a special cake and writing personalised cards to thank the team. It was lovely to hear residents sharing their appreciation for everything our housekeepers do to keep Marnel Lodge clean, comfortable and welcoming.

A big thank you to our amazing housekeeping team – your hard work often happens behind the scenes, but it makes a huge difference every single day. 

Our residents enjoyed a wonderful trip to Eastrop Park, making the most of the fresh air and beautiful surroundings. It was a lovely opportunity to get out into the local community, enjoy a gentle stroll, relax by the lake and spend quality time together.

There were plenty of smiles, laughter and happy moments along the way. Days out like this are a wonderful way to support wellbeing, independence and meaningful engagement. A lovely day enjoyed by all! 

We were delighted to celebrate Carers Week at Marnel Lodge, taking the opportunity to recognise and thank our wonderful care team for the compassion, dedication and kindness they show our residents every day.

Our carers play such an important part in making Marnel Lodge feel like home, building meaningful relationships with residents and supporting them with dignity, respect and a smile.

A huge thank you to all our amazing carers for everything you do – your hard work and commitment truly make a difference every single day. 

Residents at Marnel Lodge Care Home enjoyed a wonderful trip down memory lane this week when an ice cream van visited the home, creating smiles, laughter and cherished moments during the warm summer weather.

The special visit formed part of the home’s Life Enrichment Programme, designed to enhance residents’ wellbeing by creating meaningful experiences and bringing back treasured memories from years gone by. Residents gathered outside to choose their favourite ice creams, reminisce about childhood summers and enjoy time together with family, friends and the care team. For many, the familiar sound of the ice cream van brought back happy memories.

Residents at Marnel Lodge Care Home came together to celebrate National Burger Day in true summer style, enjoying a delicious homemade barbecue and an afternoon filled with good food, conversation and laughter.

The smell of freshly cooked burgers from the barbecue soon created a buzz around the home, with residents enjoying the opportunity to choose their favourites, sit together with friends and spend time chatting with members of the team.

For many residents, a barbecue is about much more than food. The familiar sights, smells and tastes prompted conversations about past summer gatherings, family barbecues, holidays and special occasions, giving residents the opportunity to reminisce and share their own stories and memories with one another.     

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Christian Presence was a truly special occasion for Edie. It was a wonderful opportunity to be part of such an important milestone, reflect on the journey and achievements over the years, reconnect with old friends. Sharing stories, laughter, and cherished memories with familiar faces made the celebration even more meaningful.

It was a beautiful reminder of the lasting friendships, shared experiences, and strong sense of community that have continued throughout the years.    

We recently had a talk from photographer, Stephen Wilder, which he calls ‘A penguin Tea Party’, they are photos from his trip to Antarctica. They were amazing photos and our residents were truly amazed. One resident called Jean went on a cruise around the world many years ago and went to Antarctica. However, she remembers it not looking like it does now.

We have also been playing seated beanbag boccia weekly, since Jay from Everyone Active Leisure centre came in, in August and September to do free boccia game classes, we have been hooked on the game, and we now play a beanbag version every week and it’s become quite competitive. Jay plans to return soon to continue the sessions. He will have quite the competition when he’s back, we have developed a very good skill.        

We have since had a wonderful cheese and wine afternoon with singer Jason. He was our very first singer since opening to come entertain us, we had a selection of wines, picked specifically for the cheeses. After chatting to a resident about what wine to buy, he asked his brother to talk to me about what wine to buy, as he used to taste wine for a living, so he knew his stuff! We had a lovely afternoon, we had family attend also.

Lastly, we went to the Jovial Sailor pub for an afternoon drink. We caught the last of the sun. It was peaceful in the garden. We chatted about the RAF as we found they all have a link to the RAF. Everybody had a glass of G&T with no hesitation!      

We recently visited Longacres Garden Centre. We hadn’t been before, but we are slowly making our way around all the garden centres. Funnily enough, we saw 2 other Barchester homes in the café, we chatted with them, and it was lovely to meet their residents. We have been invited to meet up with Farley Gardens at theirs or at ours. We bought more flowers for the garden beds by their bedrooms. They are on a mission at the moment to brighten them up.   

We made a butterfly together by painting the petal shapes individually and sticking them to a base. Carol and Graham joined in and found it very relaxing and enjoyed doing something different.