Celebrating life at Barchester

Residents take a walk on the wild side with Zoo Lab…. there’s never any saying who the next visitors will be at Queens Manor.

The home welcomed some unusual animal characters for residents to meet as part of the homes varied life enrichment programme and popular pet therapy session.

The residents at White Lodge has been watching Live Event: VE Day history talk ahead of the 80th Anniversary. 

The popular image of VE day is of partying in Trafalgar Square, of spontaneous street parties and bonfires and plenty of singing – and drinking! Yet many, no doubt, joined with the King in remembering those who would not come back from the war, as well as those still fighting in the Far East. 

In this talk Pippa Catterall highlighted both the light and dark moments of that momentous day. One of the residents B.S said, surprisingly I remember that time! Its bringing back so many memories.

The residents at White Lodge had an unforgettable morning with a fabulous Dementia Daytime Disco! 

Two of our residents G.B and J.W volunteered to sing along with the karaoke machine, all the classic hits from Elvis, Doris Day and ABBA. Their energy and talent had everyone singing, dancing, and smiling throughout the event. Our residents thoroughly enjoyed this lively and heart-warming musical morning. 

Today at our Parent & Baby Group we had a VE Day themed event to honour our fallen and the sacrifices they made. Honouring our past whilst embracing the future is so very important to us all. Bringing together the young and older generation to remember and rejoice the freedom we all enjoy today is priceless.

Today we're at the Holiday Inn, Corby for the ‘Mature Driver’s Roadshow’ which aims to inform and raise awareness for drivers over 60+ years of age on all aspects of safe driving, and the latest highway code!

Driving is an important part of our everyday life and Northamptonshire Safer Roads Alliance (NSRA) are keen to help to keep mature drivers driving safer for longer.

It was wonderful to meet so many new people and have the opportunity to invite them to our beautiful home for our numerous free to attend activities and events, complimentary meals, and share our don't dine alone initiatives.

At the request if our residents we had an evening of Cocktails, Canapes and Cards which turned out to be the perfect recipe for fun.

We had a lovely evening reminiscing about card games such as Snap, Happy Families, and Patience whilst learning some new games such as 7's which had Mollie cheering when she won the first game.

Card games bring everyone together for laughter, light-hearted fun and competition, and a bit of brain-boosting too. Add in some delicious canapes and a cocktail or two and you've got a social night to remember.

It's not just about the games-it's about the giggles, the good company, and the joy of sharing stories over snacks and shuffles!

At the start if May we welcomed back Pauline Vallance Harpist & Singer.

Pauline gently plucked the strings of her golden harp, filling the room with soft, soothing melodies. As she played, she also sang to the tunes that the residents had lovingly requested-classics from their youth, bringing back memories of days gone by as well as songs from Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, Simon & Garfunkel and many others.

Smiles lit up the faces of our residents, with some tapping their hands in rhythm and singing along. Pauline's presence brought comfort and joy, turning the afternoon into a peaceful moment of connection, memory and music.

Laura Christian thank you for sending in a delightful photograph you are our WINNER!!! of our photography competition!

Here is Laura accepting her prize from Louise White the General Manager, prize is a National Trust Park Membership!

Our lead activities coordinator has received a prestigious Long Service Award in celebration of working at Barchester Healthcare for 15 years.

Jane started at Barchester in May 2010 and has worked with residents and their relatives to ensure that their needs have been met over the years.

Adele Keenan, Employee Services Director at Barchester said: “I’m always pleased to hear stories about the long service of Barchester staff and am delighted Jane has achieved this milestone. It is dedication like this that ensures our residents are provided with a happy place to live.”
 

On Saturday 26th April, Rose bravely plummeted through the air in aid of Myton Hospice, to raise money for critical care that Myton delivers every day. The Myton team provide high-quality, specialist care to people whose condition no longer responds to curative treatment, from diagnosis to end of life. They aim to meet the physical, psychological, spiritual and social needs of those they care for and ensure their families are supported both through and after this difficult time. They are also committed to training, supporting and encouraging other care providers to practise good palliative care.

Rose would like to take this moment to personally thank each and every loved one who has donated to this incredible cause. Her heart is feeling truly full (and relieved to have landed safely, with her family & friends)! Now to plan what this self-confessed adrenaline junkie will do next year?! Maybe a group mission to space… she laughed! 

At Tyspane Care Home we celebrate life through everything we do. Life at Tyspane is about more than just the care needed, so our teams are trained and committed to enriching the lives of all our residents, through stimulating the mind, the body and the soul.

Every resident is unique. From spending time and learning about each one, we can support positive well-being through a wide range and choice of events, outings, connections in the community and tailored activities. We’re interested in residents’ history, their life stories, the things they love and the things they don’t. We encourage social connections through engagement with residents, whether in their personal space, or in the heart of the home with others, using technology and expertise as appropriate, to ensure everyone receives the support that adds enrichment to their life.

This week alone, we have organised a guest artist to paint landscapes with residents of the beautiful Saunton Sands coastline, been entertained by a local singer/songwriter, guitarist Roger Colome, and for the green-fingered residents, extended the beds in the Community Garden with the help of David, John and Kelvin. Pamper, relaxation and physiotherapy sessions have also been held throughout the week for the mind, body and soul.

Patricia (Resident) said, “I love to listen to Roger, he plays the music I love. Everyone was singing and smiling. Fantastic Sunday afternoon.”

Michelle (Visitor) said, “The landscape techniques used made it a wonderful experience, so simple and beautiful.”

Claire (Resident) stated, “The garden is starting to flourish, simply stunning.”

So, remember, life is better when it is shared with good friends.

Guest speakers Lynn and Graham, from Sittingbourne Indoor Bowls club, joined us for the afternoon. Some of our residents enjoyed reminiscing about when they used to play indoor bowls for various local clubs, while others enjoyed learning about the sport. We were delighted to then be invited to their club the following week. 

Residents enjoyed participating in a small coaching session and had lots of fun exercising their arms whilst being guided by experts Lynn and Graham, who taught them the best way to hold and bowl the bowls down the green. While at the bowls club, our residents also enjoyed some hot drinks and delicious homemade cakes from their café.

Ahead of National Gardening week, we decided to take some of our residents on a minibus trip to visit one of our local garden centres - Gardening World Limited.

Our residents enjoyed a stroll around the garden centre in the glorious Spring sunshine, before visiting the popular Daisy Chain Cafe for some delicious morning coffee and homemade cake. We look forward to visiting them again soon. 

We celebrated Easter with a whole host of themed activities and egg-cellent entertainment. 

Our residents enjoyed a special surprise visit from the Easter Bunnies, who went around our home visiting all our wonderful residents, gifting them chocolate eggs, and as a thank you to the bunnies for all their help, we sent them away with an Easter egg.

Some of our residents got involved in fun activities, including Easter crafts, decorating Easter bonnets, and Easter bingo.

We had lots of sweet treats on offer with hot cross buns and refreshments. As always, we’ve had an amazing time.

This afternoon, our residents gathered together for our monthly Chitter Chatter Club, delighted to be joined by friends in the local community.

The room was filled with lots of friendly chatter and laughter as everyone shared and listened to each other’s stories, with lots of tea or coffee and delicious cakes and pastries on offer.

Our chitter chatter club is held on the first Wednesday of the month. Why not come along and join us next time? 

Our monthly musical moments session with Maggie was great fun with everyone getting involved with the singing and movement to music using fun sensory props and musical instruments. The room was full of smiles as toes were tapping with hands shaking and coloured scarves waved in the air.

Some of our residents enjoyed a little sing along to the ukulele with Maggie in the comfort of their own room for those who are unable to attend our group session.

Everyone had a fabulous afternoon.

Our home was beautifully decorated with fresh flowers and bunting in recognition of Mother’s Day and all the mothers in our home.

Throughout the day, we arranged individual flowers for our ladies in their rooms, as well as going around the home gifting beautiful hand-made flowers, made by Janet, to all our ladies and female staff. In the afternoon, our activities team (Tina and Janet) hosted a special afternoon tea and live entertainment for all our wonderful residents and their families to join their loved ones and celebrate the special day.

We had a selection of sandwiches with delicious homemade cakes and bakes, including cream scones and Victoria sponge, all thanks to our Chef Tom, and the beautiful cupcakes made by our talented kitchen assistant Denise.  

The afternoon was a great success with everyone singing along with pom poms in the air, as the wonderful Nikki entertained us for the afternoon. 

Welcoming Our Miss Hilton Park Queen – Amy!

Our delightful Amy, proudly holding the title of "Miss Newmarket", brought joy and glamour to Hilton Park yesterday as she showcased the stunning gowns from her recent pageant.

With elegance, poise, and posture well beyond her years, she walked up and down the red carpet like a true professional model – leaving everyone in awe.

Amy is a familiar face here, known for her bubbly personality and cuddly toy companions. But yesterday was truly special. As John perfectly said, “She’ll shine like a diamond.”

With such beautiful weather that we are experiencing in Exeter at the moment, we travelled to one of the most beautiful places in Exeter, "The Orange Elephant Ice cream Parlour" We have soaked up the sun, enjoyed the views of the meadows, shared lots of memories of our time growing up in Exeter, remarked about the famous Orange Elephant that so many of us have driven past over the years and, of course, have enjoyed some delicious ice cream. The flavours we tried today were "muddy wellies", "biscoff", "vanilla", "salted caramel with clotted cream" and also "liquorice". Jacqui, who had the  liquorice ice cream said she wanted to try something different and that she thought it was lovely and thoroughly enjoyed it.Thank you once again to Mrs T and the Team at the Orange Elephant for your warm welcome and amazing hospitality today. We can't wait to see you all again.

Residents have been enjoying trips out in the new minibus this month. Our latest trip was a special event for the ladies. They wanted to spend some time just the girls gossiping and catching up, so we decided to have a local minibus trip to the Dog and Duck in Outwood. 

Residents enjoyed the food and some even treated themselves to a lovely glass of wine!

We had such a wonderful afternoon at our Mad Hatters Tea Party. The sun was shining, and we enjoyed a selection of cakes, biscuits and sandwiches prepared here in our kitchen and by Periwinkle cakes. 

Residents designed hats for the event and spent the afternoon enjoying some relaxing music by Oli Cavidino playing the flute. We topped off the event with an award from Guide Dogs UK to one of our residents!

We had a lovely fun-filled day at our spring fête this weekend, fundraising money for Alzheimer’s Support. 

The sun eventually shone for us, and we had a great BBQ and party in the garden. 

This past week, our residents at Cepen Lodge have been busy preparing for Easter, from flower arranging to egg decorating and making Easter bonnets. 

The Easter bunny also made a special appearance to deliver Easter eggs, spreading joy and happiness and putting smiles on all our residents' faces.

We had a lovely day celebrating Mother’s Day yesterday. It all started with flowers and chocolates on our breakfast trays. 

In the afternoon, we listened to one of our favourites, Nigel Reader, and had an amazing cream tea to finish the day off.

We have been making the most of this fantastic weather and took a trip to Doniford farm to see some of the adorable animals they have there.

We then took off to Minehead beach to enjoy our picnic and then followed it off with a delicious ice cream at Blue Anchor.

We were not going to let a few April showers stop us from enjoying our good Friday. We fired up our barbecue to have our first off many this year. 

Staff and residents here celebrated Good Friday by tucking into some delicious burgers and hot dogs. Despite the rain, we all had an amazing time.

This Easter Monday, we welcomed our friends from the community into the home for an eggstra special Easter egg hunt and Easter bonnet crafting!

The April showers didn't dampen our spirits as residents were thrilled to see the children eggcitedly searching for lots of chocolatey treats!

After all the hunting, it was time for refreshments as everyone came together to create their most eggstravagant Easter bonnet to win a prize!

A huge thank you to those who visited; it was lovely to see friends old and new. We hope to see you all again soon!

We would like to say a massive Happy 104th birthday to Catherine, who celebrated today with her wonderful family, friends and staff here at Ashford House. 

Catherine was delighted to receive not 1 but 2 birthday cakes. Your Ashford House Family were honoured to be part of this special birthday celebration. Happy 104th Birthday Catherine!