Celebrating life at Barchester

We were busy celebrating Pancake Day with delicious pancakes and yummy toppings.

Residents had a wonderful day, filled with pancake-inspired activities, they prepared homemade pancakes and decorated them with fresh fruit, berries, syrup and chocolate.

We watched some hilarious pancake races and some of our residents took part in our very own pancake flipping competition.

It was a fun day, enjoyed by all. 

Staff and residents welcomed in the Year of the Horse with a day of celebrations and activities.

Inspired by Chinese history, culture and cuisine, fortune cookies were exchanged and the home was decorated with dancing dragons, good luck charms and hanging red lanterns. Residents learnt all about the traditions and superstitions of Chinese New Year. Barchester Chef, Julie Gelsthorpe, designed an oriental feast for lunch and supper and residents expressed how wonderful it was to try something different.

Residents felt very loved upon receipt of cards and thoughtfulness from the children from WAVE ( We all Value Each Other,the  after school club in Mengham.

We enjoy a lovely relationship with this organisation as well as being loved and supported by our Community!

We share Intergenerational games events with them monthly and fun. laughter and shared enjoyment is part of the cake and coffee experience!

We warmly welcomed Andrew and Ian from the Yorkshire Hearing Clinic on Tuesday 17th February for a special community ear wax and ear health clinic, offering free ear wax checks to visiting members from the local community and were joined by a representative from Boroughbridge Chiropody. 

A perfect day with our first mini-bus excursion of 2026. Off to Watershed Mill in Settle we went. A little look around the shop to start with, then went to the café for a cup of tea and an amazing, huge scone with jam and cream. They were amazing and went down perfectly! To finish off, we had another look around the shop, had a good talk with lots of people before coming home. A wonderful first trip and so many more to come. 

Going out on the mini-bus signifies a vital, often transformative, break from routines and boosts mental and physical health for everyone.

On National Puzzle Day, we found lots of interesting puzzles in all sorts of formats and some residents really enjoyed getting stuck in and solving puzzles.

The puzzles are not just for one day but always available for anyone who enjoys a challenge. It can be great to pursue a hobby or just try something completely new.    

A lovely gathering for our new Dementia café morning and wonderful having Nicola from Dementia Forward with us. We had a good talk and our Dementia Café will be growing every month.

We also had to introduce our new amazing Life Size Touch Activity Table! Everyone was amazed and so grateful for the magic effect it would have on everyone here at The Dales. Being able to take it to every room and engage all our residents with more than you could imagine, it will be giving more than happiness!    

Skittles is back bigger, stronger and more popular than ever. Everyone’s favourite Friday fun day has returned with the help of our volunteer, Jonathon.

It is always wonderful to see so many smiling faces ready to play and amazing to see the residents so eager to get rolling again – and they didn’t disappoint! Skittles is not only great fun, but it also plays an important role in supporting hand-eye coordination, balance and gentle movement. Residents enjoyed aiming for the pins, cheering each other on and sharing plenty of laughter along the way.

The friendly competition and social interaction makes the sessions just as beneficial to mental wellbeing as it is for physical wellbeing. It’s fantastic to see how activities such as skittles club help the residents stay active, engaged and connected. We are looking forward to many more weeks of strikes, smiles and steady improvement.        

Staff and residents of Barchester’s Sherwood court care home, in Preston, Fulwood, had a fantastic time indulging in their own home-made Chinese food. 

Gary (our chef) & Jim (our care assistant) teamed together in order to give our residents a treat for Chinese new year in which is the year of the horse, they tucked into chicken wings, dumplings, egg fried rice, salt and pepper chips and so much more. It’s a pleasure for our team to come together for our residents to feel their most fulfilment.