Celebrating life at Barchester

What a fantastic day we had celebrating all things Greek in the glorious sunshine on our beautiful decking.

Residents enjoyed a live cookery demonstration where we made the famous Greek tzatziki dip, which everyone then sampled with warm pitta bread, olives, feta cheese, fresh grapes, and a selection of fruit. Everything was perfectly complemented by a refreshing homemade lemonade infused with fresh lemons and mint. 

The celebrations continued with traditional Greek music and dancing, Greek-themed arts and crafts, and a fun question-and-answer quiz that had everyone joining in.

There were smiles, laughter, great food, wonderful music, and plenty of dancing throughout the day. It was lovely to see everyone having such a fabulous time together and making more happy memories.

A big thank you to everyone who helped make our Greek Day such a wonderful success! 

What an absolutely fantastic day we all had at our Golden Games! It was wonderful to see residents, families and staff come together for a morning filled with laughter, teamwork, friendly competition and unforgettable memories.

The day was packed with exciting events, including tug of war, obstacle races, our hilarious big pants challenge and the unforgettable managers’ race, which had everyone cheering and laughing from start to finish! The atmosphere was incredible, with plenty of team spirit, encouragement and smiles all around.

The feedback from our residents and their families has been amazing. Everyone has told us how much fun they had and how much they enjoyed being part of such a special event. Even days later, people are still talking about the fun, the laughter and the wonderful memories that were made.

A huge thank you goes to everyone who helped make the day such a success.

This truly was a whole-home effort, demonstrating the incredible teamwork, dedication and community spirit that makes Chalfont Lodge such a special place to live and work.

Congratulations to everyone who took part, and here’s to an even bigger and better Golden Games next year! 

Today we were delighted to celebrate the official inauguration of our beautiful new nautical garden feature, proudly named Lodge Ahoy.

This wonderful project first began with an idea from our Office Administrator, Jacqui. After discovering a derelict boat in our pond, she saw an opportunity to recycle it rather than throw it away, transforming it into something truly special for everyone to enjoy in our gardens.

Thanks to months of hard work, creativity, and teamwork, that vision has become a reality. A huge thank you goes to Jacqui, our fantastic Gardening Committee, Raj, Adam, and our dedicated Maintenance Team for the time, effort, and care they have put into creating this stunning feature. Their passion has transformed an old boat into a beautiful focal point that will be enjoyed by our residents, families, and visitors for years to come.

Residents came together today for a very special naming ceremony, where we officially unveiled Lodge Ahoy, cut the ribbon, and celebrated the occasion with a glass of bubbly. It was a wonderful afternoon filled with smiles, pride, and community spirit.

Here’s to many happy memories made around Lodge Ahoy! 

We embraced a resident’s desire to ride the waves on the open sea and put a plan together to make it happen. Tony, one of their residents, had long harboured a desire to take a boat out to sea, but sadly, he never got the chance in his later years, but yearned to feel the sea air on his skin again.

Bex, head of activities at Mortain Place care home, contacted wetwheels charity, who run a number of boats, housed around the coast, to see if they could help. Wetwheels offer a unique opportunity for disabled people or individuals with poor mobility, to gain accessibility to the sea, safely and in a calm, organised environment.

Wetwheels charity, continually innovate through new technologies, and constantly look to improve the experience they provide through the excellence of their teams and acting on feedback received from participants. To sum up, Wetwheels deliver marvellous moments for participants, creating memories and having lots of fun for all in the process.

Tony was thrilled with the experience, it was positive, engaging and created an amazing memorable moment he will cherish and talk about for a long time to come. Tony’s daughter Susie commented “Since coming to Mortain Place care home, my dad has been so much happier and going on the boat was the icing on the cake of life. There are not many care homes who would take this much effort to enrich peoples lives. Myself and my sister could not be happier.”

What a wonderful afternoon for our residents to get out and about, their summer hats on and enjoy a train journey on the Eastbourne Dotto train along the seafront. The route takes in the stunning coastal views and residents enjoyed the fresh air. 

As an exciting surprise, we even spotted a Chinook helicopter flying overhead, which everyone enjoyed watching! A fantastic afternoon filled with laughter, fresh air and wonderful memories. It was great to take in everything Eastbourne’s seafront has to offer. Thank you to everyone who helped make it so special 

What a lovely afternoon at our Summer Garden Part.! It was wonderful to see everyone enjoying the music from the Misfits Band in the sunshine, along with good food, refreshments, and plenty of dancing and laughter.