Celebrating life at Barchester

It’s all to play for trying to win the President’s Dominoes Cup.

Our residents love to keep their minds occupied and love games, including dominoes, which are a firm favourite.

This is a lovely social event, and we have a lot of laughter along the way. Dominoes is a great game to play for all and a regular fixture.

Congratulations to our last two winners, Hilary and Derek. Well done!    

We had a full house for the arrival of our feathered friends Biggles, Buzz and Mowgli from Walk With Hawkes.

Everyone that was brave enough got to wear the glove and have the owl land on their hand.  It was fascinating and a great opportunity to handle these beautiful birds of prey.

Residents always look forward to seeing who will come the next time.     

Doreen recently celebrated her 94th Birthday and our chef prepared a cake for Doreen to enjoy. She enjoyed family time with her son.

We are very  happy to have families come in to celebrate birthdays and occasions and also come in for a family meal together. Maintaining connections is important to our residents and we are happy to accommodate as much as possible. We love to get to know families and want everyone to feel welcome to visit at any time.

Thank you to Doreen and Nigel for allowing us to share photos of their special day with you.        

We celebrated the brilliant and inspiring women in our home with entertainment from KJ and the Catt. 

Residents marked the occasion with lots of singing and dancing, all while wearing their favourite hats. The room was filled with smiles, music and plenty of happy memories as everyone joined in. In the afternoon our ladies sat down to a lovely afternoon cream tea as we all chatted away about all our lovely holiday we all went on.         

We have had a "flippin'" great time today, celebrating pancake day.

Residents have been able to enjoy a variety of toppings, including the traditional lemon and sugar, chocolate spread and golden syrup. The pancakes were a roaring success. Alfred said, "The pancakes were delicious and a wonderful treat."

John, who had a go at flipping a pancake, said, "it's been forty years since I tossed a pancake!" We all think you did a great job.

Thank you to everyone who has joined and enjoyed the pancakes today.  

We have had a wonderful time at The New Inn Alphington recently. The rain was really coming down this afternoon, so stopping at the pub was the perfect place to be.

Our residents have enjoyed a little tipple, snacks and been sharing memories of their first house, their first car and ideas for places to visit in 2026.

We want to thank the team at the New Inn for their wonderful hospitality this afternoon. Our residents felt like V.I.P's and are really looking forward to their next visit.

They have even taken a menu away with them to plan what they would like to eat on a lunch outing, planned for later in the month.  

Mens club at Shelburne Lodge – doesn’t always mean it's just for men! Our men plan the trips out and our activity team make it happen. On this trip, the men asked for the friendly faces of our admin, Tracy, and our volunteer, Rose, to come along. Obviously, this included the activity coordinator who drives the minibus!

The staff at the Rebellion Brewery welcomed the residents and were happy to advise on some tasty beer which is brewed on site.
The reminiscences and the conversations made this a very special afternoon for all, including visitors to the brewery, who also made a special effort to make the residents very welcome.

Community is such a special moment when we hear the sad things that happen in our society, but today we feel that the elderly are treated with so much respect, and we cannot thank everyone today.  

The phrase “good old-fashioned singing,” refers to a nostalgic appreciation for traditional music. The lyrics in older songs evoke a sense of loss for experiences that were once cherished, reflecting a desire for a return to simpler, spiritual times.

So, what a wonderful surprise for residents, families, friends, community, professionals and staff when Rosie, a local singer, performer and volunteer, visited Tyspane Care Home to perform an array of old classics. She sang seamlessly, possessing core vocal control, impeccable pitch, every note having meaning.

Thank you so much Rosie, see you soon.