Celebrating life at Barchester

Earlier this week, we had a fantastic Live Open Request session with Carly Ann in the lounge and our 1-to-1 entertainment room.

Residents, staff, and even visiting families couldn’t resist joining in the fun. There were plenty of laughs, singing, dancing, and a few joyful outbursts along the way!

Moments like these truly show the wonderful quality of life and happiness we share here at Ashlar House.  

We celebrate and thank all the incredible nursing staff and retired residents at Ashlar House for their dedication, compassion, and years of caring for others. Your hard work, kindness, and commitment have made such a difference in so many lives.

Wishing you all a very special day filled with appreciation and gratitude. Thank you for everything you do and have done throughout your nursing career.                  

Our Faith & Spiritual Service, led by St John’s Church, takes place every month on the second Thursday. This special session has become very important to many of our residents and their families who attend.

The service offers comfort, reflection, fellowship, and the opportunity to receive Holy Communion. Residents enjoy joining together in prayer and singing familiar hymns, with many recalling cherished memories through the music and words they know so well.

Thank you to everyone who supports and attends these meaningful gatherings.         

The dementia friend’s session was led by Sam Singh, who is from the Alzheimer’s society. The session successfully promoted dementia awareness, strengthened community engagement, and provided practical guidance to families and carers on supporting individuals living with dementia.

Attendees shared experiences, asked thoughtful questions, and left with greater confidence in communicating with and supporting people affected by dementia.

The informative dementia-friendly community session has increased awareness, encouraged inclusion, and supported local families, friends and carers.    

Many Families joined us for a special High Tea afternoon, which our talented chefs kindly prepared. It was a lovely occasion enjoyed by residents and their loved ones. Thank you to everyone who helped make Mothers Day such a special celebration!

A big thank you to ‘Flash Back’ celebrations for our wonderful Mother’s Day arch, kindly donated for the week. Beth Quinn came and set it up for our residents to enjoy, and gave them a wonderful photo opportunity, it received so many lovely compliments.     

One of our residents Joan, being a Liverpool lady, wished for The Beatles, bringing back fond memories of the fun times she enjoyed at the Cavern Club.

Although we couldn’t bring The Beatles themselves, our Mini Concerts certainly didn’t disappoint and blended beautifully into a fantastic performance by Shelly, who brought all the Beatles hits to life. It was a wonderful journey through the years, filled with music, memories, and smiles all around.           

We had a fantastic time playing a game of Giant Scrabble. We split into three incredible teams: The Roses, The Daffodils and The Dandelions. The competition was fierce from the very first word! Every team brought their A-game, keeping the scores tied all the way through. 

In a nail-biting finish, The Dandelions managed to pull ahead and secure the grand victory!                

We had a lovely afternoon at Hilliers Garden Centre. We spent some time exploring all the beautiful, colourful plants and wandering through the shop.

We then enjoyed some delicious coffee and cake in the cafe.           

We had a fantastic, informative talk from our Senior Head Chef on the importance of nutrition and hydration. We even got to sample some freshly prepared, nutritious smoothies—delicious and healthy!        

We were then joined by the talented Andy and his accordion whilst we enjoyed a homemade classic afternoon tea.