Celebrating life at Barchester

Our dementia discos at Wykeham have always been a moment of joy for our residents. 

This month, with a playlist of an hour and a half of music, glow sticks and glitter pompoms, we made sure that our residents danced the hours away in 80s disco style.

This year's summer fête saw us take on some circus skills as part of the day's wonderful entertainment. Residents, family and community gathered to raise money for our residents fund and Alzheimer's UK. 

With the sun shining, the day couldn't have been more perfect. We welcomed small local businesses to our home and had some wonderful donations for our raffle.

WOKING, SURREY — A heart-warming digital friendship has taken flight in Woking following the launch of a brand-new, virtual ‘Adopt a Grandparent’ initiative at Weystone Manor Care Home.

The community scheme, run by the Adopt a Grandparent charity, brings people together through the power of remote technology. Weystone Manor is proud to support the project by matching its residents with the charity's volunteers.

The care home has celebrated its very first match through the program. Graham, the newly appointed Resident Ambassador at the luxury Barchester Healthcare home, has completed his first digital session with volunteer Louise. Connecting for an "e-meet" on a laptop using a secure virtual platform, the pair hit it off instantly, setting the stage for a wonderful relationship to grow.

The initiative bridges the gap by pairing care home residents with volunteers who might not be able to visit in person. By utilising safe, digital video-calling system technology, the program aims to tackle isolation, transforming simple laptop screen time into deep, lasting real-world friendships.

Graham, who was recently voted by his fellow residents to represent them as the home's official Resident Ambassador, was eager to be the first to try the technology. Following their successful first session, he and Louise are looking forward to opening up their laptops regularly for a face-to-face virtual chat, enjoying a cup of tea from their respective locations while sharing life experiences and chatting about local history.

Speaking about his first e-meet session, Resident Ambassador Graham said:

"Being the Resident Ambassador means I get to help open our doors—and our laptop screens—to the community, and this initiative has been a true joy. Louise and I hit it off straight away during our very first call. We shared some lovely stories and I am very much looking forward to our next chat. It’s wonderful to open the laptop and see a friendly face just waiting to sit, listen, and share a laugh. I really hope this friendship continues to grow over the coming weeks."

The digital initiative forms a core part of Weystone Manor’s Life Enrichment programme, which focuses on incorporating modern technology to keep residents active, socially connected, and deeply integrated with the wider community.

Abdul Rifai, General Manager at Weystone Manor Care Home, commented:

"We are absolutely thrilled to see the 'Adopt a Grandparent' e-meet initiative come to life. True companionship transcends physical walls, and seeing how well Graham and Louise connected during their very first session is incredibly moving. Technology is a beautiful tool when used to build a bridge between generations. Graham is the perfect digital champion for this project, and we hope this successful first start inspires more people to connect across generations."

What a brilliant afternoon we had at our summer Fête. So many friends and family came to visit us to support us and spend the afternoon with their loved ones. The summer vibes were beaming, that’s for sure. 

Thanks to everyone that helped with the catering, the food was fantastic, everyone worked so hard to make the day run smoothly. We had Pimm’s and Blue Lagoon with beer juices and fizzy drinks in the bar.

We really enjoyed something different this year. We were joined by Paula Borrell, the Saxophonist, who did a marvellous job entertaining everyone with our 80s playlist. Everyone was dancing and smiling.

We had our lovely stallholders join us and our favourite girl, Sorella, selling a variety of iced coffees, iced teas and much more. 

What a truly lovely day we had taking our wonderful residents to Walcott Beach! 

We enjoyed the fresh sea air, delicious chips, sandwiches and, of course, a lovely ice cream! There was plenty of laughter, smiles and special moments shared together.

Margaret beautifully said, “I don’t think people realise how much moments like this mean to us oldies.” And she is so right. It’s these simple, precious outings that create memories and bring so much joy.

Denis was so emotional when we arrived home, telling us what a wonderful day it had been. Jean and Jenny also said that being at the beach brought back so many happy memories for them.   

We had such a lovely day with our residents. We all had a nice walk around the park looking at the crocodiles, otters, monkeys, leopards and many more so much joy was brought to our residents' faces today. 

We sat down for a yummy picnic at lunchtime, enjoying some yummy sandwiches. We shared some crisps, pork pies and a variety of cakes, teas and coffees. 

Our favourite part of the day arrived. We got to see the beautiful Tigers. Cilla’s wish came true today. Cilla wrote that seeing Tigers was one of her wishes, yay it happened. She was really over the moon and had the biggest smile on her face for the rest of the day. Before going home, we sat down together and enjoyed some tasty ice creams and had a look around the gift shop.         

Our mini-bus trip to Abbey Fields Park. What a beautiful way to spend a sunny day. Our residents loved looking at and listening to the ducks and taking in the beautiful views! 

Have you ever been to Abbey Fields?

What better way to christen our new flooring in our concert room, playing a spot of curling, I think you’ll agree that the space we have now for curling is absolutely brilliant. Well done blues for winning this game residents love the competitiveness and telling families if their team has won that day, lovely memories to share.