Celebrating life at Barchester

This evening, our residents, families, and friends came together for a safe and sparkling Guy Fawkes celebration.

We swapped loud fireworks for the gentle glow and nostalgic smell of sparklers, cosy chats, and mugs of creamy hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and mini marshmallows. The twinkling lights and joyful laughter brought back fond childhood memories for many, filling the night with smiles and stories. 

After all the sparkling fun, we warmed up with our delicious hot chocolate while Alexa played some favourite tunes to keep the evening cosy and full of cheer. 

The warmth, laughter, and togetherness made the night truly magical. 

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and helped create such a special atmosphere!

Prost to Oktoberfest! Our residents and staff had an amazing time celebrating in true Bavarian style — with traditional music, delicious pretzels, laughter, and a few dance moves too! 

The home was filled with smiles, good company, and plenty of festive spirit. Here’s to friendship, fun, and making memories together!   

We’ve been getting creative with the colours of the season! Our residents spent the afternoon making beautiful autumn-inspired art — full of golden leaves, pumpkins and cosy shades of orange and red. 

It’s amazing what a little paint, laughter and imagination can create!    

It’s not every day you find a snake slithering through the lounge or a giant snail stealing the show! Today our residents met some truly wild guests — from creepy crawlies to a friendly frog!

Lots of laughter, brave moments, and maybe a few squeals too — who knew animal therapy could be this entertaining.   

At Tyspane Care Home our Dementia Champions are here to help and support and provide the very best dementia care. They are a group of individuals who are passionate about dementia care, their mission being to support all the services within Tyspane Care Home by providing the most up to date information, research and evidenced based practice.

Adopting a person-centred approach to all we do at Tyspane Care Home enables one to see the person not the illness or condition which in returns an ethos of identifying and reducing distress and in return promoting a sense of wellbeing for all.

One of the ways the Dementia Champions have supported residents at Tyspane Care Home is the introduction of, “The Eleven O’clock Club,” on a Wednesday morning in the upstairs family room. The club will be hosted by Julie Sharpe (Activities Assistant), her aim being to provide a safe and friendly environment for people experiencing memory loss issues, as well as a range of activities such as singing, crafts, household tasks and games.

Angela (Resident) noted, “The morning was lovely, I enjoyed it very much.”

The BBC Children in Need fund provides vital support for children and young people struggling with challenges caused by mental health, poverty, social inequality and family-related issues. They fund this vital work because they believe every child and young person should have the chance to thrive and be the best they can.

So, imagine Tony Proverbs (Resident at Tyspane Care Home) face when he was personally invited to support BBC Children in Need at North Devon Athletic Club on Tuesday 4th November 2025. Tony is an incredible gentleman who has overcome adversity throughout his life, he is a figure of strength, resilience, and unwavering determination, his character is not defined by the hardships he faced, but by his response to them, and his capacity to live a full life through sports.

Tony joined BBC radio presenters on the first day of a 1,000-mile three-legged charity challenge for Children in Need. Caroline Densley and Michael Chequer from the BBC Radio Devon aim to cover 12.5 miles (20.12km) over the two-day challenge. The pair are walking each mile tied to a different person, including volunteers and staff from Children in Need-funded projects. Tony joined Louise Butcher, (aka The Topless Runner), Nigel Brown, Ricky Skinner, Lorraine Ditchburn (North Devon Road Runners), Huw Davies (The South West Coastal Path), Robert Linskill, and Tim Sharpe (North Devon Athletic Club) to complete four laps of the track.

Despite the wind, rain and overcoming a wheelchair malfunction, Tony completed four laps of the track with a smile on his face and a tear in his eye. 

Susan (Tony’s Sister in Law) stated, “Thank you, thank you for taking Tony. I know this means an awful lot to him. Paul and l are extremely grateful to you all for arranging this for him. He told us he had a fabulous time & he really enjoyed it.”

We have been lucky enough to have had some amazing volunteers join us here at Winchester House.

These amazing people came in over two days and worked their socks off to help clean up our gardens and balconies to be ready for the winter. They also spend time getting to know our residents, talking to them and playing games.

They said that it was a pleasure and would love to be invited back to Winchester House to do more volunteer work.  

What a spooktacular day we had celebrating Halloween!  Our residents enjoyed a fantastic performance from our wonderful singer David  , and the atmosphere was filled with music, laughter, and smiles all around. A big thank you to Sonia for her delicious homemade cakes  —they were a real treat!  

Thank you Joyce for decorating and making the afternoon fabulous with Emma. It was a joy to see everyone getting into the Halloween spirit and having such a great time together.    

We’re so delighted to share that, on a Friday, we welcomed our very first member into the “Don’t Dine Alone Club” here at Harper Fields. A lovely lady called Cheryl joined us and this is what she said: “I visited Harper Field's Care Home for lunch. It's a welcoming building with easy parking. The whole feel of the home is warm and welcoming. The decor and furnishings are of a high standard and very much a home. I was warmly welcomed by Emma, who was running the residents' activities. She showed me to the dining room where I had a delightful lunch with Agnes, their oldest resident. She was delightful company. The meal was hot, very appetising and delicious. I had tomato and red pepper soup followed by fish and chips. The desert proved too much for me, but Agnes tucked into her Tiramisu with gusto. I was very impressed with the standard of both the food and the beautifully laid out dining room. I shall certainly take up the offer again and was very impressed with the high standard of the staff, the quality of the food and the friendly atmosphere.”  

This wonderful initiative is all about ensuring that no one in our community ever feels alone — especially during life’s most important moments. It’s a beautiful reflection of the love, care, and companionship that makes Harper Fields feel like family every single day. Here’s to kindness, connection, and making sure every heart is surrounded by care.