Celebrating life at Barchester

Had Elvis Presley been alive today, he’d have been celebrating his 90th birthday this week. We spent the afternoon on Memory Lane, heading back through the years, listening to his greatest hits. 

We are forever in awe of our residents, especially those living with Dementia, who know songs word by word, never missing a beat! Music really does unlock a world of days gone by and brings so much joy.  

We popped along to Sussex Support Service’s dementia-friendly Community Café this afternoon. This super welcoming group runs on Tuesdays from 1:30-3:30pm, with lots of lovely drinks, snacks and the most warm welcome. 

They have different activities each week, so please do follow their page on Facebook, and come along if you’d like to join us. We’ll be visiting with residents next week. We hope to see you there.    

We took a drive out to a garden centre today to stock up on nesting boxes, bird seed and bulbs to plant on our terrace.

We found a beautiful Catherine’s Rose to plant, which is raising money for The Royal Marsden cancer charity. We are getting ready for bird watching week, which our residents really enjoy.   

Bird watching is very popular with residents, and we are hoping to find as many different species as we can.
Keep an eye on our page for an update on the different species we see.  

We had a lovely morning on Memory Lane creating some flower displays for our Café. Flowers bring so much joy, and our residents love chatting while handling, cutting and arranging them.  

We made six displays that were dotted around the Café. Make sure to look out for them if you’re popping in over the weekend.    

The Navy Larks bought their energy and talent to Milford House and treated us to an uplifting medley of sea shanties! There were songs to sing a long to, actions to copy and many laughs along the way.

The group, consisting of 25 stout-hearted gentleman performed with gusto, they are united by their love of sea shanties and songs of the sea. Their performances around the Salisbury area have raised money for the RNLI and the Parkinson’s Society.

The hospitality team at the home provided a spread of sweet and savoury treats to thank their guests for the stellar performance.

Our birthday boy enjoyed a visit from his family over the weekend and a trip out to Capheaton Tea Rooms where he was warmly greeted by the staff. The tea room is a firm favourite with many local cyclists who also stopped by to wish Ron a happy birthday.  Ron was a keen cyclist and spent many years visiting the tea room each week, cycling up from his home in Humshaugh to enjoy a cup of tea and slice of homemade cake.

Back at the home, Ron was presented with a beautiful and delicious cake with personalised and editable prints and spent time with his son, grandchildren and their families.

The Boroughbridge Manor Care Home in Boroughbridge has recently brought a bit of magic to residents by providing a new ‘Life Size Touch’ as a way to improve residents’ quality of life.
the touch screen has allowed residents of all capacities and mobilities to enjoy different, sensory experiences in the lounge areas or without even leaving their rooms.

This new interactive device allows residents to enjoy gaming and activities in an innovative way which stimulates their daily pursuits. The device has a has a number of features designed to help those suffering with dementia to relax; it also helps de-escalate stressful and upsetting situations experienced by those suffering with different forms of the disease.
 

In preparation for spring, our residents got busy in the Bere Grove Orangery painting pots ready for planting seeds, which will later be transferred to our raised beds outside. Our residents enjoy watching the vegetables and flowers grow which brighten our gardens throughout the seasons. I'm sure you will all agree they look beautiful. There will be plenty more pots as we speed into spring.