Celebrating life at Barchester

Mount Vale Care Home was filled with joy, colour and community spirit as resident Nancy celebrated her remarkable 101st birthday, surrounded by love from staff, fellow residents, family and the wider local community.

In the lead-up to the celebration, staff at Mount Vale invited the local community to help mark Nancy’s milestone by sending birthday cards. The response was overwhelming, with forty-one cards arriving to help make the day extra special.

A particularly touching moment came when children from Rosedene Nursery visited Nancy, bringing with them a birthday cake, a handmade card, colourful pictures created especially for her and some beautiful tulips for which she gave a fabulous tip for making them last longer. The visit brought smiles, laughter and a wonderful intergenerational atmosphere to the home.

The celebrations were made even sweeter thanks to local cake baker Olivia Wilkinson, from Olivia’s Cakes, who created a selection of beautiful cupcakes, to go alongside her main cake a classic Victoria sponge cake. Nancy’s favourite colour, blue, was thoughtfully woven into the day through decorations and cake details, adding a personal touch.

We recently enjoyed a wonderful Burns Night celebration at Bryn Ivor Lodge, made extra special by a visit from The Welsh Wedding Bagpiper, Matthew Bartlett. Throughout the morning Matthew walked through every community, filling the home with the stirring sound of traditional Scottish bagpipes.

Residents and staff were smiling from ear to ear as the music created an uplifting and emotional atmosphere, bringing back fond memories for many and creating new ones for all. The melodies sparked conversations, laughter, and even a few happy tears.

It was truly one of those moments that reminds us how powerful music can be in bringing people together. A heartfelt thank you to Matthew for giving us such a memorable and joyful experience.

The residents at White Lodge Care Home marked National Chocolate Cake Day in the most delicious way possible with a selection of homemade treats prepared by our talented hospitality team.
The tempting spread included rich Belgian chocolate cake, indulgent chocolate fudge cake, decadent millionaire layer cake, gooey chocolate brownies and beautifully topped chocolate cupcakes. There truly was something for every chocolate lover! Of course, it was all perfectly accompanied by a comforting cup of tea.
One resident shared how absolutely delighted they were to see so many different kinds of chocolate cake all in one place. calling it a “chocolate lover’s dream!”

Our home hosted a special wellbeing event on Tuesday 4th February, the home welcomed Nicola Brett from Active Recovery Therapy as guest speaker as she spoke to the community about 'the effects of aging on the body and mind and how we can slow that down'.

The home was also joined by members from the local Women’s Institute, The Deepings Bowling Association, Specsavers and the Editor of ‘I’d Rather Be in Deeping’ town magazine.

On Tuesday evening we had the pleasure of welcoming the 17th St Andrews Cub Group and their leaders  for a social and reminiscing evening. Some of the Cubs had brought along items from home to show the residents and our residents had a selection of things to show the Cubs from their earlier years.

One leader in particular was of great interest to the residents and that was Daniel who is a Kings Scout and has been lucky enough to meet the King twice, and both Prince William and Edward, he has also been a guard of honour at the Cenotaph.
However during the evening visit with our residents he was lucky enough to get to chat to our newly appointed Resident Ambassador Alice.

Both the Cubs and our residents had a very enjoyable evening and we look forward to welcoming them again soon

Did you know we organise regular meetings with residents and their relatives to keep everyone updated and make sure their views and preferences are heard? 

The first meeting of 2026 was well attended and very productive; full of positivity and fresh ideas for the year ahead. Lead by manager Joanna, supported by all heads of department we took the opportunity to welcome Alice as our new Resident Ambassador.
Our hospitality team laid on a little winter warmer tipple and cheese to finish the social gathering in style, which went down very well!

We can’t wait to see you in our next meeting on 24th February from 2.30pm – Family & Friends welcome.

Today we celebrated ‘Buddy Holly Day’ with the amazing Tony Meacock who, along with his guitar and sensational singing took us right back to the 50s!

‘Charles Hardin Holley, or Buddy Holly as he was better known, died tragically in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, aged just 22 along with fellow musicians, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson.  He was a pioneering singer-songwriter, hailed as one of the greats of 1950’s American rock & roll, despite his short career.’

Tony did Buddy proud, and we loved every minute!