Residents and staff from Appletree Grange were in for a treat with a visit from a travelling theatre production company, Northeast Producers Ltd with their ‘Alice in Wonderland’ production.

Residents from the home along with staff sat back to enjoy the timeless tale full of magical twists, fun, laughter and adventures of Alice. Would Alice find her way home for Christmas? Would we be the ones to help her? Who would beat the Queen of Hearts?

Across our services, Residents enjoyed a fantastic virtual tour of the Donkey Sanctuary Manchester.  Residents were thrilled to meet the lovely herd of donkeys, including Henry and his best friend Tiny Tim and to learn more about their every day care.  They were introduced to the sanctuary’s work and the impact they make to the lives of donkeys in need worldwide.  The virtual experience was truly enjoyed by all.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Appletree Grange care home, in Chester-le-Street, have been decking the halls, getting out the tinsel and unravelling the fairy lights, ready for a whole host of Christmas celebrations.  Appletree Grange residents and staff have been busy creating lots of home-made bunting and garlands to make the home as festive as can be.  The residents have also been crafting home-made decorations for the Christmas tree which they all helped to decorate, the tree is looking truly magnificent covered in beautiful Christmas lights, bows and candy canes!

General Manager, Trudi Gilliespie said: “Christmas is such a magical time and our residents love nothing better than to spend time creating decorations for the home and then we all help to put them up together.  It is so special to be able to share these rituals and we all love to see the home decorated and filled with twinkly lights.”

Remembrance Sunday is a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts.   During the day, our residents enjoyed putting a remembrance display together, with their own handmade wreaths and poppies, which turned out beautifully.

We enjoyed a special church service to honour veterans and armed forces members who have died in the line of duty and we read some war poems.  It was a lovely day of remembrance, enjoyed by all.

Here at Appletree Grange we got into the spooky Halloween spirit of things by creating an autumnal display with painted and carved pumpkins, flowers and wreaths.   We hosted a fun-filled party in the afternoon with delicious Halloween inspired treats, mocktails and themed music with live entertainment.  Some of our residents preferred to paint and decorate pumpkins whilst colleagues dressed up for the occasion, others got involved in themed quizzes and games, and enjoyed watching Halloween films.

We all had a spooktacular time.  To find out more about life at Appletree Grange, please visit our website: www.Barchester.com/home/Appletree-Grange-care-home

A couple from Appletree Grange care home have celebrated 59 years of marriage.  Ann and Peter celebrated their special anniversary with staff and residents, and were presented with flowers and chocolates before enjoying delicious treats at a specially prepared tea party.  

General Manager, Trudi Gilliespie said: “We have had such a lovely day celebrating Ann and Peter’s anniversary. It’s so wonderful to see two people still very much in love after all these years!”