Activities at Atfield House Care Home

Residents and family members and friends were filling the dining room in anticipation of today's harp recital. The decoration of golden tinsels and soft pastel colours and green, topped with flowers set a fitting background for our harpist with her golden harp! The afternoon was warm, and we started off with some cooling drinks. 

Margaret arrived with her harp, as big as an aeroplane wing, all wrapped up. Once seated with her harp, she started entertaining us with little stories about how she transported this very valuable and big instrument. Piece after piece was uplifting and beautifully rendered and always intermingled with another quirky story from her life about her harp! 

We also learnt about the many pedals a harp has, and were fascinated by how she can lower and heighten each tone! Residents enjoyed chatting with her afterwards and, over a cup of tea and some delicious cake, everyone enjoyed the social aftermath to a wonderful afternoon. We are already looking forward to having Margaret play for us again.   

The room was filled up with excited residents, family members and friends. The anticipation was electric, and the children were smiling, as they played this beautiful story of the secret garden. The magic unfolded with a well-rendered story line, beautiful dances and colourful costumes.

The performance was enjoyed so much and the group felt our heartfelt appreciation and anticipation. They socialised with the residents and family members afterwards and enjoyed the cake and fruits that our chef prepared. The dancers said how much they enjoyed coming to Atfield House. They treasured their yellow rose, they received it and said: they had never had a backdrop done for their performance before. The green backdrop and golden balloons and colourful arranged balloon-flowers added another dimension to the unfolding of the magic. Thank you to everybody who contributed to the success of the day! Residents and family members commented afterwards on how lovely it was! Thank you, London Children's Ballet, for coming to Atfield House. You spread the Joy and showed us how much you love to dance! 

At Atfield House we enjoyed a week of activities around the 80th anniversary celebrations of VE Day. We baked wartime recipe biscuits and made our own eaten mess, cutting lots of strawberries and meringues. Residents enjoyed a musical performance of the best-loved war songs and more. Residents also gathered around the table to share their one-of-a-kind memories. We received snippets of memories from VE Day Celebrations written into the diary in 1945 by one of our residents to share around the table. There were plenty of stories to listen to and this one was recorded to share here. It reads:

I was 5 years old when war was declared. I was with my Grandmother picking hops in Kent. When it was announced, my grandmother cried and said wet the flannels and cover your faces we were going to be gassed - of course it never happened! It was a few months later, we were going to be evacuated to Barnstable in Devon. The train dropped off a few evacuees at every station we stopped at on route until we arrived in Barnstable with the last 40–50 evacuees.

We were taken to the market hall. It must have been Sunday as it was empty except for us evacuees and the people who were going to take us in. I was the last to be chosen as I was with my mother and my month-old sister and nobody wanted to take in a family. We were lucky and were taken in by the chief constable and his wife, who was head of the WVS, and they had a large 6-7 bedroom; they also had staff, two maids called Lucy and Vera. One was English and the other French, who I helped when I was not at school. And a gardener.

We stayed in Barnstable for about a year, then on to Luton, where my father was stationed at the Airport. He was a Sergeant in the RAF at that time. I cannot remember for how long, but when my Dad was posted overseas, we moved to Leicester, where my Aunt and Grandmother were. Returning to London in 1943 in time for the V1 bombs called Doodlebugs because of the noise they made. Then silence when they dropped. None landed close to where we lived in Kennington, London, where my second sister was born. My Mother took us to sleep in Kennington tube station on a platform at night in case of bombs.
I was 11 years old when the war ended and our VE Day celebrations were held in a school hall, not in the street. I remember boys being given a jigsaw or cricket bat as a gift. My mother wanted me to have a cricket bat. 

We had a heart-warming time with residents and family members' input in these celebrations. We celebrate the lives of our residents, their courage and resilience in having come through these difficult times. We also celebrate the peace we are able to enjoy thanks to the bravery of so many English soldiers in WW2!

Residents at Atfield House and our smaller visitors from our neighbourhood enjoyed the Easter egg hunt in our beautiful garden again this year. The excitement was great, as the children looked for these hidden treasures in the flowers and bushes. 

The Easter bunny greeted every visitor and was ready to help with a few hints to make sure no egg was left behind. Everybody left smiling and enjoyed their Easter Sunday afternoon with so much fun to share.

Residents at Atfield House were awaiting the animal visit for Good Friday with excitement and anticipation. We all hoped that the weather would be good, so we could meet the animals in our garden. To everyone's delight, the weather was pleasant and residents and their visitors enjoyed meeting the animals. Even our great-grandchildren enjoyed stroking and holding the small animals on their laps. There were guinea pigs, rabbits, ducks and even a barn owl to hold and stroke. 

A sheep and its lamb, goats and a donkey also came along and nibbled on the grass in our garden. The two dogs strolled excitedly between visitors, wagging their tales. It was a lovely afternoon for everyone encountering these gentle creatures. Even the barn owl enjoyed meeting residents in their rooms and won many hearts with her beautiful feathered outfit. What delightful encounters for everyone to remember!

At Atfield House, we were entertained by the lovely singer Patricia and her accompanist Matt, both accomplished musicians. Our residents enjoyed the lively repertoire and the joy of music on this special day. We honoured the beginning of April, and we wanted to make our wonderful musician in residence a musical birthday surprise. 

Everybody said how much they enjoyed the performance that day and the birthday songs were an added delight to all. We were so happy that this occasion could bring special joy to the birthday of our resident. We are grateful to Patricia and Matt for coming to Atfield House and sharing their love, kindness and musical skill with us, bringing joy and laughter to all.

Residents at Atfield House enjoyed an afternoon of encounters with small, soft and affectionate animals. Guinea pigs rested on our residents' laps in small baskets and enjoyed nibbling on greens and carrots. It was a peaceful scene, as everyone watched these small guests, who seemed so contented and lovely to stroke. After they enjoyed the nibbles, they talked to each other and had a little rest. 

The barn owl was held by Roxanne, our handler, and everyone could admire her beauty and stroke her feathered garment, meanwhile the chicks carried on with their delightful sounds in the background. Nakuru, the black Labrador, walked to and fro to say hello to everyone too. She was kind and gentle, and she knew all these little creatures already!! The little hedgehog was also admired as he was stroked by everyone and the little tortoise felt very comfortable next to his rabbit friends! Smiles on residents' and visitors' faces marked this lovely afternoon as truly memorable! Even our staff members looked by to stroke a rabbit and see what a chinchilla looked like!

The residents of Atfield House watched in amazement, as Katie performed her breathtaking tap dance performance. 

Residents joined in clapping and shaking their egg-shakers, while mesmerised by Katie's energetic and professional dance performance. Nobody wanted to miss out on this opportunity to see Katie dance to the beautiful and well-known songs from the good old days! 

We all enjoyed yet another uplifting and fun afternoon in the first month of 2025!

The residents of Atfield House watched in amazement, as Katie performed her breathtaking tap dance performance. 

Residents joined in clapping and shaking their egg-shakers, while mesmerised by Katie's energetic and professional dance performance. Nobody wanted to miss out on this opportunity to see Katie dance to the beautiful and well-known songs from the good old days! 

We all enjoyed yet another uplifting and fun afternoon in the first month of 2025!

For Chinese new Year's Celebrations, Atfield House decorated the home with colourful displays of red and gold. We were entertained by two dancers, who performed a beautiful, energetic and serene dance with red streamers and another dance, as beautiful as the first one with green umbrellas. 

The music for the dances was tranquil and peaceful Chinese music. Residents and visitors watched in attentive anticipation, as the two dancers glided with graceful movements and beautiful costumes over the dance floor. After the performance, the dancers then greeted residents in their rooms to wish them a happy Chinese New Year and also performed a dance in our courtyard unit, for the residents there. 

The dancers enjoyed the opportunity to have a chat with all our residents. Happy Chinese New Year to all, may the year of the snake bring luck and fortune.

Residents and family visitors enjoyed an energetic and beautiful start to the new year with a performance by the South Thames Trio. Many residents wanted to listen to music and more and more people streamed in and all the places were taken. They performed the Waltz of the Flowers by Tchaikovsky, Eine Kleine Nachtmusic, movement 1, a Jazz Suite by Shostakovich, amongst others. The music was beautifully performed and energetic. 

The concert finished with a Hungarian dance by Brahms. After the performance, residents enjoyed a social exchange with the musicians, who trained at the Royal School of Music, where one of our respite residents also  used to teach. As the pieces were well-known, everyone knew the melody already and enjoyed the music all the more!

The musicians said how much they loved playing at Atfield House for this lovely audience!
What an uplifting introduction to the new year 2025!

Rah Rah theatre company group entertained our residents this Christmas time with a performance of Little Red Riding Hood.

Residents participated in the theatre performance and joined in with comments and suggestions, when prompted by the players. The performance was humorous and exciting and we watched how the wolf put on a scary dance and tried to frighten us, but to no avail. 

The songs within the performance were catchy and so well known, that we all wanted to sing along. We Wish you a Merry Christmas finished this funny and humorous rendering of the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Family members went home safely, not wavering from the path, as we learnt in the story of Little Red Riding Hood. 

Our residents also made sure to not be swayed from the path and enjoyed a well-deserved rest after this lively late afternoon performance. We thank the Rah Rah theatre company for visiting us again with another great performance this Christmas time.

Our Christmas party at Atfield House this year was truly one of a kind. 

Kind family members and residents were sharing the tables and made more and more room for more visitors. All possible places were occupied by these one of a kind people, chatting and enjoying the food that our chef had prepared. 

This year our Christmas party was also a Christmas market and we had two stalls: one stall consisted of Madiha's handmade glass jewellery. Each piece was one of a kind and looked stunning in the light, changing its colours when turned.  

For our second stall: Sally brought the paintings of her father, and our resident artist Stephen was delighted to sell more pieces of his original artwork. Many staff members took the opportunity to acquire some of his paintings! 

It was wonderful to see so many family members and friends sharing these special moments with their loved ones and are looking forward to sharing more happy moments together in 2025! 

Atfield House was buzzing with Christmas spirit and festive cheer this Christmas day. 

Already early in the morning, one could hear staff members wishing visitors a very Merry Christmas. Today many visitors streamed in through our doors, to wish their loved ones a Merry Christmas too! 

The lounges and many rooms filled up with kind family visitors sitting around the beds and gathering around their loved ones! The Christmas tables were set and everything looked festive and beautiful.  

Soon the special Christmas lunch will be served and our Chef will also appear. Many thanks to his hard work. I am so proud to be one of our staff members today, truly everyone is busy, making this day a special day to be part of at Atfield House. 

Santa was also there and distributed his gifts from room to room, and person to person. He had a little helper with him who brought smiles to our residents faces. Merry Christmas to every one!

This year we decided to have our Christmas afternoon tea in Adrien`s Hall in Feltham. There is a newly opened cafe with great cakes and the atmosphere is buzzing with happy children ready to go on the North Pole Express.

Ice bears entertain with Christmas songs and on top of that there are hundreds of Christmas decorations to feast the eye upon in every possible colour.

Christmas trees and Santa`s are all on display, to lift visitors into the Christmas spirit. Our tables were already booked, when we arrived and we all chose our afternoon tea, to warm us up! On our tour through the halls, everybody found some of their best loved Christmas Dolls and Santa`s to hold and cherish, plus some lovely baubles to buy.

The fresh air on our journey outside was invigorating, but we were still happy to return to the warmth of Atfield House after a trip everybody said they enjoyed.

Family members, who accompanied their loved ones also enjoyed the opportunity to roam around the halls and we are happy for everybody, who made this outing a success.