Activities at Atfield House Care Home

Residents and family members enjoyed a sightseeing tour through Richmond Park on Friday afternoon. The golden sunshine, the colourful leaves on the trees, gave us a real feeling of autumnal joy! 

We stopped off for a picnic and just enjoyed the fresh air and, of course, spotting the deer!   

Staff members at Atfield House came together to celebrate each other and spend a little quality time together. We all brought in some home cooked food to share. There was a plentiful and colourful spread by the time everyone added their dish. It was like a delicious harvest festival. Our general manager took the chance to thank all departments for their hard work throughout the year: a well- deserved thank you was addressed to our chef Robert, who has been with us for over 20 years! hip hip hooray!      

Isaac thanked also our administrator Krisztina and our deputy manager Prachi for their support over the last months. Special thanks went also to Rajitha, for organising this get-together. Everyone received a gift and enjoyed a delicious lunch, topped off by sweet treats and our special Atfield House Cake. 

It was a lovely staff appreciation meeting and of course we expressed also our appreciation for our new general manager, Isaac Soliman.

The Groove Sax concert was much enjoyed last Saturday the 12th of September, by residents and their visitors at Atfield House. Residents and staff members got up to dance, residents and visitors rocked in their chairs and residents even invented a completely new percussion instrument that could play along with the beat to Kevin’s groovy Saxophone music. Residents played along with spoons that gave a lovely tiny sound, coconut shakers and African seashell shakers. Our resident drummer kept the beat on a hand drum perfectly. Residents and visitors sang along on top of their voices to songs by Tom Jones, Neil Diamond, the Beatles and more. Kevin kept the audience well entertained with informative chats about the songs in between.

We had such a lovely and a joyful afternoon together with refreshments, cupcakes, freshly baked in the oven and beautifully decorated by our chef.    

A resident's wish came true, when a group of residents from Atfield House visited Kew Gardens yesterday. She wished to see the Henry Moore exhibition and yesterday was her day. Her wish came true. We were all delighted to see these massive sculptures in the grounds of Kew with their dynamic and often organic forms. They looked impressive in the landscape. We walked through beautiful flowerbeds and smelled the invigorating scent of trees and flowers after the rain. 

The sunshine and passing clouds were beautiful to behold, and we all gathered in front of the ponds, with a view to the most vibrant colours of flowers, to have a pick-nick. Afterwards, some went into the palm house and others enjoyed the rose garden and more fantastic sculptures. Then we made our way back to the minivan. Everyone enjoyed the outing and quality time spent with special chats with their loved ones and staff members too!     

We had a wonderful time together enjoying our Carnival Ball at Atfield House. Friends and family members joined us in their lovely colourful garments and staff members joined us for a dance in their most beautiful and elaborate dresses.

Residents joined with masquerade masks and danced and waved colourful pom-poms. 

Everyone enjoyed the songs that Mark played on his steel pan drum. Many residents enjoyed a dance and more and more guests and staff members joined the fun. The atmosphere was lively and cheerful.

The food and drinks were lovely and everyone enjoyed each other's company. 

Residents from Atfield House enjoyed a shopping trip to Adrian’s Hall Garden Centre on Friday afternoon. The hall boasted of many attractive items to buy or look at! Many different sized Pumpkins, Halloween and Autumn garlands, gifts and sparkling Christmas decorations. The colourful displays were a delight to the eyes. 

We bought a few pumpkins for our autumn display for our home, and enjoyed a lovely time with refreshments in the cafe. Residents said, they really enjoyed the trip and remarked, that this venue was really nice!        

Residents at Atfield House enjoyed an afternoon of beautiful music, performed by Naomi on her violin. Everyone said how mellow and sweet the tone of her violin was.

She performed popular songs, classical pieces by Mozart and the Meditation by Jules Massenet and finished off with New York! It was a lovely selection and we listened spellbound. Our resident musicians and music lovers all agreed, she nailed it!

Naomi also shared some of her life story and enjoyed chatting with the residents. A truly enjoyable afternoon!  

Residents from Atfield House enjoyed two outings to Osterley Park on the 10th and 11th September, due to high demand. Each time, residents and their family members shared their memories of this lovely place and everyone enjoyed revisiting this lovely place and awakening their memories. 

We walked  through the grounds and enjoyed refreshments in the stable café. One resident has even done her Christmas card shopping already, so her cards can be posted well in time! 

We also enjoyed exploring the walled gardens, marvelling at the white and black cows, the elegant horse and the old stones, while chatting and exploring the changes that time and seasons may have left here.

We talked about its past history over tea, coffee and cake and enjoyed the windy and at times sunny weather on Thursday, and the cloudy and mild air on Friday ! Each time we were welcomed by the kind and helpful team at Osterley and enjoyed the hospitality provided in the stable café. We loved and admired the old and marvellous trees, the open space with views into the distance. 
What a peaceful haven in the midst of quite busy surroundings!           

Mopsa, the Therapy Dog came to see us at Atfield House. She remembered some of us from a previous visit and greeted us joyfully! 

She made the rounds with us from room to room and enjoyed the attention of each person. Everyone smiled when they saw this small and cheerful dog come to their room. She visited the people in the dining rooms and lounges and gave much joy and received many cuddles! 

Residents and staff members alike shared their own dog stories when they met Mopsa. We are looking forward to meeting the dog and owner team again soon! 

What a kind of team they are indeed.

We had a fabulous time once again, listening to Tracey’s jazz songs! There was a beautiful and wide selection of songs and some we had never heard before. Residents and visitors sang along and seemed to know the lyrics to all of them too! We enjoyed Nat King Cole’s special song, called: Unforgettable, and finished with the iconic song, called: When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you. 

Everyone felt uplifted by the music and our dining room was filled with people that enjoyed Tracey's songs and also the lovely cakes and drinks which  made us feel even sweeter and satisfied!   

Our residents at Atfield House really like music, so we arranged another musical afternoon for residents and their visitors to enjoy together. It was a lively and lovely musical performance this time, as Natalia entertained us with a selection of popular songs. She sang beautifully and played along with her accordion. 

Residents, staff members and visitors all felt the vibe and sang along, clapped and got up to dance! What smiles and joy music can bring.      

It was a truly joyous occasion at Atfield House on Saturday. We were so lucky to see and share the passion for watercolour painting with our resident Dorothy Wolff. We were privileged to get a glimpse of her success and passion, as her artwork was displayed in our dining room. There were beautiful paintings of flowers, in the most lavish colours, landscapes, houses, and places she had visited.

Residents, visitors and staff members all streamed through the doors and enjoyed seeing the display. It was a truly lovely exhibition and everybody was surprised, to see so many paintings on display all around the room. Many visitors chose their favourite pieces to purchase. 

Dorothy smiled and said, did I do all these? 

She really enjoyed this special occasion, and it also gave her the opportunity to meet members from her former Heston art group.
She was delighted to meet so many friends and family, who flew in from overseas and made special journeys, to be part of this occasion and to meet Dorothy, who just celebrated her 102nd birthday at Atfield House. 

Congratulations also from all of us at Atfield House again and congratulations also on such a successful exhibition. We are delighted to have been able to house her wonderful art-work for the afternoon.                 

Residents from Atfield House embarked on another outing to enjoy what September still has to offer and to catch the last messages of summer – rays of sunshine. The weather was mild, the rain had already dissipated, a pleasant day for an outing to a sheltered café in the grounds of Syon Park, the Hillier Garden Centre. Residents enjoyed the outdoor experience and chatting about their purchases they made here some time ago. We all admired the colourful flower displays, before enjoying tea, or coffee and cake in the small, but cosy café. The old stonework around us was marvellous to behold, as we enjoyed a social time together. 

Everyone had enjoyed this outing and the change of scenery, but we were also glad to return to the familiar surroundings within Atfield House.  

A group of residents, friends, family members and staff members enjoyed a wonderful afternoon at the Elizabeth’s pâtisserie on St. Johns Road. Daniel, the pastry chef there, takes pride in making wonderful tasting cakes and tartlets and more. When everyone had their pick from the wide selection, they were served on plates, embellished with sweet designs, like artwork. We sat down outside, enjoying these delights with sunshine, warm wind and lots of cheerful chatter. The residents were smiling, content, to be in such cheerful and chatty company, enjoying everything together on such a lovely day. 

What a special place to visit, just a short walk away from Atfield House!

Residents from Atfield House enjoyed a lovely afternoon together at Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park. The weather was just right for this occasion and everyone enjoyed the warm wind, and the views were beautiful! We chatted along, as we enjoyed cakes and drinks together, looking over the valley, watching the planes go by and keeping the wild life at bay, who would have liked to have a taste of our cake too!

We spotted a lovely butterfly around the corner by the flower beds on our walk back to the mini- van. It sat there so long, that we could almost touch it. Our residents shared the experiences with us, they had in Richmond Park, as we strolled through the garden grounds. Truly this place holds special memories of moments shared with loved ones many years ago. That is why these outings to these places are so special! 

Everyone enjoyed the afternoon and we are looking forward to the next outing already!