Activities at Austen House Care Home
Here at Austen House, we like to get to know those we support, and from the day of moving in, our activities team will spend time on an individual basis learning about interests, likes and dislikes, life history and favourite hobbies.
We provide a wide range of activities, from one-to-one time, manicures and board games, through to live entertainment, prize bingo and our ever-popular cheese & wine events. Our activities team will also tailor individual activities to ensure residents can have as much or as little involvement as they choose.
In the summer months, greater focus is given to outdoor activities, such as barbecues and garden parties. In conjunction with our Chef, themed events are planned throughout the year, bringing activities and food together.
In their pink polo shirts, our activities team are easily identifiable and embrace ideas and suggestions from residents and their relatives to ensure that the activities provided keep those we support engaged, stimulated and entertained.
Iuliana Buican
Hi my name is Iuliana, I was a history teacher for 12 years before I joined Barchester in 2017. I am passionate about my job and love working with people. I enjoy planning and delivering meaningful activities which make a difference to our residents lives.
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at Austen House Care Home
Diwali Celebrations!
Residents at Austen House in Reading had a brilliant day on Thursday 4th November as they marked the start of the Hindu festival of Diwali, popularly known as the ‘festival of lights’.
Residents loved the music and joined in the Bollywood style dancing with staff wearing colourful outfits and beautiful body art, the celebration of Diwali honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, special lamps help Lakshmi find her way into people’s homes.
Activities assistant, Sunita Biyani prepared traditional Indian dishes including a range of spicy samosas, crispy bhajis and papadums with lime pickle and chutneys followed by traditional Indian sweets such as laddoo and barfi for the residents to enjoy.
Jane resident at Austen House commented: “I love all of the different cultural events that we celebrate here, there’s always something going on. I especially like the religious festivals from other cultures and sampling the wonderful food. It makes me feel like I am travelling abroad!”
Crafty pumpkin afternoon!
Residents are preparing for entries by the community (don't forget closing date is Friday!) for the best carved or decorated pumpkins and wanted to show off their own carving skills. They will be on display at our front entrance for the weekend so please do come a take a look
Mad Hatters Tea Party!
We all love a tea party with home made cakes and traditional afternoon tea, what was special about this afternoon was we made it themed for Alice in Wonderland complete with a visit from the Mad Hatter!
Weekly Pamper in the Salon
Our hairdressing salon is open every Monday & Thursday with Jo, a qualified hairdresser for 36 years. Jo provides a quality salon experience with a choice of treatments for both ladies and gents with appointments booked at reception.
Macmillan Coffee Morning
Thank you to those who attended our Macmillan cancer support coffee morning today
We were honored to have one of our neighbors, Elizabeth, attend in memory of her daughter who passed away in February. Her presence today reminds us as to why supporting charities like Macmillan is so very important.
We were also pleased to welcome Mayor Anne Bassett into our home for the first time!
The Day the Alpacas came for Tea!
We all enjoyed a visit by Lane House Alpacas at Austen House, they were so tame and happy to walk about in the home! We listened to a talk by the team on how they care for their animals was interesting together with the photos of the new Cria's (baby Alpacas) born recently.
