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
Christmas Party!
Austen House got into the Christmas spirit by throwing a themed party for residents. Christmas party was in full swing with a live music show performed by Gary, fancy dress, Christmas Raffle and festive foods.
Residents, families and friends joined in with the singing, dancing and clapped along as Gary performed some beautiful Christmas songs. Also, everyone enjoyed a feast of festive foods prepared by the home’s chef, Ainsworth Brown.
It was a wonderful time had by all, our home was filled with laughter, joy, music and dance. A festive afternoon of great food, company and conversation.
Operations Manager, Joleen Leung said: “Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year and our fantastic residents love to get festive so we’ve pulled out all the stops. It is so lovely to see them all getting into the Christmas spirit, it’s definitely my favourite time of year.
Salvation Army Christmas Carols Concert!
Residents and staff at Austen House got into the Christmas spirit by inviting the community to come and join in with a carol concert to sing some festive Christmas favourites.
So, we had the pleasure of welcoming volunteers from the Salvation Army at Austen House to sing carols with the residents and heavenly voices rang out at our home. The residents thoroughly enjoyed singing along with them and were delighted having a glass of mulled wine and delicious mince pies afterwards!
For some of our residents it was a time for reunion seeing old friends again and chatting with them.
Thank you all for coming, we are so lucky to have such a fantastic community here!
Reading West Pathfinders Performance!
What a lovely Sunday afternoon we had here at Austen House with a drumming performance by the Reading West Pathfinders, coordinated by Cheryl and Donette.
Afterwards, residents and children were delighted to decorate a Christmas Tree, sing carols and sharing Christmas memories together. Also, we enjoyed some delicious mince pies, chocolates and refreshments.
We do our best to provide a wide range of activities and entertainment here at Austen House as part of the lifestyle enrichment programme for residents, and having children around it is one of our favourite!
Thank you Reading West Pathfinders for bringing so much joy to our residents.
We are all definitely feeling the festive spirit!
Diwali Celebration!
Residents, staff and relatives had a brilliant day celebrating the start of the Hindu festival of Diwali, popularly known as the festival of lights.
Residents helped with making colourful patterned rangoli and lighting diyas, small oil lamps which are lit to signify the triumph of good over evil. Diwali honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, the lamps help Lakshmi find her way into peoples homes.
After we decorated some areas of our home with lights and colourful fabrics, we had a wonderful party, where we enjoyed listening to live traditional music by Ratna and dancing with a Bollywood dance teacher, Asha from local community. Some of our residents and staff dressed up for the occasion and had fun joining in with the singing and dancing. We also enjoyed some traditional Indian dishes and sweets.
Norma a 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!"
Remembrance Day!
Staff and residents commemorated Remembrance Day on Sunday 12 November. They joined the rest of the United Kingdom in holding a two-minute silence at 11am.
As well as marking Remembrance Day by wearing poppies and watching the televised service from The Cenotaph, residents took part in therapeutic activities such as making poppy displays, listening to old wartime songs, reading war poems and having a Remembrance Service from St Nicholas Church.
Maurice, a resident at Austen House, said: "It is very important that we keep the memories of those who fought alive and that we also think about those involved in conflicts around the world today.”.
Trip out to the Garden Centre!
Our residents had a great time and enjoyed a minibus trip to Henry Street Garden Centre, in Reading. We enjoyed a walk around looking at the beautiful plants and fabulous Christmas displays and making some shopping, there was so much to see and choose.
After that we decided to take the weight off our feet, stop off in the cafeteria and relax with some hot chocolate, cappuccino, latte or tea and delicious cakes for everyone's taste.
We all had a fantastic time!
