Activities at Bushey House Beaumont Care Home

At our care home, we believe it’s the little moments — and sometimes the extraordinary ones — that make life truly special. One recent festive trip reminded us just how powerful kindness, teamwork, and shared experiences can be.

We were honoured to help make a Christmas wish come true for Alex by taking him and his wife, Haddie, on a special trip to London to see the Christmas lights. Wrapped in festive cheer and surrounded by familiar faces, Alex was supported throughout the journey by his devoted carer, Varsha, who was by his side every step of the way.

This memorable outing was made possible thanks to Georgia, Activities Coordinator at Wilsmere House Care Home, who went above and beyond by driving the minibus to Bushey House to collect everyone before heading into the heart of London. Fellow resident Haldene also joined the trip, adding to the sense of companionship and shared joy that made the evening so special.

As the city sparkled with lights and festive spirit, the smiles and laughter said it all. Seeing the joy on Alex’s face — a smile that never faded — was a powerful reminder of why experiences like these matter so much. They create connection, spark happiness, and leave memories that will be cherished long after the lights come down.

Moments like this capture the heart of life in our care home: compassion, dedication, and a commitment to ensuring every resident feels valued, supported, and able to enjoy meaningful experiences — especially at Christmas.

Residents enjoyed an amazing Christmas buffet feast last Friday at our annual Christmas party—a celebration not just of the season, but of togetherness. The menu was prepared entirely in-house by our talented Head Chef, Avni, and his dedicated catering team, who put their hearts into every dish. From the comforting winter warmers to the beautifully presented festive favourites, each plate was crafted to bring joy, spark memories, and nourish more than just the appetite.

It wasn’t simply a meal; it was food for the soul. Laughter filled the room, stories were shared, and the aroma of freshly prepared dishes wrapped everyone in a sense of home and warmth. Residents agreed that the feast was fantastic, but more importantly, it brought people together in the true spirit of Christmas—where good company, good food, and heartfelt moments create the magic of the season.

Residents of Bushey House enjoyed a trip to the Bushey Rose Gardens recently on a beautiful warm day. The gardens are a short walk from our home and a place we visit often when the weather is good .

We had a good walk around the gardens and then enjoyed some time in the sun before returning home for drinks in our gardens at Bushey House.

Children at local St Hilda's girls school were thrilled to receive prizes from our residents as part of a Barchester Easter bunny colouring competition. It was a difficult job for the judges to choose the two runners up and winner. The winners were presented their tasty prizes of chocolate and other goodies by our two residents Kathy and Kathleen.

Residents at Bushey House had a taste of spring by enjoying an art class painting some flowers. Each resident chose their own paints to work with and created some lovely spring art for their rooms.

Our residents kicked off the countdown to Christmas with a truly special treat on Monday — a festive pet visit! This time, we were delighted to welcome Ringo the baby meerkat, brought in by our wonderful friends at @performing-pets.

Ringo has been hand-reared after being rejected by his mother, and he will soon be joining other meerkats in a specially designed environment where he can grow and thrive. For many of our residents, this was the very first time they had ever seen a meerkat in real life — let alone had the chance to gently stroke one! The smiles and excitement in the room said it all.

We host monthly pet visits here at the home, featuring a variety of friendly animals, and these sessions continue to be one of our most loved activities. They offer comfort, joy, companionship, and plenty of heart-warming moments that every resident can enjoy.

What a magical way to start the festive season!

We have a local Museum in walking distance of Bushey House ,with the whole history of Bushey and an art exhibition taking place this month. I spoke to Alex about this and brought him some leaflets on them and asked if we could make it happen. Would he like to come? Alex was really keen to go, so with the help of Dulani, one of the carers and I, we took both Alex and another resident, Barbara, to the Museum for an afternoon out. We did a whole tour of the Museum and Alex was fascinated to hear the history of Bushey and the fact that the pop group Wham even lived here as teenagers. Alex really enjoyed the art exhibits and was able to explore the whole museum as it is wheelchair accessible with a large lift to each floor. We even walked round the corner after the visit to see the actual house the artist Lucy Kemp Welch had lived in  and the blue plaque on the door.

Alex really enjoyed the visit, not only for the museum tour, but for the chance to have an afternoon out and to feel a sense of independence that he said he hadn’t felt for some time. He was so enthusiastic and couldn’t wait for his wife to visit so he could tell her all about it. Alex's wife said she couldn’t believe how happy he was to have gone and that he had given her the whole history of Bushey! This visit really boosted Alex's mood and made him very happy. He now can't wait to go on a mini-bus trip a bit further afield. From not wanting to do anything except watch TV when he arrived, this is a huge achievement for Alex and has brought a real quality back to his life.

Residents of Bushey House were lucky enough to see some very special visitors: two week old lambs Tom and Jerry. The lambs were brought to visit us by Performing Pets who visit us regularly with different animals. 

Residents and a large number of the local community were privileged to welcome Holocaust survivor, John Fieldsend, to share some of his life story at Bushey House. John and his brother were two of thousands of children rescued from Nazi Europe by the heroic efforts of Sir Nicolas Winton. John's personal account was a moving experience for all present. There were few dry eyes as the Holocaust survivor read out a letter received from his parents shortly before they died in the Nazi gas chambers.

Love was in the air as residents and members of the community celebrated Valentine's Day with live music and exquisite cakes made by our regional head chef, Avni, and his team. We hold Community Afternoon Teas every month including live music. 

Our residents kicked off the festive season in style on Sunday with a joyful Christmas arts and crafts afternoon! The room was filled with chatter, laughter, and plenty of holiday spirit as everyone came together to create some beautiful decorations for our dining room.

The highlight of the day was the super-sized paper chain they made as a team — a colourful, cheerful creation now proudly displayed across our dining room window. It has completely transformed the space and added a wonderful touch of Christmas magic. 

Arts and crafts sessions like this are always such a delight. They give our residents the chance to express their creativity, work together on something fun, and enjoy a relaxing activity that also helps support fine motor skills and confidence. Most importantly, it brings everyone together to share smiles and make lovely memories.

What a fantastic way to start our Christmas celebrations — and there’s plenty more festive fun to come!

I decided to create a garden vegetable area and set up a gardening club for our residents who enjoyed this activity. Buying some waist-high containers our residents could plant in water, and a variety of seeds and plants ,we have set up our own growing area, including a compost bin to create our own fully organic vegetable area. Sheila has planted tomatoes , carrots, herbs and peppers along with some of the other residents, and waters all the plants daily and helps put garden waste and kitchen veg peelings in our compost bin.

Sheila has taken great delight in this activity and has taken on the role as head of the gardening club, encouraging other residents to both join in and help care for the plants. She has taken great joy in harvesting the vegetables and taking them to the kitchen for the chef to use for all our residents. We even held a social drinks evening where we served canapés using all our own home-grown tomatoes. This activity had given Sheila a new passion. Every day we go outside and check on the vegetables, giving her plenty of fresh air and exercise. Sheila takes all her visitors outside and shows off her growing area and invites them to sample her veg, and she encourages other residents to help water and harvest the crops. 

Residents had a fun afternoon celebrating pancake day. With pancakes made by our Head Chef, Avni, each resident created their own design using a selection of fruit chocolate and sauces. To make the afternoon extra special, residents then got to eat their own pancakes with wine, tea and coffee. We also served pancakes to our residents nursed in bed. Everyone agreed it had been good fun made extra special by the lovely spring sun coming into the dining room.