Activities at Cepen Lodge Care Home

Today we celebrated ‘Buddy Holly Day’ with the amazing Tony Meacock who, along with his guitar and sensational singing took us right back to the 50s!

‘Charles Hardin Holley, or Buddy Holly as he was better known, died tragically in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, aged just 22 along with fellow musicians, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson.  He was a pioneering singer-songwriter, hailed as one of the greats of 1950’s American rock & roll, despite his short career.’

Tony did Buddy proud, and we loved every minute!

Did you know we have regular live events at our home? Recently one of our favourites; Tickled Pink Productions performed their ‘Cinderella’ panto for our residents. 

‘When you wish upon a star anything is possible, even with two horrible step sisters! With the help of the Fairy Godmother Cinderella shall go to the ball and meet her handsome, thigh slapping Prince Charming.

Scripted for all ages and abilities to enjoy, and performed in the comfort of our home the pantomime was a roaring success. Our memory lane residents were fully emersed in the story, with the room full or laughter, toe -tapping, tambourine jangling and song.

This afternoon our residents were thoroughly entertained by the fabulous 'Zoe' from Mini Concerts who performed a melody of 'Winter Warmers' to get us all up and grooving.

The power of her voice had our residents singing back every word, and up dancing their socks off!  As she sang you could see the happy memories come flooding back…music really does help enrich lives.

At Cepen Lodge we know that intergenerational activity is hugely beneficial to all involved as it encourages communication and social skills. 

Mix in new technologies such as our large touchscreen table which uses Apps to provide interactive games such as drag and drop jigsaws, wordsearches and musical instruments the activity becomes fun for all ages.

Today's visiting students from Hardenhuish School; Bertie, Dan and Ethan had our Memory Lane residents fully emersed in a 'digital world of discovery'!

This week we helped resident Ian celebrate his 90th birthday. The sparklers on Ian’s luscious birthday cake lite the room with joy almost as much as Ian face lite up when he held his great great grandson the super smiley; Thomas Arthur!

Happy birthday Ian from all at Cepen Lodge.

Resident; Jean loves it when the students from Hardenhuish School visit to chat. Sophie and Emily were a delight.  This sort of interaction is made possible through our close links with local schools, colleges and nurseries. Intergenerational activities are a cornerstone of our life enrichment program. 

To honour the Scottish poet, Robert Burns, we immersed ourselves in a Ceilidh and of course, gave the time-honoured address to the ‘Great chieftain O’ the pudding’ race’ – the haggis.

Surrounded by Scottish flags our celebrations began with powerful tones of the bagpipe courtesy of sensational piper; Ruby Derbyshire. Mr McPherson our resident Scotsman hosted the main event adorned in the famous Tartan!

We enjoyed a traditional Scottish feast of delicious Haggis, Neeps and Tatties followed by Cranachan and Scottish Shortbread, prepared by our talented chef.

We had a great time celebrating Robert Burns and the Scottish culture finishing the celebrations off with a ‘wee dram’ and beautiful Scottish songs from Ruby on her guitar. 

What a fabulous day! “The heart that is generous and kind most resembles God.” – Robert Burns 

The regular horse therapy our residents receive from having Happy Hooves Equine Ltd - Equine Assisted Therapy & Transport's Laura visit with the beautiful pony; Vino helps support their emotional well-being.

Our residents love his snuggles and being able to stroke him, even from their beds brings such enjoyment, it’s truly magical to see.

Goodbye chocolate, cheese and all those naughty sweet treat goodies we've been eating throughout December and hello to a healthier you!

At Cepen Lodge we decided to make-up several healthy fruit and cleansing tea hampers for delivery to our community colleagues to help them, and their service users enjoy a fresh and tasty start to the new year.

Using twigs and beautiful faux red berries our arty ladies enjoyed twisting each berry sprig to create these life-like decorative branches in preparation for our homes Valentine's Day celebrations.

This morning our lovely residents; Veronica, Sheila and Jane gathered together with Anita to create some beautiful fresh flower displays in preparation for tomorrows Open Day.

They had a lovely time choosing which colourful bloom to place in a variety of containers. The sense of achievement in making something so beautiful and fragrant puts a smile on everyone’s face. Thank you, ladies, you all did a fabulous job. 

Happy National Activity Providers Week!

We’d like to take this opportunity to recognise and thank our wonderful Activity Coordinator; Anita Williams here at Cepen Lodge Care Home - Barchester Healthcare.

We’re proud of each and every one of our team for the unique, outstanding activities and experiences they bring to our residents every single day. Anita leads the way, always goes above and beyond her role and for this we are truly grateful.

As part of the week, our Activities Coordinators have been taking part in a whole host of events provided by NAPA, connecting and sharing ideas with teams across the country.

The joy in our residents faces is clear to see when the children and parents join at Cepen Lodge to attend the Boogie Beat Music & Movement North Wiltshire group. All generations had fun with bubbles, scarves and plenty of music, the session was full of giggles from everyone.

At the end of 2025 our home celebrated two members of staff receiving their prestigious Long Service Awards.

Care Assistant; Tracey has worked for 15 years with residents and their relatives to ensure that their needs are always met, and Audrey reached her 10 years providing the same exceptional care.

Jade Hodge, General Manager said: “We’re delighted to be celebrating a combined 25 years loyal service with Tracey and Audrey. They have both demonstrated their dedication and loyalty to this home and its residents year after year. I speak for all of us here at Cepen Lodge when I say that I’m looking forward to many more years of working with them.”

The wonderful students of Hardenhuish School had fun playing Jenga with our residents. Brick by brick the tension increased as each tried to avoid the tower tumbling down!

Jenga is a game of physical skill that supports hand-eye coordination and decision making, old and young thoroughly enjoyed playing together.