Staff and residents were treated to a virtual talk on Zoom about Mary Quant’s influence on the world of fashion by V&A Dundee curator, Mhairi Maxwell.  The talk forms part of a series of six talks and virtual tours that V&A Dundee is hosting for Barchester Healthcare’s care homes and private hospitals across the UK. Residents could choose to watch on their tablets or the bigger screen in the Lounge. 

V&A Dundee is Scotland’s design museum, it showcases Scotland’s outstanding design achievements and features world-class exhibitions alongside the permanent Scottish Design Galleries, and a changing programme of commissions, events and activities.  

Mhairi’s talk and virtual tour of the Quant exhibition, which was previously hosted by V&A Dundee, describes how Quant captured the spirit of the swinging sixties and pioneered a business model that reshaped the industry, making designer fashion far more accessible for women (and men!) than ever before. Residents learnt about Quant’s career and influences, the personal stories behind some of the stylish outfits in the exhibition, the #SewQuant campaign and even got to peek behind the scenes of the exhibition’s design.

“Mary Quant kick-started the fashion revolution in this country and what we wear today is still hugely influenced by her, it was a privilege to be able to share her story with the residents at Barchester Healthcare who would have been wearing her ground-breaking designs back in the Sixties,” Mhairi said.

Lucy Tomlinson, Resident Experience Manager for Barchester Healthcare, commented: ““We have been using technology to keep our residents and patients connected with their loved ones as well as offer virtual events, entertainment and activities throughout the pandemic.  We are excited to work with our wonderful partners like V&A Dundee to bring a wide range of fantastic experiences into our homes for all to enjoy, particularly as this talk provided such a lovely opportunity for all to reminisce about their memories of fashion in the 1960s.

Our residents celebrated Mother’s Day with an afternoon tea party, and video calls with the family. The home was beautifully decorated with fresh flowers and bunting for the occasion. Staff arranged an afternoon tea, discussion about how the role of the mother has changed, reminiscences about the residents’ childhood. Our chef George and his team prepared a lovely afternoon tea for the whole home

Kitty a resident at Kingsland House, commented: “I am so grateful to the staff here who try so hard to make days like this extra special for us all and it was wonderful to be able to see my family safely using the visiting suite, I received some lovely gifts from my daughters, and to see one of them on the day was great.

General Manager, Karen Williams said: “We’ve all had a really lovely day. Although Mother’s Day has had to be a bit different this year, our mums have had video calls with family, a lovely afternoon tea, we have made good use of our visiting suite to make sure lots of our residents had a visit with their loved ones.

Our dedicated care assistant, Gail has received a prestigious 25 Year Service Award in celebration of working at Barchester Healthcare for 25 years.

Gail Matten started at Barchester in 1st March 1996 and has worked with residents and their relatives to ensure that their needs have been met over the years. 

Karen Williams, General Manager of Kingsland House said: “We’re delighted to be celebrating 25 years of loyal service with Gail she has demonstrated her dedication and loyalty to this home and its residents year after year. I speak for all of us here at Kingsland House when I say that I’m looking forward to many more years of working with Gail.

Residents enjoyed creating hanging baskets this week to go around the grounds at Kingsland House. We are all excited to see that spring is on its way with the collection of colours in the baskets, and are looking forward to the families visiting Kingsland House watching them flourish!

Our resident, Ruth, was able to enjoy creating a hanging basket for everyone to enjoy. Ruth said “It’s so lovely that we can still do the things we love to do, I have always loved to do my own hanging baskets and get my hands dirty".

We are open for those looking for quality residential and nursing care now and have an advance booking service for respite care later in the year if you are looking at booking a holiday or simply needing a break from caring for your loved one. For more information about Kingsland House please call us on 01273 838087

Staff at Kingsland House were delighted to have received a thank you card and a badge to wear with pride. They have participated in receiving the vaccine, as they are aware that this is a fundamental part of beating COVID-19, and after what has been a very challenging year for everyone, we are hoping that this will assist with the control of the virus.