Activities at Marriott House and Lodge Care Home

Staff and residents at Marriott House and Lodge celebrated National Activity Providers & Professionals Week, which takes place from January 22-26. Residents and staff wanted to thank the wonderful activities team at the home, whose hard work and dedication make a real difference to the lives of the residents living there.

National Activity Providers & Professionals Week is an annual event to support activity professionals and thank them for all the many different varied activities they provide to residents and patients.   The activities team at Marriott House and Lodge includes Abby, Kayleigh, Anna and Paige who offer unique, tailored activities and entertainment to the residents every single day. They always go above and beyond their role and for this everyone at the home is truly grateful.

Audrey, Resident Ambassador, commented: “We’ve all had such a lovely time today, it really is a joy to be able to thank our wonderful activities coordinators for all that they do.  They really make such a difference each and every day.”

Excitement was in the air when the talented residents have been named the winners of the annual Barchester Christmas Cake competition for the South Division.

Each year residents from Barchester’s care homes and hospitals up and down the country compete for the coveted Christmas Cake of the Year title.  The competition is run by the central hospitality team and the bar is set very high. Many of Barchester’s residents are very skilled bakers and the Christmas cake designs can be very elaborate.  Competition is fierce and only the very best recipes and designs will prevail.

The residents put their heads together and donned their aprons to come up with the most amazing Christmas cake decorated to perfection. 

Nikki Culleton, General Manager said: “Our residents had such a brilliant time taking part in this competition, it has been such fun.  Everyone here loves to bake and we all love cake so we were all very excited to take part.  It has been a real collaborative process – refining the recipe and trying different versions of the design.  We’ve all loved eating the previous versions until we came up with the perfect winning design!  It really has been no hardship!”

Audrey, a resident at the home commented: “I’ve been baking my whole life, I find it so satisfying when a cake turns out well and everyone enjoys it.  Christmas cakes have always been a favourite thing of mine to make so when I heard about the competition, I couldn’t wait to get stuck in!  I am so proud that we have won, it has made my Christmas!”

We would like to share a lovely piece written by our Volunteer Jean.

At Marriott House and lodge where nothing happens half-heartedly the Christmas season began in early December when decorations and Christmas trees aplenty gradually appeared throughout both buildings. Groups from different schools came to sing carols, the Activities Team engaged residents in various preparation such as ‘snowstorms’ in jars and other jolly crafts including cooking delicious smelling cakes, cookies etc. Not many hands allowed to remain idle, each and every resident made to feel useful by contributing. 

The staff donned in bright Christmas jumpers and hats enthusiastically added to the atmosphere while at the same time being sensitive to the sad fact Christmas does not always create happy memories for some. Every effort is made to listen, understand, to show loving empathy and above all create an atmosphere of inclusion.

Excitement building Christmas Eve arrived at last when we held our own carol service singing many of our favourite carols, listening to readings telling the wondrous age old story of the birth of Jesus, and prayers for world peace, for the hungry and homeless, for the sick and lonely and for those who feel hopeless.

It was our great privilege and pleasure to welcome Martin, Lord Bishop of Chichester who joined us in our service and graciously gave the concluding blessing. The Bishop also told us that as he celebrated the Midnight Mass in the Cathedral he would be thinking of the residents here at Marriott House and Lodge.

Love really did come down at that first Christmas in Bethlehem and is thriving here at Marriott House and Lodge. I wish you ALL a Happy and Peaceful New Year.

Jean

Marriott House and Lodge are always finding ways to celebrate life. We are thrilled to share this heart-warming fulfilment of a special wish for many of our residents who wanted to see the Chichester Cathedral Peace Dove installation.

At Marriott House and Lodge, we enjoy going out and about in community and attending local events. During October and November, we have been venturing out several times a week to support our residents to see the Chichester Cathedral Peace Dove installation.                                                                                            

This artwork included fifteen thousand individually handmade paper doves suspended above the Cathedral’s historic Nave.

Each dove contains a message of peace, love, and   hope, written by local community groups, schools and members of the public.

It has not disappointed, everyone has really enjoyed it, saying it looked beautifully and very effective.  Some of our visits have also been privileged to witness a musical performance and watching the amazing Harvest Festival flowers being arranged.

Marriott House and Lodge was full of animal mischief on the 18th October when a group of alpacas came to visit the home.

Residents at Marriott House and Lodge were pleasantly surprised to see their new furry friends roaming around  the home as Dunreyth Alpacas paid a visit.

Resident Barbara was very excited by the Alpaca visit, “As a child I used to love all the animals on the nearby farm. Today was very enjoyable and it was wonderful that the animals were free to roam amongst us.” 

Residents at Marriott House and Lodge had a mouth-watering day as they marked World Food Day with a series of fun gastronomic activities.

Our staff and catering team cooked up a storm in the home’s kitchen as a stream of dishes old and new and from around the world were available for our residents to sample throughout the day. This brought up the opportunity for everybody to reminisce about their favourite childhood meals as well as those they love to cook.

One resident at the home remembered being served tripe and onions when she was younger, which got a mixed reception from those around her!  A discussion also arose of the value of the land girls and boys throughout both World War I and World War II.