All 2023 Updates and News | Porthaven Blog

Choosing a Care Home: A Complete Guide

Your complete guide to choosing a care home Selecting the right care home for your loved one is a significant decision that requires careful consideration and research. It means finding a place where they will be safe, well cared for, and supported to enjoy their best quality of life. In this article, we will provide you with a guide […]

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When Should Someone Go Into a Care Home?

As we age, our health, needs, and capabilities all inevitably change. At some point, the question of whether a care home is necessary may arise. While this is a deeply personal, and often difficult decision to make, it is an important one. Ensure you consider all factors involved in order to prioritise the well-being and quality of life […]

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Are Next of Kin Responsible for Care Home Fees?

There is a lot to consider when moving a loved one into a care home, with one of the biggest considerations being how the fees are going to be paid and by whom. Unless a signed contract is in place, the next of kin is not responsible for the care home fees of their loved one. This article […]

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Care home vs home care: Why choose a care home?

As we age, we’ll likely each need a little care and support at some point. Whether that’s help carrying out day-to-day tasks, or assistance with developing medical conditions, it’s important that we take the time to choose the correct care for ourselves and our loved ones. What is the difference between a care home and […]

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Children’s Art Week: Woodland Manor Care Home News

In July the exceptional Marie from Fired Works ran an incredibly successful workshop here at Woodland Manor in Chalfont St Peter for our residents and friends from Childlink Day Nursery & Pre School! Together our residents and the children had a fantastic time working on their glass art whilst sharing jokes and learning something new. […]

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Beautiful bird spotting

Recently our Wiltshire Heights residents John and Margaret took a trip to the gorgeous Langford Lakes for a bit of bird spotting! The nature reserve, which is comprised of four lakes and a scrape, provides an invaluable habitat for approximately 150 different species of bird, including the occasional osprey. Langford Lakes is close to us […]

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Goodwood Festival of Speed at Upton Mill Care Home

To mark the Goodwood Festival of Speed, here at Upton Mill Care Home we decided to host our very own car show! Our fantastic Tetbury community delighted our residents with their classic cars, and we were even joined by the award winning David Long and his ice cream van, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all! […]

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International Chess Day

To mark International Chess Day here at Tonbridge House Care Home, a number of our residents, their loved ones and our team members spent some time in our garden enjoying a casual chess tournament! Together we relearnt how to play chess, all whilst enjoying a lovely break from the rain and some classical music, and […]

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Children’s Art Week: Thirlestaine Park Care Home News

As part of Children’s Art Week, our lovely Client Services Manager, Laura, was delighted to unveil our pop-up art gallery at Cheltenham Library. We would like to say a big thank you and well done to all of the young budding artists who contributed to this excellent display, as well as our very own residents. […]

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A spiffing tiffin!

World Chocolate Day here at Savernake View in Marlborough was certainly one to remember! Our fantastic Kitchen Team delighted our residents with a range of chocolatey treats including this very tempting cake stand full of tiffins! We enjoyed them with fresh fruit and tea and coffee as we spent the afternoon sharing our favourite chocolate-themed […]

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A marvellous visit from Manchester Historic Vehicle Club!

In July our residents enjoyed a special visit from the Manchester Historic Vehicle Club, who brought with them a number of fantastic cars for us to look at. This is the third year that we have held a car show at our home, and it is truly a one-of-a-kind event that our residents and team […]

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Meet the goats!

In July we surprised our animal-loving resident Liz with a trip to All Things Wild Nature Centre! Here at Penhurst Gardens Care Home, we always enjoy finding out more about our residents’ lives and Liz has told us many stories about her love for farm animals, so it was wonderful to see the look of […]

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Intergenerational art sessions

For Childrens Art Week in July our residents thoroughly enjoyed multiple visits from our friends at The Early Years Nursery! From collages to playdough, there have been plenty of creative activities on offer for the children and our residents to get stuck into, and we are incredibly grateful for the fantastic team at Early Years Nursery […]

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Beautiful ballet!

Last month our Lavender Oaks residents were treated to a spectacular performance by pupils from the London Children’s Ballet. The dancers performed a show called ‘Anne of Green Gables’, which thoroughly captivated those in attendance. Engaging with the community is a core part of London Children’s Ballet’s mission, so it was wonderful to be able […]

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Classic car visit!

Last month Eric from Bodycraft in West Horsley kindly brought his Jaguar E-Type to Hartfield House for our resident car enthusiast John to marvel at! John was delighted to see this classic car parked outside our home, and he had a fantastic time inspecting the vehicle’s pristine engine and asking plenty of questions. John has […]

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A riveting reptile encounter!

Last month our Activities and Wellbeing Team arranged for a number of snakes and reptiles to come visit us here at Falkland Grange Care Home! The braver amongst us had a go at holding a few of them, like our resident Sylvia pictured here, whilst others opted to admire these fascinating creatures from a distance. […]

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A trip to Cadbury World!

Last month our residents Ian and John took a trip to Cadbury World in Birmingham for a day full of chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate! The duo had a wonderful day watching the chocolate making process as they enjoyed a tour around the factory, and they were even able to sample a few sweet treats! […]

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Anybody fancy a flake?

In July our residents and team members were thrilled to receive a bit of respite from the summer sunshine in the form of National Ice Cream Day! To celebrate the occasion our team surprised our residents with a visit from a local Farnham ice cream van, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Everybody had a […]

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Lunch by the River Severn

In July, here at Avondale Care Home our residents requested an afternoon by the River Severn as part of our regularly scheduled trips, so our Activities and Wellbeing Team were more than happy to organise lunch at a riverside restaurant for those interested! A fantastic afternoon was had by all enjoying delicious food, fresh air […]

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Hoping for a ‘wheel’ success!

Every year our residents here at Astbury Mere Care Home enter the Congleton Wheelbarrow Challenge in the hopes of having the best decorated wheelbarrow in the community. This year’s theme was ‘Celebrations’, so our residents decided to create a wheelbarrow inspired by His Majesty’s Coronation! The Congleton and District Horticultural Society judged the wheelbarrows earlier […]

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Our defibrillator donation

Here at Haddon Hall Care Home we recently donated a new defibrillator unit to our Buxton community that will be installed at the end of the high street. Pictured here is our Home Manager Julie handing the life-saving equipment over to James, who works for the East Midlands Ambulance Service. Our team are proud to […]

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Get Out Together with Ledbury Primary School

In July our residents enjoyed weekly visits from a number of Ledbury Primary School pupils, an initiative organised by Rachel Freeman from Everybody Dance Company and facilitated by the Community Action Ledbury minibus. Every Monday the children joined our residents for a catch up and walk around our gardens. It has been fantastic watching our […]

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Do dementia residents have to pay care home fees?

At Porthaven Care Homes, around 70% of the residents that we care for are living with dementia and due to their memory loss and other symptoms, they are often unable to manage their financial affairs alone. So, who is responsible for paying care home fees and is there any funding available for dementia-specific illnesses? In […]

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Magnificent model village!

Our residents here at Woodland Manor Care Home in Chalfont St Peter recently took a trip on our minibus to Bekonscot Model Village. We feel incredibly lucky to have the attraction so close to us and so make a regular effort to take a look around the beautiful village. It was a beautiful day, and […]

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Day trip to The National Arboretum

In June our residents here at Wiltshire Heights in Chalfont St Peter were delighted to visit The National Arboretum in Westonbirt. Home to 2,500 different species from the far corners of the globe and 5 national tree collections, Westonbirt is the perfect place to escape, relax or have an adventure! The rhododendrons were particularly beautiful, […]

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World Milk Day

In June we were joined by local Tetbury dairy farmer Treena, who spent the morning telling our residents about the various products that are made using milk from her farm. Everybody agreed that it was fascinating to find out how many unique things milk is used for! Later in the afternoon our Upton Mill residents […]

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The perfect picnic!

Our residents here at Tonbridge House were delighted with a recent trip to Haysden Country Park to celebrate International Picnic Day. Our talented Kitchen Team prepared a delicious lunch for everybody to enjoy al fresco and it went down a treat. It is always nice to get out and about to discover new places in […]

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International Picnic Day

This June our Thirlestaine Park residents took advantage of the beautiful weather here in Cheltenham and enjoyed some time in our garden for International Picnic Day. We were delighted to welcome family and friends to enjoy an alfresco afternoon tea complete with finger sandwiches and a range of cakes as we reminisced over some of […]

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Superb Sausage Roll Day!

In June our Savernake View residents were thrilled to celebrate Britain’s favourite savoury snack as we marked Sausage Roll Day with a sampling session! There were plenty of delicious sausage rolls to choose from, but in the end our own talented Kitchen Team’s homemade sausage rolls were the clear winner.

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Armed Forces Day

In June we took a trip to the Macclesfield Cenotaph with our resident Pat to pay our respects to members of the armed forces both past and present. With an army instructor for a father, Pat was born and raised in a military household, and later went on to marry an army officer. Throughout her […]

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Marvellous Mark Hix!

In June we were delighted to host a live cookery demonstration here at Penhurst Gardens led by celebrated chef, restauranteur and food writer, Mark Hix MBE! The event was attended by our residents’ loved ones, members of the Oxfordshire community, local professionals and even the Mayor of Chipping Norton, Councillor Sandra Coleman. Mark prepared an […]

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The Lincroft Singers!

Here at Lincroft Meadow, our residents always look forward to a visit from the wonderful Kate Wilkinson, who hosts our weekly choir sessions. Kate begins each session with some warmups, and once everybody is ready our choir begins their practise! Alongside singing, Kate also teaches our residents how to play different instruments, which is thoroughly […]

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Captain Jim Forbes

On the 6th of June our resident Captain Jim Forbes received an emotional welcome when he returned to Normandy to mark the 79th anniversary of D-Day alongside fellow British veterans. A navy man, Jim was captain of the Empire Russell and has been awarded four British military campaign medals over the years for his service […]

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National Volunteers Week!

In June we used National Volunteers Week to show our appreciation for our wonderful volunteer Griff, who regularly brings his superb therapy dog Oscar to Hartfield House to spend quality time with our residents. Griff and Oscar’s visits never fail to bring a smile to our residents’ faces, and we all look forward to seeing […]

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Horsing around!

Our home is full of animal lovers, and we are always looking for opportunities to spend time with new furry friends, so in June our resident Ann took a trip to Enborne Equestrian Centre to do just that! Ann had a fabulous morning meeting all of the gorgeous horses at Enborne and thoroughly enjoyed spending […]

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Say hello to summer!

In June our residents took advantage of the wonderful warm spell we experienced with an action-packed month full of trips, garden games and al fresco dining! Our minibus has seen plenty of use this past month, from visits to our local ice cream shop to a trip to Brighton Pier, and for those preferring to […]

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Gabriel the music maestro!

For Make Music Day in June we decided to leave the performing to the professionals and instead welcomed the wonderful Gabriel into our home to play the piano for our residents. Gabriel was incredibly talented and very professional – he even stood up to present each piece of music before he played it! Our Bourne […]

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Plants for Ukraine

In June, Richard Novack, a friend of our Activities and Wellbeing Team, assisted the Chilterns Support Group for Ukraine as they sold home-grown plants at local events in Chesham and Little Chalfont to raise funds that will be used to buy supplies and medical equipment for those in need in Ukraine. Here at Avondale Care […]

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A beautiful day for boating

Our Astbury Mere Care Home residents love the opportunity to get out and about when the sun is shining, so in June we took a trip to Rudyard Lake in the Staffordshire Moorlands for a picnic and boat ride! Those in attendance enjoyed sailing down the reservoir on the Frolic 31, which is an Edwardian […]

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Thank you, Cynthia!

We know how important it is for our residents to feel part of our Buxton community, so we are always looking for ways to maintain strong links with those in our local area. One of the main ways we do this is through our wonderful volunteers, and in June our residents enjoyed plenty of quality […]

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Superb sunflowers!

Back in April our Deer Park residents got together to plant sunflower seeds in preparation for the annual Porthaven Garden Challenge sunflower competition, and after some time in our greenhouse and plenty of warm weather it was time to plant them in the garden! So in June ten of our residents picked out the best […]

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Dementia Action Week

In May we marked Dementia Action Week with a number of activities, including a dementia information session, a talk all about nutrition and a seaside-themed sensory reminiscence morning. For our sensory session we invited our friends from The Town Nursery in Chipping Norton to join us, and our residents had a fantastic time interacting with […]

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Ring for the King

Here at Falkland Grange Care Home, we kicked off the coronation celebrations with a fantastic party complete with decorations, food fit for royalty and plenty of superb entertainment! The Mayor of Newbury, Councillor Gary Norman, even popped in to join the festivities and ring for the King with us – here he is getting into the spirit of things […]

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The Royal Air Force Museum

Last month, our Avondale Care Home residents enjoyed a visit to The Royal Air Force Museum in London. Together we learnt about the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force before touring the museum to see all of the incredible aircrafts. Pictured here is our lovely resident Alan.

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Our Coronation celebration!

Last month we held a party fit for royalty to celebrate the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III complete with a five piece band! The group played a number of pop and rock classics, such as ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Brown Eyed Girl’, and everybody had a fantastic time singing and dancing along. […]

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Beautiful bluebells!

Last month our wonderful bus crew Sally and Joli took our residents Jill, Clive and Val on a trip to visit an amazing springtime display of bluebells in the woods near Marlborough. The trio enjoyed absorbing the lovely scents and scenery before them with a freshly prepared cup of tea, and Val noted how privileged […]

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Our very own constable!

To mark National Police Week in May, we spent some time speaking to our resident Greta about her time in the Worcestershire Constabulary. Early on in life, Greta decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and join the police force and, after some time, interviewed for the Worcestershire Constabulary. However, before Greta was offered the […]

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A celebration fit for a King!

Here at Tonbridge House, our highlight for May was celebrating the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III by inviting our residents, their loved ones and our wonderful Tonbridge community to join us for the festivities! Attendees enjoyed incredible entertainment by vocalist Kristy, and our talented chefs also prepared an exquisite array of food for […]

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Community links

Here at Thirlestaine Park we are always delighted to welcome members of our local community into our home, so we are thrilled to have built a relationship with a number of fantastic students from Cheltenham College who visit us every Wednesday. In May, the focus of their visits was to work with our residents on […]

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Our coronation competition!

To mark the coronation of King Charles III, here at Savernake View we decided to hold a competition for budding young Marlborough artists by asking them to decorate a paper crown for our Home Manager Rachael to judge. There were a number of fun and fantastic entries, which meant that Rachael had a hard task […]

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Let’s get gardening!

Last month we officially began working on our garden ready for the annual Porthaven Garden Challenge. Our fabulous resident Dotty was delighted to spend some time outside in the sunshine planting petunias and violas on our balcony and remarked how lovely it was to have space on the balcony to simply sit and enjoy a […]

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Meet Snoopy!

In May we were once again visited by our lovely local Police Community Support Officer Ian, who brought with him his wonderful Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Snoopy! Our residents had a fantastic time giving Snoopy plenty of fuss whilst catching up with Ian, and we hope that the duo will visit us again soon. As […]

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If you like Pina Colada!

For World Cocktail Day, here at Lavender Oaks our residents spent some time sampling a range of cocktails and mocktails thanks to our fabulous Activities and Wellbeing Team. There were plenty of classics on offer and, after much deliberation, everyone was in agreement that there isn’t much better than a creamy Pina Colada! Pictured here […]

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Coronation celebrations!

We celebrated the coronation of King Charles III here at Hartfield House Care Home with a fantastic street-style party! Our residents had a wonderful time decorating our home with bunting and plenty of crafted crowns. We watched the monumental event on our big screen before enjoying a delicious meal made by our talented kitchen team […]

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International Firefighters Day

Here at Chiltern Grange Care Home, we are extremely proud to be a part of the wonderful Stokenchurch community. Recently, to mark International Firefighters Day, we welcomed Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service into our home to thank them for all of the amazing work that they do. After time spent chatting with our staff and […]

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The King’s Coronation

Here at Bourne Wood Manor Care Home we had a fantastic weekend celebrating the King’s coronation. Our residents were delighted with the decorations on display in our home, and everybody enjoyed coronation chicken made by our talented Kitchen Team. However, the star of the show was our incredible cake, which took the shape of a […]

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A feast fit for a King!

Here at Astbury Mere Care Home, in May we watched along with the rest of the world from our corner of Congleton as His Majesty King Charles III was coronated! It was spectacular to watch the monumental event on the big screen in our home, and afterwards we celebrated with a party in our gorgeous […]

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A regal celebration!

Here at Haddon Hall Care Home, we celebrated the coronation of King Charles III with our very own indoor street party! The talented Sam Jones, pictured here alongside our resident Elaine, sang us a number of fantastic patriotic tunes whilst our residents danced along and waved their union jack flags! We certainly worked up an appetite, so everybody was […]

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Forget Me Not Friday Club

At last month’s Forget Me Not Friday Club, which is our monthly dementia café, we were joined by Charlotte and Tash from Dementia Matters Herefordshire as we marked Dementia Action Week. During the event, Charlotte and Tash explained how Dementia Matters supports individuals living with dementia in remaining a part of the Ledbury community through a range of […]

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A very Good Friday!

On Good Friday, our residents here at Woodland Manor Care Home in Chalfont St Peter let their creative sides shine as they made some fantastic papier mache cracked eggs to add to the Easter display in our reception! We then filled our fun creations with delicious chocolate eggs ready to share with all of our […]

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Going to the chapel!

Friends of Wiltshire Heights Care Home in Bradford on Avon will know that we love a bit of live music, especially if it is performed by the incredible Jessica Fay Long, and when we heard she was taking a break to get married we knew we had to send her on her way in style! […]

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Our cracking Easter guests!

Here at Upton Mill Care Home in Tetbury we have some very egg-citing news to share with you from April…we hatched chicks! Thanks to Incredible Eggs, we have welcomed some fluffy visitors into our home to spend time with our residents, team members and loved ones! All of us had a fantastic time watching our […]

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Scones fit for a Saint!

Our residents here at Thirlestaine Park Care Home in Cheltenham decided to celebrate St George’s Day with a traditional afternoon tea! We began by arranging flowers to ensure our tables were set and ready for the occasion and then moved to our activities and wellbeing room to bake fruit scones from scratch, which we enjoyed […]

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Victoria visits with her violin!

Our residents here at Tonbridge House Care Home were delighted to welcome back the lovely Victoria, who very kindly performed some war time classics for us. The beautiful combination of Victoria’s voice and violin could be heard throughout the whole home and put a smile on everyone’s face. We love a bit of live entertainment, […]

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Let the tournament begin!

Our residents here at Savernake View Care Home hold a weekly scrabble club where everybody is encouraged to enjoy a bit of healthy competition, so to mark National Scrabble Day we took part in a tournament to see who could come up with the highest scoring word. Clubs such as these provide a great opportunity […]

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A trip to Buxton Pavilion Gardens

In April our marvellous residents Carmel and Audrey took a trip to the gorgeous Buxton Pavilion Gardens to celebrate World Heritage Day! The Pavilion Gardens is a Grade II-listed venue showcasing Buxton’s superb Victorian heritage and boasts 23 acres of gardens for visitors to explore, as well as a boating lake, a miniature train, fountains […]

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Race you to the finish line for Parkinson’s UK!

We are thrilled to announce that our marvellous team members Deeon and Hilary recently took part in a sponsored cycle and surpassed their original target of 10 miles by cycling an incredible 18.6 miles in an hour and 40 minutes, raising £338 for Parkinson’s UK in the process! Deeon and Hilary would like to say […]

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Easter cake competition winners!

Here at Lavender Oaks Care Home in Carshalton, we are thrilled to announce that our marvellous Head Chef Tani was recently awarded first place in an Easter cake competition held by our food supply company, Corefield! Tani wowed the judges with a decadent triple chocolate cake complete with two perfect chocolate eggs on top – […]

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Hoppy Easter!

From all of us here at Lincroft Meadow Care Home in Kidlington, we hope that you had a fantastic Easter! Our residents had a wonderful weekend, complete with visits from our local church, a traditional Easter egg hunt and some delicious Easter-themed baking. We also welcomed guitarist Cody into our home to perform some live […]

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Harp-y Easter!

Here at Hartfield House Care Home in Leatherhead, our residents enjoyed an Easter performance by the talented harpist Mark Levin. Mark played an incredibly impressive set on the harp and attracted the attention of many of our residents. Pictured here is Joan listening with the best seat in the house! Thank you so much for […]

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A walk on the wild side!

As the weather starts to warm up, here at Chiltern Grange Care Home in Stokenchurch we have been venturing out on our minibus to visit some of our favourite destinations! Most recently our residents enjoyed a trip to Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens. We had a full itinerary and started off with the meerkats and […]

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A visit from Parkinson’s UK

In April, Alastair Jack from Parkinson’s UK joined us here at Bourne Wood Manor Care Home in Farnham to talk to our residents, their relatives and our staff about living well with Parkinson’s. Alastair is the Senior Area Development Manager for Parkinson’s UK, so it was great to welcome him into our home and find […]

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Parkinson’s Awareness Week

During Parkinson’s Awareness Week in April, we were delighted to welcome Andrew and Jacky from the Aylesbury district of Parkinson’s UK to Avondale Care Home. They gave an informative talk and shared the benefits of art with a diagnosis. Our fantastic kitchen team also put together a delicious afternoon tea, and afterwards we raised funds […]

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Easter Flower Arranging

In the true spirit of Easter, we embraced spring here at Astbury Mere Care Home with a flower arranging session. June, pictured here, has years of experience after regularly attending the Alderly Flower Group and fondly recalls decorating the Chester Cathedral for the late Revd. Canon Brian Young when he was canonised. June has used […]

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Planting the seed!

Here at Haddon Hall Care Home in Buxton, we always look forward to the annual Porthaven Garden Challenge. As the spring sunshine has begun to peek through, our fantastic Activities and Wellbeing Coordinator Keith has been spending some time in our gorgeous garden with our lovely resident, Rod so that they can get a head […]

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Our (not so) ferocious new friend!

Friends of Deer Park Care Home in Ledbury will remember that a few months ago we welcomed our wonderful housekeeper Sharon’s pet bearded dragon into our home for our residents to name, with the winning name being Delilah. In April, Sharon and Delilah returned with a new addition to the family – Delilah’s son! Our […]

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The Magic Table

Here at Woodland Manor Care Home we love to keep up to date with the latest technology and trial equipment that can be used to get our residents engaged in new and exciting activities. Last month we trialled the magic table, which is a 360-degree projection device that allows us to provide meaningful activities for […]

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A Trip to Oakham Treasures

In January some of our Wiltshire Heights Care Home residents took a trip with our minibus team to Oakham Treasures in Bristol, which is a museum of retail and farming history that showcases items such as vintage tractors, grocery displays and a sweet shop. This amazing collection of vintage items prompted many conversations about the […]

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Thank you, Activities and Wellbeing!

In January we celebrated our fantastic Activities and Wellbeing Team during National Activity Providers and Professionals Week by gifting them each a rainbow pen with ‘Thank You’ engraved on it, so that they always remember how appreciative we are of everything they do to enrich the lives of our residents. From organising games, events and […]

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National Cheese Lovers Day

In January our Tonbridge House Care Home residents had a fantastic afternoon celebrating National Cheese Lovers Day with a cheese board full of delicious cheeses, fruits and crackers. Our residents were also offered a glass of superb Berry Bros. & Rudd wine to pair their cheese with, and after sampling many different cheeses everybody agreed […]

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Celebrating World Religion Day

Here at Thirlestaine Park Care Home we believe in person-centred care with physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing at its core, so throughout the year we will often celebrate different faiths by participating in their religious holidays. For World Religion Day in January, we welcomed our parish priest, Reverend Ernie, into our home for a service […]

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Hello from Poppy the Pony!

In January we were once again visited by Poppy the Dinky Pony, who is a popular face here at Savernake View Care Home. Poppy visits our residents once a month to hand out cuddles and spend an afternoon enjoying lots of fuss, a good groom, and even a few treats! Now a professional at navigating […]

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Chinese Lanterns with Clare’s Crafts

Last month we celebrated Chinese New Year with a crafting session run by our favourite artist, Clare’s Crafts. Clare is a popular visitor at our home and always comes prepared with fantastic seasonal projects for our residents to work on. For Chinese New Year Clare led our residents through how to make Chinese lanterns, and […]

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Our Very Own Antiques Road Trip

In January our Penhurst Gardens Care Home residents went on their own Antiques Road Trip with numerous visits to JS Auctions, which is an auction house full of fascinating antique items. JS Auctions is owned by Joe Smith, who has made numerous appearances on the BBC television series Antiques Road Trip. On our most recent […]

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The Year of the Rabbit

To celebrate the Chinese New Year we decided to invite some rabbits into our home so that we could get to know the zodiac creature for 2023! Our residents were delighted to spend a relaxing afternoon cuddling up with their newfound companions, and there were plenty of remarks about how soft their fur was! It […]

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A Visit from Simon De Cintra

For Winnie the Pooh Day local actor and playwright Simon De Cintra took time away from his busy career to entertain our residents and their loved ones with a selection of passages from A. A. Milne’s beloved books. Simon also joined us in enjoying some delicious honey cakes whipped up by our award-winning Head Chef, […]

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A Brie-illiant Afternoon!

As a home full of cheese enthusiasts, we knew we had to celebrate National Cheese Lovers Day in style last month! Our fantastic Hartfield House Care Home kitchen team put together a spectacular cheese board for our residents to enjoy, which included a selection of delicious cheeses, grapes and crackers. However, these weren’t the only […]

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Meditation, Mindfulness and Modern Buddhism

In January we invited Gen Sangye from Samudra Kadampa Buddhist Centre to visit us here at Haddon Hall Care Home for World Religion Day. His visit began with a talk about the Buddhist religion and mindfulness, and then Sangye led our residents in a meditation session that concentrated on bringing inner peace to the mind […]

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A Visit from Duke the Rottweiler!

In January our residents were thrilled to once again welcome the lovely Duke into our home. Duke is a Pets as Therapy dog who has quickly become a popular face here at Falkland Grange Care Home, and our residents always appreciate the opportunity to give him lots of fuss. One of our new residents, Ray, […]

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Magnificent Malvern Hills

At Deer Park Care Home our residents don’t let the winter weather stop them from getting out and about, so recently our brilliant minibus team Bill and Alesa took our residents Pam and Mary on a drive to see the incredible Malvern Hills. Pam and Mary had a fabulous time enjoying the remarkable scenery from […]

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Celebrating our Canine Companions!

For Walk Your Dog Month we decided to participate in lots of different activities that would allow us to celebrate our four-legged friends. Many of our residents continued to knit blankets to donate to our local dog rescue centre, and we even knitted one for our visiting Pets as Therapy dog, Kylie. Our Chiltern Grange […]

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Knit and Knatter

In January we hosted our first Bourne Wood Manor Care Home ‘Knit and Knatter’ session for our residents in our fantastic café, and everybody in attendance had a wonderful time working on their personal knitting projects whilst enjoying a cup of coffee and some quality conversation. We have already had multiple requests to host this […]

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Visits from Princess and Bailey

For Walk Your Dog Month we decided to invite some of our favourite four-legged friends to visit us here at Avondale Care Home. To aid in this effort our brilliant receptionist Lyn has been bringing in her lovely pooches, Princess and Bailey, for our residents to spend time with and take on gentle strolls around […]

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Happy Chinese New Year!

Here at Astbury Mere Care Home we celebrated the Chinese New Year with a day full of themed activities, which included a craft workshop where our residents made some gorgeous paper lanterns. These were then used to decorate our dining room so that our residents could enjoy their delicious Chinese New Year dinner in style. […]

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Christmas Cake Decorating

In December we celebrated all things festive here at Tonbridge House and one of our most delicious seasonal activities involved our residents decorating their own yule logs. There were a variety of Christmas decorations on offer, as well as plenty of edible glitter – we love a bit of festive sparkle! Our residents always enjoy […]

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Christmas Card Crafting

Every week here at Thirlestaine Park the fantastic Katherine hosts an arts and crafts session for our residents so that they can let their creative talents shine. In December these sessions took a festive twist to get us into the yuletide mood with the crafting of Christmas cards. Our residents made many Christmas cards for […]

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Our Five Star Kitchen

In December our incredible kitchen team received a routine Environmental Health Officer inspection and were thrilled to be awarded five out of five stars! We are incredibly proud of our Head Chef Matt and his team for this achievement, as we know how deserving they all are of this commendation. This rating is a testament […]

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Exploring the Kingdom of the Snow Queen

In December our residents Valerie and Pat took a trip to Blenheim Palace to explore the winter wonderland that had been unveiled throughout the palace’s various rooms. The duo were in awe as they ventured through the glistening Land of Snowflakes and the beautiful Kingdom of Ice, keeping an eye out to ensure they could […]

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O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

At Woodland Manor we had an impressive eight trees on display in our home throughout the festive season. These trees were all provided by a local supplier, and we agreed that they were the best shaped trees we had ever seen – the pines also smelt wonderful! We celebrated their delivery and decoration by singing […]

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Christmas PJ Day

In December our staff got involved in Christmas Pyjama Day in aid of Alzheimer’s Research UK by coming to work in their best festive sleepwear. Our residents were extremely amused to see us all in our PJs throughout the day, especially when we all came together to perform a carol concert for them! The fabulous […]

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Oh No It Isn’t!

Oh yes it is indeed panto time once again here at Prestbury House! Our residents were thrilled to catch a viewing of Cinderella at the Stockport Plaza in December, with Cheryl Ferguson from Eastenders playing the Fairy Godmother. We planned three outings to the Plaza to ensure all of our residents had the opportunity to […]

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A Letter from Buckingham Palace

After Her Majesty’s passing in September we held a memorial here at Penhurst Gardens to commemorate her life and service to our country. As part of this we put together a scrapbook full of condolences, memories and best wishes for King Charles III from our residents and staff that we then sent to Buckingham Palace. […]

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Furry Festive Visitors

In December our residents were thrilled to welcome back Lollipop and Tinkerbell the miniature Shetland ponies! The duo came dressed to impress in their best festive jackets and brought a smile to each and every one of our residents’ faces. Lollipop and Tinkerbell moved throughout our home visiting our residents and even went into some […]

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Our Very Own Christmas Market

Last month we hosted our first ever Lavender Oaks Christmas market full of stalls run by small, local businesses. We were lucky enough to have our local MP Elliot Colburn in attendance to cut the ribbon and announce our market officially open, which was a great way to start the festivities. With a variety of […]

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Festive Fun and Mischief

Last month our team got into the festive spirit by taking part in Elf Day to raise awareness for the Alzheimer’s Society. There were various fantastic costumes on display, however our residents agreed that their favourite was our team member Dominique’s blow-up outfit! Our team took their role as Santa’s helpers seriously as they went […]

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The Picture of Joy

As part of our Advent of Activities here at Haddon Hall, the talented Sam Jones joined us on the 7th December to hold a fabulous evening full of festive entertainment. Sam gave each of our residents Christmas hats to wear as she performed a selection of upbeat festive tunes. Sam also held a competition to […]

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The Swindon Toy Appeal

In 2022 we were proud to once again participate in the Swindon Toy Appeal. This appeal is run annually by various churches across Swindon and aims to collect toys for families in the area that need some extra support providing gifts for their children at Christmas time. Our fantastic Activities and Wellbeing Lead James arranged […]

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Sounds Familiar!

In December the fantastic ‘Sounds Familiar’ singing group led us in a mixture of festive songs and traditional carols in aid of Alzheimer’s Research UK. To get our residents involved the group provided them with pictures so that during ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ they could hold up the correct image, which our residents found particularly […]

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National Cupcake Day

In December our residents celebrated National Cupcake Day by decorating a freshly baked batch of delicious vanilla cupcakes. Our residents decided to turn the cupcakes into a forest of Christmas trees, so they set to work frosting each one with vibrant green icing and decorating them with coloured sprinkles. Once they were finished they sat […]

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Christmas Switch On with Age UK Surrey

Last month the fantastic Kerry and Diana joined us from Age UK Surrey for our Christmas light switch on. The duo brought with them a variety of Age UK Christmas cards for those in attendance to browse and purchase, with the funds going towards Age UK Surrey’s vital work. They also spent time getting to […]

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A Hat-tastic Day!

The 16th December was a day full of excitement for our residents as not only did they participate in Wear a Christmas Hat Day to raise awareness for the charity Brain Tumour Research, but they were also visited by our local MP, Rob Butler. Rob kindly brought with him some Christmas gifts for our residents […]

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A Performance by Silk Brass

Last month the fantastic Silk Brass band paid us a visit to perform a number of festive tunes for our residents. Silk Brass are based in the picturesque village of Marton, and their band started with only ten members but soon filled its ranks and is now a full-sized, traditional brass band. Our residents were […]

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