Jan 2022
The Castle pub opens at Avonbourne in Old Sarum
Always looking for new ways to have fun, residents and the team at Avonbourne have worked together to open a new pub.
The residents at Avonbourne Care Centre are a sociable bunch and with the restrictions across the country over the past two years, the team has worked to maintain people’s social bonds. A packed bar for the first night of the new pub is the latest initiative.
Residents suggested various names for their new pub which were then shortlisted for a vote. The poll ran on Avonbourne’s Facebook page before Christmas, with The Castle chosen as the winner. It’s a fitting acknowledgement of Avonbourne’s location, beside the Iron Age castle of Old Sarum.
Our Activities Coordinator, Malick, turned bartender for the night, and the team made a big effort to recreate as much of the atmosphere of a traditional British pub as possible. This included music, a pool table and people chatting over a glass of wine or a pint of beer. Everyone at Avonbourne Care Centre would like to extend a big thank you to Wadworth Brewery for their gift of beer mats, bar towels, pump clips and polo shirts – all the little details that made it look and feel just that little bit more authentic. Of course, The Castle serves Waddies!
Research carried out by carehome.co.uk, the leading review site for care homes in the UK, found that more than half of staff working in a care home with an onsite pub have seen a noticeable improvement in the mental wellbeing of their residents where there is such a space in which to socialise. Carehome.co.uk is now urging homes without a pub space to look into how and where they could create one.
A carehome.co.uk spokesperson said: “With pubs a staple of British culture, our survey reveals that these social hubs are a great mood enhancer and we would like to see more care homes creating a pub for their residents. They are particularly key for residents living with reduced mobility who may be unable to visit pubs outside the care home.”
The activities team at Avonbourne Care Centre are planning more events at the pub, including quizzes, theme nights, even beer-tasting.