Hayley is now doing her bit and then some! She decided to take a break from her saxophone teaching to open a shop in Marlborough whose aim is to use as close to zero plastic packaging as possible. This responsibility starts with her suppliers who use as little and as environmentally friendly packaging as is feasible. Some even bring foods in re-useable containers to Hayley and she, in turn, encourages her customers to bring their re-useable containers with them when they visit. Or alternatively, shoppers can carry their purchases home in a paper bag.

Hayley’s shop is all about stripping back to simple living; write a shopping list and then go and buy just enough of what you need. Feel good about the fact that you have not contributed to harming the environment and also feel healthier knowing that everything you buy there is organic.

It is not just for people looking to be environmentally friendly but also for those wanting to reduce their shopping costs or waste. If you buy just the right amount, then you will use just the right amount. This makes so much sense when it comes to items such as spices, especially when trialling a new recipe. Need a pinch of that? A spoonful of this? Then go and buy a pinch and a spoonful from Hayley. She doesn’t mind. Need gluten-free foods for nutritionally challenging visits from family members once in a blue moon, knowing you’ll never use it again? Go and buy a cup of flour from Hayley. She really doesn’t mind!

Hayley came to spread the word about the ethos behind her shop with our residents at Coombe End Court; it really resonated with many of them who weren’t subjected to over-packaging in their early lives. Hayley talked about the problems it is causing to the environment now and discussed the benefits of zero waste shopping. She talked about opening the business and how the shop is doing now. And then a resident volunteered to use one of the dispensers Hayley had brought in to show us.

It was a fabulous interactive talk, which created a lot of discussion and we now have some very interested residents who would like to go and visit ‘Packaging Not Included’ and perhaps make some changes to return to a simpler way of life.

Home » News » Blog: Eggcellent new arrivals settle in at Spencer Court

Baby chicks have arrived at Spencer Court in Woodstock, bringing joy to residents and the team just in time for Easter

For 10 days the home is caring for a clutch of baby chicks that have hatched from their eggs inside a special incubator. They were delivered to Spencer Court by Living Eggs, a company that provides specialist equipment as well as the embryo eggs as part of a comprehensive 10-day programme.

Residents and staff alike watched eggspectantly as the first few cracks appeared on each egg, waiting until the shell came away revealing the new chick inside. The chicks were rather still and bedraggled at first, but they soon found their feet, and thanks to the warmth of the incubator, their down became soft and fluffy: dark for female chicks and light yellow for males.

Living Eggs have provided us with detailed instructions for the chicks’ care until they are collected, ensuring they have everything they need during their first few days. All that is left for residents to do is to name the new arrivals. One has already been named Ralph and residents are going to decide together on the other chicks’ names.

Home Manager, Anna Odeyemi, said she is thrilled to see the residents smiles at the sight of the chicks. Their arrival just in time for the Easter weekend has made it an eggstra special occasion, with lots to celebrate.

The chicks’ progress has been charted on Spencer Court’s Facebook page, so please do follow the page for more #hatchwatch updates and other news from the home.

Along with hot cross bun tasting and an Easter bonnet competition, the residents have enjoyed getting hands-on with crafts, such as creating decorations for the home’s Easter tree and chocolate tempering to create sweet treats which were sold at the Easter fete. The home also welcomed the children of Bicester Methodist Church’s orchestra who performed a special Easter concert for the residents.

Marking the seasons and seasonal occasions has always been a big part of life at Langford View and with spring symbolising hope and the beginnings of new life it is an important time of year for residents. The warmer weather means that residents are making use of the garden and hopes are high for a warm summer to come.

Until then, residents have exchanged Easter eggs ahead of the celebrations this weekend and are enjoying all the season has to offer. Keep up with all Langford View’s news on the home’s Facebook page.

The dementia support day was a great opportunity for local families to find out more about dementia and the support available to them. We had informative talks and support tables set up with information and guidance on the support available locally.

There was a talk from Rachel our Admiral Nurse, who talked around the different types of dementia and how this can affect people. Admiral Nurses are specialist dementia nurses who give expert practical, clinical and emotional support to carers of those living with dementia. The Orders of St John Care Trust employ two admiral nurses within Gloucestershire, to support our care team and advise them on how best to look after our residents with dementia. At the end of Rachel’s talk there was an opportunity for guests to ask questions or to speak with Rachel on a one on one basis.

The next talk came from Owain from Care Funding Guidance (CFG), CFG are a none profit organisation that offer practical guidance around paying for care and the support you may be entitled to. Owain’s talk was around helping families make well informed care funding decisions. The session was interactive, and people were able to ask questions throughout the talk in addition to the question and answer session at the end. Owain said “I can’t overestimate how valuable families find it to chat through their care funding options with an individual who has trodden the same path hundreds of times before”. To find out more, visit their website - http://www.carefc.co.uk/

After the talks there was an opportunity for local families to meet each other and share experiences over a cup of tea and a slice of delicious homemade cake. The main attraction on the day was Nettle, a local PAT dog (Pets As Therapy), Nettle had the perfection temperament and loved the fuss too.

Edwardstow Court run weekly coffee mornings, lunch club once a month and a cream tea club, also once a month. Pop along to one of these to see the facilities at Edwardstow and to meet other local families.

For further information call Edwardstow Court – 01451 799100.

Digby Court in Bourne and Patchett Lodge in Holbeach were recognised across the board with a ‘Good’ for services of safety, effectiveness, caring, responsiveness, and being well-led.

As a Trust we are delighted by this recognition and thankful for all the hard work delivered by our colleagues to ensure this independently endorsed success. Equally importantly the knowledge that our residents are happy and receiving the best possible care with tailored needs being met along with a happy and fulfilling life met in the home.

Louise Kirk, Area Operations Manager for Digby Court, comments: “The whole team has worked incredibly hard during this last year to ensure residents are living in a ‘Good’ rated home which is a standard they all deserve. The report reflects the caring domain created by a very passionate and dedicated team under the strong and experienced leadership of the Home Manager.”

Area Operations Manager for Patchett Lodge, Gill Clark, says: “I would like to say how delighted we are with this outcome for the home and I am very proud of everyone who worked very hard to achieve this all-round ‘Good’ rating. The report clearly shows that our residents very much enjoy living here and our staff find it a really happy place to work in.”

The Lakes Care Centre celebrated the opening of ‘Oaksey’, their new residential household this week. The launch was attended by our residents, their families, the local community and local businesses.

There was an opportunity for families to find out more about the care offered at The Lakes and to have a look around and meet the team.

Those that attended the launch dined on High Tea washed down with a glass of prosecco before watching the cutting of the ribbon!

Mandi Short Home Manager said, “It’s fantastic to see so many people come along and celebrate with us, we look forward to welcoming new residents soon.”

Located around the lakes in South Cerney, The Lakes Care Centre offers compassionate, individualised residential, dementia, respite and day care for up to 64 residents in friendly and comfortable households. Every household features 8 bedrooms and has its own comfortable, beautifully furnished lounge, a kitchen dining area, easy access to assisted bathrooms and themed cosy lounges at the end of each corridor.

The project is supported by professional musicians from Live Music Now and has helped to embed musical skills training for staff. The project itself has also been funded by Comic Relief. Over a six-month period, there have been 12 sessions held at Gregory House.

The benefits of musical participation for older people, especially those who are living with dementia, have been well documented and are now formally recognised by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE -  Older people: independence and mental wellbeing guidelines). Music itself can have many positive effects on mood and wellbeing, but in addition to this it is also an effective tool for improving communication and therefore tackling isolation.

Good relationships are a foundation of good care and the project has helped foster stronger relationships between residents and staff in a number of ways. The music sessions have been uplifting and enjoyable for staff and residents and have also provided a safe space for self-expression, interaction and learning about each other. By making and talking about music, staff and residents have got to know each other and found new ways to communicate. By helping steer the creative direction of the sessions, all involved feel a sense of ownership of the project, increasing confidence and community cohesion.

Anna Lewkowicz, Home Manager for Gregory House, comments: “The whole team has enjoyed working with Live Music Now to help our residents in the home. It has been such a fulfilling activity and to be able to see immediate benefits and the wonderful interaction between the residents and carers.”

http://www.livemusicnow.org.uk/

Live Music Now is a UK-wide initiative, created by Yehudi Menuhin and Ian Stoutzker in 1977. Every year, the musicians deliver thousands of interactive music programmes in care homes and hospitals, and a range of community and healthcare settings. They also work in special schools, where music can make a huge difference to the lives of children and their families. An offering of specialist support and training provide young musicians with skills and employment at the start of their professional careers, across all genres of music.

The idea behind the ‘Blue Light’ event was to invite emergency services employees such as paramedics, police officers and firefighters to the home in thanks for their hard work in Bicester. The home wanted to recognise the people who enter these demanding professions and who support us and keep us safe every day.

The event was a great opportunity to bring people together: it was well attended by residents and their friends and family as well as members of the local community. The officers appeared to enjoy their breakfast and even had time to ‘arrest’ the home manager (she was released soon after with no charges)!

Residents also recently enjoyed meeting and getting to know volunteer firefighters who visited the home and brought their fire engine for residents to see close-up. The firefighters received a warm welcome and residents were fascinated to learn more about their work.

Langford View are planning to hold another ‘Blue Light’ coffee morning in the future, so if you or someone you know works for the emergency services, follow the home on Facebook to keep up to date with the details.

Following the success of the Rio Carnival themed café, carers Rad and Patricia planned an Oscars themed café this time and they pulled out all the stops. The tables were covered in gold glitter, there were Oscars statues made and the team and residents were suited and booted to match!

The café was a real team effort where everyone got involved, Rad was making cocktails and mocktails, there was a variety of delicious cakes and of course a few glasses of bubbles! Patricia said “We are a group of friends with great compassion in making a difference to the lives of our residents and their families. We are very fortunate to be able to share our talents and take everyone to magical places like Rio de Janeiro, Hollywood and the Caribbean Islands, which was followed by delicious drinks, colourful cocktails, great music, dancing and fabulous outfits from around the world. It’s incredibly rewarding to make everyone happy and if we can get a smile back then that’s all that matters, and we will continue to run the cafes with great pleasure”.

 The Oscars themed café was attended by residents, their family and members of the team. It is a great opportunity for residents who may not be able to make it out to a coffee shop, to have the coffee shop experience and having the opportunity to choose from the different ranges of coffee.

Rad said “From my point of view it is a dream to work in a bar and give people joy and happiness in seeing others together with their families. This exactly what Monkscroft café is all about”.

Patricia and Rad are busy thinking up ideas for the next special Monkscroft café.

It was a beautiful day and as the sun shone in through the windows, the lack of a need for coats made a welcome change after what has felt like a very long winter. 

Oakham Treasures is one of the largest privately-owned museums of retail and farming history in the UK and a work of passion from one, 5th generation, west country farmer; Keith Sherrell.  It features a variety of old fashioned shops including a Grocery Store, Sweet Shop, Hardware Store, Haberdashery, Off-Licence and Tobacconist, Chemist and a Tractor and Farm Museum.

Residents loved looking at all the old-fashioned memorabilia which allowed many of them to reminisce about their childhood, unravelling vivid memories long since forgotten. Residents were particularly drawn to wartime items including ration books and gas masks. One resident remembered the sound of an air raid siren and gave her best impression to the group.

The driver Jude, part of the organisation Oomph who supply our minibus and help us to organise trips, always tags along with the residents and helps them make the most of their experience. She commented, “The museum is huge and brought back lots of memories, we enjoyed looking around and trying to guess the uses of some of the more obscure displays - we still don't know what the odd-looking bottle is which says sanitary fountain! We were all ready to sit down by lunch time”.

After lunch, when all the magic of Oakham had been thoroughly absorbed the residents swung by Portishead sea front for a view of the sea and a cheeky ice-cream before a casual drive home.

All the residents expressed how much they had enjoyed the day and it is definitely a trip Goodson will enjoy again in the future.