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Colten Care homes stage egg-celent Easter fun

The Easter Bunny hopped in, children came along to make bonnets and entertain with songs, and gardens hosted egg hunts for all to enjoy.
Easter activities at all our homes brought residents, families and visitors together for a happy season of fun and laughter.

At Abbotts Barton in Winchester, children from Harestock Primary School – regular weekly visitors since January this year – joined residents for an Easter crafting session.
Companionship Team Leader Kirsty Sawyer said: “It was lovely to see the conversations going across the generations as together they set about creating the perfect Easter bonnet.”
The Worthy Road home also held its annual Easter egg hunt with eleven children from the local community taking part.

Kirsty said: “They had a great time running around the garden in search of eggs and carrots and afterwards were invited to stay for a drink and cake.

“The children were delighted with their prizes including Mia who won a book, Ryan who won an easter egg and Summer who won a chocolate bunny.”

Loraine Martin, a resident of Abbotts Barton, said: “Welcoming our young visitors was such a nice way to celebrate Easter.”

At Fernhill in Longham near Bournemouth, there was an Easter parade complete with bonnets and bunnies along with songs performed by entertainer Paul Hammond.
“Everyone had a wonderful time,” said Ann Marie Knight, a Companion at the dedicated dementia care home. “This was a great party for Easter with residents, friends, family members and staff all up on the dance floor. It was an amazing atmosphere, everyone laughing, smiling and having fun.”
Here at Linden House we also got into the Easter spirit with a musical afternoon.

[caption id="attachment_6183" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The Robins Choir from Lymington Infants School perform Easter songs for residents.[/caption]

They hosted a visit by the 28-strong Robins Choir from Lymington Infants School who showed off their Easter bonnets and sand several Easter songs and hymns.

“All the residents agreed they’d had an enjoyable afternoon and are looking forward to the Robins’ next visit,” said Companionship Team Leader Chris Dimmick.

Love is in the air as our homes prepare for Valentine’s Day

Residents are set to celebrate Valentine’s Day with romantic lunches, parties, live music and community greetings
Hearts, flowers, bubbly, cards and chocolates will all feature in the fun as homes enter the romantic spirit.

At Belmore Lodge, pianist Mark Busell will entertain residents at a Valentine’s-themed afternoon tea. A raffle will be held in aid of the home’s nominated charity, the Lymington Dogs Trust.

Residents at Belmore have also been making heart decorations featuring photos and wording about loved ones. These will be put on display on a ‘Sweetheart Tree’ in the home.

Here at Linden House, around eleven couples have been invited to an afternoon tea party in the home’s sun lounge. The room and tables will be decorated Valentine’s-style and soft music will be played in the background to create a romantic mood.

Residents at Court Lodge are taking a community-themed approach to Valentine’s Day. In a ‘random act of kindness’ they are writing messages with loving words, attaching them to roses and sharing them with the community in nearby Woodside Park.

At Kingfishers, the fun includes a Valentine’s party with live entertainment from the Land Girls, a sherry and wine social, a special lunch and a bingo afternoon.

Woodpeckers is staging an ‘Art With Heart’ exhibition featuring works by residents intended to represent love.

The home has asked Brockenhurst Primary School, Brockenhurst College and other Colten New Forest homes to contribute entries too.
Guests coming to the show on Valentine’s Day will also have the chance to enjoy a heart-themed afternoon tea. Donations will go to the Honeypot children charity.

[caption id="attachment_4573" align="alignnone" width="768"] Brook View residents and married couple Audrey and David Vincent enjoy their romantic lunch on Valentine’s Day[/caption]

At Avon Reach, staff are decorating the home with love hearts and inviting residents to tuck into a high tea. A raffle on the day will raise funds for Macmillan Caring Locally.

Two resident couples at Brook View, Trevor and Pam and Audrey and David, will enjoy romantic-themed meals in the dining room.

At Avon Cliff, residents and staff are being encouraged to wear red or pink at a tea dance. There will also be a ‘luxury high tea’ accompanied by the gentle sounds of live harp music.

Valentine’s Day will also be celebrated at our homes further afield. Residents at St Catherines View in Winchester will welcome toddlers from the nearby Topps Day Nursery for chocolate-making fun.

The youngsters will be taking home the treats to give to their mums and dads afterwards as Valentine’s gifts.

At Whitecliffe House in Blandford, staff will deliver roses and sweets to all residents. In the afternoon, residents will come together to listen to favourite love songs and share memories of Valentine’s Day and loved ones.

‘Enchanted forest’ gives our residents an early taste of Christmas magic

Residents from our New Forest care homes took the chance to decorate Christmas trees they contributed to a Lymington church festival
Parties from our three homes in Lymington – Court Lodge, Belmore Lodge and Linden House – were joined by our residents to add colour and sparkle to their trees at St Thomas Church.

They then returned a couple of days later to admire the full community collection of more than 60 trees going on public display in what the church described as an ‘enchanted forest’.

Colten Care was among the businesses, organisations and charities to partner on the Christmas Tree Festival, creating a hands-on opportunity for its residents to support a community cause.

As well as viewing the display, our residents enjoyed tea and cake and live music performed by Milford West Gallery Quire and the Forestina Concertina Group.
Court Lodge resident Joy Blackmore said: “It was so lovely to be a part of something so traditional and like old times. I had such a wonderful afternoon.”
Our Chief Operating Officer, Elaine Farrer, said: “Our residents have had a magical time being involved in the festival, preparing their trees in advance and visiting again for the opening.

“They had great fun looking through the collection knowing that hidden amid the sea of tinsel, lights and baubles they would find a tree of their very own.”

Our care homes collect chocolate goodies for children at Christmas

Organisers of a charity that provides gifts of chocolate to less fortunate children at Christmas have thanked residents at five of our homes for their support
The Chocolate Elf praised the efforts of residents, staff and families at Woodpeckers in Brockenhurst, Kingfishers in New Milton and the Lymington homes Belmore Lodge, Linden House and Court Lodge for collecting more than 100 selection boxes and advent calendars.

The voluntary group distributes donations to children across Hampshire through contacts in local councils, children’s homes, charities, youth services, hospices and women’s refuges.
Representative Pete Orme, who visited Woodpeckers to pick up the gifts gathered by Colten Care, said: “Thank you so much to the staff, residents and families. Every single donation is truly going to transform a child’s day and, in some instances, their whole Christmas.”
[caption id="attachment_4541" align="alignnone" width="1024"] SWEET SURPRISE. At Woodpeckers in Brockenhurst with some of the chocolate donations are, from left, Colten Care Customer Advisors Tracy Baker, Tracy McCallum and Deborah Davies, and Chocolate Elf charity representative Pete Orme.[/caption]

Altogether, the five homes gathered 45 selection boxes, 56 advent calendars and other donations of chocolate coins, tubs and bars to help with the charity’s work.
Woodpeckers resident Jean Slater said: “How wonderful it was to help with this. Children will always eat chocolate.”

Linden House team turn birthday to matchday for footie fan Nigel  

We teamed up with the Saints to enable a lifelong football fan to attend a Premier League match as a birthday surprise
Nigel Bendell, a supporter of West Ham, joined the crowd at St Mary’s in Southampton on a ‘wish come true’ trip organised by our staff.

Nigel enjoyed a close-up view of the action, plus a beer and a burger at the stadium, as a 60th birthday gift from the home.

He was accompanied on the ‘lads’ day out’ by our Healthcare Assistant Levie Bara, Domestic Assistant Kevin Elliott and Minibus Driver Martin Williams.
After watching the teams play out a 1:1 draw, wheelchair user Nigel said: “It was a good game and I really enjoyed myself. Thank you to everyone who helped with this. I really didn’t expect it. I’d love to come again and at some point go to see a match at West Ham as well.”
Levie said: “Nigel had a big smile on his face during the game, especially when West Ham scored!”

[caption id="attachment_5798" align="alignnone" width="833"] West Ham fan Nigel Bendell at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton [/caption]
Chris Dimmick, our Companionship Team Leader, said: “Nigel had expressed a wish to see his beloved Hammers in action and we thought the chance to see them at St Mary’s would be a lovely birthday gift from us. We knew just how much it would mean to him. It was lovely to be able to create a real quality of life experience for him.”
Chris added: “We would like to thank the Saints for working with us to make Nigel’s matchday experience possible. The help included a free ticket for Levie as Nigel’s carer on the day. The stewards at the ground were very accommodating and made the parking and access for Nigel very easy.”

Linden House comes up roses in closely fought garden produce show

More than 200 residents at our 21 care homes have taken part in a competition focused on gardening, horticulture and outdoor inspiration
The third annual Colten Village Produce Show was described as the ‘best yet’ by Colten Care Head Gardener Charles Hubberstey.

We are delighted that first place went to Linden House, followed closely by Abbotts Barton in Winchester with Braemar Lodge in Salisbury coming third.

Homes chose ten out of 15 categories for submitting entries, which were photographed and uploaded to an online image library ahead of judging.

Categories included ‘A Tussy-Mussy’ (arranging a posie of flowering annuals, herbs or perennials) and ‘Heave Ho!’ (growing the largest beetroot possible).

The show embraced baking and preserve and condiment making using garden ingredients.

At the same time, residents got creative with garden-themed paintings, sketches, photography and creative writing.

Further categories included making decorative items such as ornaments, birdbaths and wind chimes from upcycled garden materials.

Charles said: “The show is an ideal, hands-on opportunity for our residents, gardeners and Companions to come together in a year-round celebration of garden-inspired creativity.

“The results always amaze us. It’s humbling to see the skills our residents have and the effort and detail that goes into the entries.

“We have improved every year despite the impact of the pandemic. This show was the best yet and I believe next year will be even bigger and better.”

Homes competed to achieve a maximum of 224 points across their ten categories. Linden House scored 192, just four points ahead of Abbotts Barton and six above Braemar Lodge.

Contributing our score  was a painting of a local scene by resident Nigel Bendell who said: “Producing the painting has put me in the mood to pursue it as a hobby. I was very surprised we won first place as I had no idea how good our competitors would be. It was great to share my success with my family.”

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