Winchester’s Lady Mayor, Eleanor Bell, and her husband, joined Bereweeke Court care home on Bereweeke Road, Winchester – part of HC-One, the kind care company – for a day filled with afternoon tea, entertainment and lots of art to celebrate the seventh annual national Care Home Open Day.
Care Home Open Day is a national event that gives local people the opportunity to learn more about the care services at the heart of their community. It focusses on bringing those who live locally into care homes to break down misconceptions, showcase what life is really like in a care home, and to highlight the skills and dedication of local people working as carers. The aspiration of everyone having a better understanding of how kind care is delivered.
This year’s theme was ‘Celebrating Art in Care,’ with HC-One launching a national Art Competition to encourage Residents, their loved ones, Colleagues and neighbours to unleash their creativity and design their own masterpiece. Participants could create anything from paintings, drawings, knitting, poetry, calligraphy and pottery – the choices were endless and allowed all talents to be showed-off.
An Art Competition was held within the home, which was inspired by Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ painting. Residents prepared for the competition prior to the open day by creating their own sunflower pictures, with visitors being encouraged on the day to add their own creations to the collection within the home.
Entertainment was provided by Eddie Cole, who sang some well-known favourites as guests arrived into the home. One Resident in particular, Tina, found the occasion to be especially significant as her birthday celebrations fell on the day of the event. She enjoyed dancing along to the music as well as having the opportunity to meet and chat with the Mayor alongside other Residents, as they enjoyed a lovely home-made afternoon tea.
Bereweeke Court Home Manager, Lisa Bridle said:
“Thank you to everyone who attended Bereweeke Court for Care Home Open Day. It is a wonderful opportunity to bring the local community together and we are honoured to have had the Lady Mayor attend with her husband. It was lovely to see the amount of teamwork shown by Colleagues to ensure everyone enjoyed the day.”