The week of the MMCG and Countrywide Care awards has arrived and here at Willowdene Care Home in Sedgefield we have much to celebrate with 4 nominations for categories.

We have Ruth Pearson who has been nominated for Housekeeping Highflyer at Willowdene.  Ruth is responsible for making sure our home always looks clean and tidy for our residents.

Here at Willowdene we are loving this gorgeous sunny weather we are having and our relative garden visits at the home. Our residents really enjoy seeing family and we are so fortunate to have such wonderful gardens.

Thank you to all of the families for supporting our garden visits and also for visiting in the rain and sitting under the shelter.  We couldn't have gotten through this without you.

We were delighted to have a visit from two horses this week at Willowdene who came in to meet our residents at the home.  Our residents used to love the miniature ponies visits so we thought we'd have the horse's come to visit. The residents came out one at a time to see the horses and it really brightened our day.  

The residents have thoroughly enjoyed the travelling theatre. We were able sit in our new outside area and enjoy the show following social distancing rules.The residents laughed out loud during  the show.  

Skell Lodge residents took part in St Wilford's Parade. This event has been running since 1108 when King Henry granted permission to the city to hold a fair to mark the birth of the saint on 30th July. Ripon has held this tradition ever since.

We have been so pleased to welcome back the families to the home for outside visiting and have our own gazebo in our lovely garden at the back of the home.  

We are hoping for lovely weather in August to welcome you back to the home.

We love being creative at Earsdon Grange and doing a little home baking.  We spotted some plain biscuits on the tea trolley and thought we'd give them a bit of a revamp.  Two of our residents enjoyed decorating biscuits for the afternoon tea trolley.

They look fabulous ladies.

We love our chilled afternoons watching a movie at Earsdon Grange Care Home, it gives us chance to unwind and relax after a hectic week with activities in the home.  Residents enjoyed a film afternoon with their own tubs of popcorn and sweets.  

We are proud of our heritage at Ashfield Court and were delighted to celebrate Yorkshire Day on 1st August at the home.

We enjoyed some Yorkshire tea and Yorkshire treats and all had a very lovely day.

Covid-19 has affected Belvoir Vale just like it has many other homes around the country. Residents are missing going out and about, having entertainers in and most of all seeing their families. The staff here have done the most amazing job of comforting residents, keeping people in touch through Skype and phone calls, and being there when their loved ones can't, but we want to try and do more.