For Earth Day the Norwich market came to The Hawthorns, starting with a virtual tour followed by touching and smelling of its local and organic produce. Residents then made suggestions as to what could be cooked with the ingredients and talked about meals they used to make. The most popular suggestion was a dessert with rhubarb and custard and with the help of our kitchen staff the residents tucked into their deserts the following day. 

What a fab day to end the week we have had at Bowerfield House, we have all not stopped laughing and smiling all day. We have celebrated St George's Day and Geoffrey and Eileen's 61st wedding anniversary, they enjoyed a lovely lunch together. We have had crosswords, a quiz and a lovely tea party. 

The Westbourne residents and staff celebrated HRH Prince Philip's life with a royal afternoon tea, and watched the service of the funeral. The lounge was decorated with bunting, pictures of Prince Philip and the Royal family. As residents listed to the bands playing, they waved flags and sang along, also wearing crowns to mark the occasion. Everyone enjoyed cucumber sandwiches, homemade Victorian sponge cake and scones made by our chef Dan, they were delicious! To finish our celebration, we enjoyed a glass of prosecco whilst listening to commemorative music.

Yesterday afternoon we held a tribute to the Queen concert. The concert was well attended, cheesecake and coconut slices accompanied the hot beverages, Sherry and wine. Union flags were held aloft and waved throughout the royal tribute. 

Bowerfield House would like to wish the majesty Queen Elizabeth a very Happy 95th Birthday and hope she had a great day celebrating, our residents and staff loved waving our flag and wearing a crown. We had a great day chatting about the queen mother and her family. 

Cedar Court Care Home in Cranleigh, Surrey, donated 150 children’s books to Royal Surrey Hospital Charity, bringing smiles to children needing hospital treatment over Christmas and New Year.

Young children being cared for in wards, outpatients, and A&E were given a copy of Gerry Giraffe and the Loch Ness Monster – a charming and colourful illustrated story written by our multi-talented Business Development Manager Pam Sharman! This thoughtful donation cheered the staff and children alike.

Today at Manorhey we had a very special themed day. We took a trip to the wild west where we enjoyed activities in the morning followed by a decadent lunch and a western movie in the afternoon with popcorn and drinks. The menu included pulled pork barms, hot dogs, loaded fries, mac 'n' cheese, coleslaw and spicy beans, followed by a sticky toffee pudding which went down a treat. 

Well done to Lewis Watson, an IT engineer with Maria Mallaband in Leeds, who ran 100 miles over 28 days in February to raise money for St Gemma’s Hospice after they cared for his grandad at home during the final weeks of his life.

He smashed his target, raising £834 and counting, for a very worthy cause – brilliant work!

With the need for social care set to rise and our high-quality well-run homes much in demand, it is our ambition to expand our 5,250-strong family of employees by 20% in 2021.

We want to attract both those currently working in the sector and those new to it with the wealth of training and development opportunities we offer, in particular recruiting in those with skills in customer service, leisure, and entertainment. It is an exciting time to be in this sector, and as always MMCG is taking the lead!

MMCG put together parcels for soldiers far from home and their families at Christmas time.

Thanks to donations from staff, people living in our homes, and their families, treats and useful items were packaged up to be sent to those serving the Resolute Support Mission, assisting the Afghan security forces and institutions to defend Afghanistan and its citizens.

With many military veterans living within our homes, this was an appeal very close to our hearts, and we were so pleased to be able to show our support for our British troops serving around the world.