Our Easter weekend has been full of love! Working on our Easter bonnets and having a giggle trying them out! Residents have decorated Easter gift bags for all our extra special staff - what would we do without them? Beautiful flowers and decorations fill the house as does the warmth of love and companionship. Happy Easter everyone!

Our residents have been busy making up festive gift bags for the children of Otterton Primary School which were sent by ‘Elf carer’ delivery to the school. Meanwhile children at Otterton Primary School were enthusiastically making Christmas cards for each resident as well as recording their nativity to bring festive cheer to the residents in the absence of being able to perform their usual Christmas Concert at the home.

Packing up the Christmas gift bags for Otterton Primary School pupils - ready to deliver

Pupils receiving their gift bags and residents' receiving their handmade cards

The Old Vicarage has had had close links with the school for more than 30 years, with regular opportunities to get together and interact. This year has been a real challenge
for everyone and staff have had to ‘think outside the box’ to be able to safely continue that close relationship that brings so much benefit to both the older generation and children alike.

Watching the nativity performed by Otterton School pupils, and enjoying opening our beautifully decorated cards. Smiles all round!

Sue Hardwick, Home Manager, said “Our residents were overjoyed to receive their cards from the children, while watching the school performance on the big screen together. The exchange of gifts and cards is such a lovely way to keep our close connection with the School and to wish pupils and staff a ‘Happy Christmas’ but more importantly, to say ‘we miss you and hope to see you again next year’.

A wonderful Christmas themed cocktail party arranged by our talented Cocktail Bar Lady Emma, with a wonderful festive menu of cocktails and mocktails to get the Christmas party going! Some wonderful singing and dancing from residents and staff, while the cocktails flowed!

Christmas carols beside the fire in the lounge, thanks to the wonderful folk band 'Rough Music'. The band played outside under the Christmas tree, while our residents stayed in the warm to sing along. All with a glass of wine and a minced pie. Roll down to the bottom of the pictures and click on the video to get the full effect! We wish you all a Merry Christmas, from all of us at The Old Vicarage, Otterton.

Residents and staff have lined up to visit this fascinating exhibition, hosted by one of our residents, of her childhood memories living in a Japanese civilian camp in Shanghai during the second world war years. A lady with a remarkable story to share. 

It was lovely to get this feedback from one of our visitors today...

"I visited my Mum yesterday and just wanted to let you know how brilliant we thought the new visiting room is. It has been so thoughtfully designed and is very comfortable and well furnished . Conversation with my Mum was easy and we didn’t have to shout! 
Please pass my thanks and best wishes to all those responsible for such an excellent and safe visiting area.  We look forward to a repeat visit before Christmas!"
 
Daughter of a Resident – October 2020

It has been lovely to see our familires and friends comming in and out of the building again, to visit in our cosy new guest room, it was certainly finished just in time to avoid the bad weather!

An exciting day! Completion of our indoor visiting room, enabling us to welcome family and friends into our warm and cosy, covid-safe guest room, with cups of tea and home made cake a plenty. Lovely to hear chatting and laughter with family and friends, inside the home again, now that it is a bit too chilly to continue with our garden visits..
A big thank you to the team at Bagwells Builders for pulling out all the stops to get our safe visiting room ready in time for the inclement weather!