Woodley Grange and Barton Lodge make Remembrance Day truly special

Woodley Grange and Barton Lodge marked Remembrance Day in a truly memorable way with lots of special activities for the residents.

For several weeks, residents at Woodley Grange have been making poppies, to create a stunning poppy display outside the front of the home, with families and friends joining in by knitting or crocheting poppies.

The Activities Co-ordinators at Woodley Grange, Erica Orchard and Amy Francis, commented; “We’ve had a terrific response: our poppies are all different sizes, made from wool, ribbon, the plastic bottoms of bottles and old CDs. It was great to recycle old materials and every few days a few more poppies were planted. The staff regularly took photos of the outdoor display and created a time lapse video of the impressive display gradually getting bigger.”

Woodley Grange staff have also entered a photograph of the display into the National Activity Providers Association’s (NAPA’s) Remembrance Day competition, for best display. The prize this year is a ceramic poppy, similar to the ones outside the Tower of London, which Erica and Amy remarked; “would be very appropriate, as that’s where we got the inspiration for our display from.” We are all very proud of the resident’s display and look forward to hearing the results!

On 11th November, Sheila, from one of the local churches who regularly visits, held an extra special Remembrance Day service at Woodley Grange. All of the residents wore a poppy to commemorate the occasion and enjoyed joining together and singing hymns. They each received a special copy of the service and were pleased to watch the video of their impressive poppy display.

Our Barton Lodge residents also had a very special day and enjoyed a delicious remembrance lunch together, as they reminisced about those they loved and lost during the war. Their roast was followed by cupcakes, decorated beautifully to look like poppies.

Joan, one of Barton Lodge’s residents, read out a very poignant poem – ‘In Flanders Field’ by John McCrae and the residents spent time reminiscing and remembering their loved ones who served the country. They also made a beautiful display of painted and hand-made poppies. Some of the residents had also spent the week knitting poppies for everyone to wear on Remembrance Day, which was a very touching addition to the day.

Both care homes held a one minute’s silence to remember those we loved and lost during the war.

To find out more about the special activities our homes provide, please contact our team here.