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tel: 0845 521 1857
We have always said our residents are our best ambassadors. That's why we've dedicated these pages to the residents of Avonpark Village to fill with news, views and events, in the hope it will give you a genuine insight in village living Retirement Villages' style.
A few of us were delighted to welcome our local MP, Duncan Hames, to Avonpark Village recently.
Mr Hames, who represents the Chippenham constituency, has been to Avonpark Village before but he hadn’t seen it since Retirement Villages took over and upgraded all our facilities.
He was very keen to see the care facilities we have here and visited the residential and nursing home and dementia suite.
During a break in the clouds, he joined us for a walk around the gardens before coming into the clubhouse for afternoon tea.
He seemed very impressed with the lounge, bar and conservatory which have all been remodelled and was happy to answer the questions we fired at him.
Retirement Villages Ltd has pledged support for EMMAUS, a charity which helps the homeless to build a new life for themselves.
As part of that scheme, Richard Pendlebury from the charity visited to give a talk about the work the charity does.
It was fascinating to listen to how the charity has helped people turn their life around and given them the direction and support they so desperately need.
We followed the event with afternoon tea which gave us all chance to discuss what we’re heard and seen. It definitely gave us food for thought.
We’ve had some new members joining Avonpark Village’s singing group recently. We meet each week in the Kingfisher Meeting Room and sing a range of different songs from show stoppers to ballads, swing to soul.
We don’t claim to have the X Factor but there is a lot of enthusiasm and, between us, we don’t sound too bad – if we do say so ourselves!
Our new facilities were in the spotlight again this week at the Retirement Seminar, just one of the events making up Avonpark Village Festival. We gathered in the lounge for the presentations.
Louise Lawrence from Extend gave a demonstration of gentle exercise to music. It was lovely to be shown how, even those of us who haven't exercised for years, can get active. Anything that can help improve mobility and strength is good!
The chairman of one of the local branches of the National Trust talked about the work of the Trust and local sites we can visit - it's always good to get recommendations of good days out.
Finally, representatives of The Forever Friends Appeal gave a talk. It's a fundraising charity for the Royal United Hospital, near us in Bath. They work with the Wards and Departments to fundraise for major campaigns and state of the art medical equipment and facilities, over and above that provided by the NHS.
It was a lovely afternoon with great company in our beautiful new surroundings!
We're right in the middle of Avonpark Village Festival - and there's plenty to talk about. To start with we, the residents, had a sneak preview of our new clubhouse facilities. They are gorgeous.
The whole lounge, conservatory and library area has been reshaped. The lounge now has a new library area and a study area too with a traditional desk. There's a computer for us to use with internet access in there.
The lounge is unrecognisable. There's lots of red and duck egg blue with beautiful cushions, lots of different styles of chairs to suit every taste and a new bar area.
We didn't realise how tired our old conservatory was looking before. Now it's absolutely glowing! The colours are wonderful - all light greens and blues fitting with the fashion of bringing the outside in! And the reception area is so welcoming. There's a sweeping wood desk, a tv screen, new sofas and feature mirrors.
So, we had our special preview on the Thursday with a jazz trio, lovely food and a speech from the Chief Executive of Retirement Villages Jon Gooding.
The day after our special preview there was a VIP opening which saw the BBC newsreader Martyn Lewis visiting. His mother used to live here and some of us were able to reminisce with him about her time here.
He unveiled a plaque and gave a very enthusiastic speech saying Avonpark Village was ‘very, very special'. He said our new facilities have ‘taken my breath away'. That kind of comment is so lovely to hear - he's talking about our home!
A whole series of events have been organised to encourage people to come and see our new facilities. We've already had a talk about The Making of a Retirement Village which was very interesting to those residents who attended. There were also some people from elsewhere who came - we're hoping some might be our new neighbours.
- There's lots more going on in the coming weeks - we'll keep you posted.
A string of celebrations has seen us donning our best head gear - as you can see from the photos. The Royal Wedding, Easter and Royal Ascot have given us the perfect opportunity to dust off our bonnets and bowlers. A host of different hats were in evidence from wide brimmed floppy ones to neat little fascinators. Prizes were awarded to the wearers of the best hats on each occasion.
Bishop David Hallatt, the retired Bishop of Shrewsbury is popping into Avonpark Village this weekend. He's going to give a short presentation as part of Winsley Parish Weekend and is then inviting residents and guests to ask questions.
We're delighted that the Bishop will be staying to enjoy a cream tea with us afterwards and a more informal chat.
Contact us now on
0845 521 1857
