In this edition of the resident blog we hear from Mike at Blagdon Village describing life during lockdown and how the staff have supported them during this time. “Here at Blagdon Village our entire social programme was suspended indefinitely in February but we…
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Resident Mike Pettet gives us an update on all that’s been happening at Blagdon Retirement Village from March to May 2020 In common with all the villages, life here at Blagdon Village was carrying on as normal at the beginning of March. We…
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January and February can often be regarded as ‘hibernation’ months when people stay indoors for most of the time in order to keep warm and dry, and perhaps to recover from the exertions and excesses of the Festive Season. That is, unless there…
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December 2019 proved to be one of the best Festive Seasons we have enjoyed at Bladon Village with four well attended events. We had an afternoon of carols, our usual Christmas party, Christmas Day lunch and finally a New Year’s Eve party. A…
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November was a very busy month. There was a talk, a demonstration by Body Shop, the Blagdon ceremonial flag lowering, a visit and talk by the Poppy of Honour founder, a Murder Mystery dinner, a piano recital and a traditional Christmas pudding stirring….
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Our routine activities were in full swing again! We were entertained with a talk, we had a Saturday evening singalong, there was another of the now regular ‘Musical Memories’ afternoons, and there was a major change to the provision of food at the…
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To commemorate Remembrance Day this year, the Poppy of Honour memorial was welcomed at Blagdon Village. This mobile tribute was created by Terry Williams of Somerset, who wanted to create something that listed they name of every person that fought and died in…
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A summer round up at Blagdon Village Since the end of May we have had four talks and three more afternoons of Musical Memories. We also had our Summer Party, a Diamond Wedding celebration, the Last Night of the Proms and the Decade…
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May was another brilliant month for Blagdon residents. It was the first of the season’s Coach Outings, another Themed Evening in the restaurant and another afternoon in the Musical Memories series. A visit to Sidmouth Our villagers remain active and keen to explore…
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Blagdon residents have been soaking up the sun in the unseasonably – yet glorious – warm weather. Some residents have been enjoying the beautiful Somerset views on the patio outside the clubhouse or from the convenience of their own individual gardens. But whilst…
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Arts and Crafts Exhibition Residents at Blagdon have been getting arty! Keen enthusiasts had the opportunity to cast their eyes on an excellent arts and crafts exhibition. This all began after a trio of residents decided to form a Photography Group. They introduced it to the village with an exhibition of…
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December was all about the festive season for retirees at Blagdon village. The month consisted of a range of activities including carols, a Christmas Party, Christmas Day lunch, and a New Year’s Eve event. Online Services Talk The Practice Manager of the local…
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November was the busiest month we’ve ever had at Blagdon Village. We had a talk, Musical Memories, the Armistice Day ceremonial flag lowering, a piano recital, a Residents Meeting, a coach outing, Christmas pudding stirring, a Jewellery Show and the Boules group lunch. …
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After working for over 10 years in the laundry room, Estates Manager Sean Corney, presented Paul Spender with the Star Award. At Blagdon Retirement Village, in Somerset, Paul collects, washes, irons, returns the washing to the residents and enjoys a friendly chat with…
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October proved to be relatively busy with two talks, another afternoon of Fun Games, the annual Decade Busters Party – and Halloween. These events were in addition to the regular activities which are in full swing again with residents now back from their…
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The routine activities that had taken a break during August started up again so the Social programme became busy again. In addition, there was a talk, a rerun of the Last night of the Proms, a coach outing and a memorable occasion for…
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Celebrating National Poetry Day on the 4th October, Blagdon resident and poet, Annette Sinclair shares with us her passion for poetry, what inspired her to start writing and a poem or, as she describes it, ‘ a collection of thoughts’, that she wrote…
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August was a quiet month on the whole. A number of residents were away for part of the time, including some of the organisers of our regular activities, and the hot weather also continued, making it a bit too warm for comfort. Consequently, several of…
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Well, what a month it was for the weather. We haven’t seen it so hot for so long, even more so than in 1976. It had an effect on our social activities too, with the cancellation of the monthly film and of the…
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This month has seen dedicated Health Care Assistant Donna Heyns and Maintenance Manager Graham Durman presented with the monthly Retirement Village Star Award. This award is given to members of staff who demonstrate excellent working practices and make an outstanding contribution to the…
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During the month, three of the newly formed, or reformed, activities started up, there was a talk by an outside speaker and we had our customary Summer Party, but this time called a Summer Picnic. Summer Picnic For a few years we have…
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May proved to be busy month on the social scene. It started off with a demonstration of a new exercise regime known as Ageing Well, followed by a coach outing to Sidmouth. The first highlight was the Anglo-French boules match during the annual…
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Almost 50% of the residents at Blagdon Village in Taunton came together to watch the Royal Wedding on Saturday over a buffet lunch. Although the Blagdon proceedings weren’t due to begin until 11am, eager residents were already at the bar from 10.30am, keen…
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Following on from our Social Open Day last month, preparations began for the introduction of new events and activities. The highlights of our other social activities during April were the Residents Association AGM, the Grand National Sweepstake and a talk by our resident…
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In addition to two talks in March we held a Social Open Day designed to encourage residents to come up with ideas for new events and activities, and to try to stimulate more interest in existing ones. The month was rounded off with…
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After a fairly quiet January following the festive season, Blagdon Village started to get back into its normal rhythm in February. We had a talk, another of resident John Kinahan’s Musical Memories, and a return visit from local choir, The New Horizon Singers. …
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It’s at this time of year, Valentine’s day, where we like to recap on some of the tales of love at our retirement villages. And one of those love stories comes from two Blagdon Village residents, who met and fell in love at…
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January was a quiet month as we all drew breath after the festive season and settled in to our normal routine of our regular activities. But we were entertained by a fascinating talk. 50 Years of Pharmacy. David Janes, a retiree from Boots…
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The festive season may now be over but it has left us with some happy memories. We have enjoyed a Christmas party, carol singing, Christmas lunch, and a New year’s Eve celebration – a busy month at Blagdon Village! Christmas Party Oh what a night it was! Last summer…
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Christmas is on the horizon and our social programme became busier during November. We had our Armistice Day sunset ceremony, another performance by our Play Reading Group, the usual pre-Christmas jewellery Show, and a talk by a resident. Sunset. Many of our residents attend…
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During October, there was one event over and above our routine activities, a talk, but behind the scenes, much more was happening! We now have a Social Committee and a Gardens Support Group. Talk. Resident Mike Pettet showed a video to an appreciative…
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The highlight of the month was undoubtedly the annual Decade Busters party but we also had a talk on historic social housing. The Boules season came to an end for the winter and we are on the hunt for some more coach trip…
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Despite it being the holiday season, we have still had a lively and interesting month. The highlight has to be a party thrown for all of Blagdon’s residents by Norman Crane to celebrate his birthday. We also had two very interesting talks. MRI…
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Fortunately the weather in July was excellent and so our major event of the month, a putting competition, went ahead as planned. Putting Competition Resident Hugh Edmondson very generously offered to sponsor a putting competition between residents, purchasing a small cup to be…
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Yes, this year is the tenth anniversary of the opening of Blagdon Village! On the 14th March, the first resident Thelma Hobbs moved in and was shortly followed by Valerie Williams on the 17th April 2007.The Clubhouse facilities were formally opened on 23rd…
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During May we had four one-off events on the social calendar in addition to the regular events – another jewellery show, a coach outing, an interesting talk by a resident, and a talk come coffee morning from RV Care. Jewellery Show: We are…
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We’re well into spring and life in the village is warming up. Last month we had three notable one-off events – the usual Grand National Sweepstake, the AGM, and a revived event – Easter Bonnets. Grand National Sweepstake: The Grand National Sweepstake is a…
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All the regular activities are now in full swing, winter is long gone and spring is well established. During the month we had a talk on winemaking, our themed evening in the restaurant had an Irish flavour and we had a talk by…
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Our residents are staying fit and active in later life thanks to visits from their very own fully qualified exercise practitioner and manual therapist. Richard Bradshaw, who is based in Taunton, has worked with sports stars such as the New Zealand ‘All Blacks’…
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All our regular activities are back in full swing and we also had two enjoyable musical events. But the highlight of the month has to be the achievement of a very significant wedding anniversary… A Platinum Anniversary: Jean and Jervis Gee reached their Platinum…
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Following the busy social programme of the festive season all the regular activities continued as usual and we had an extra event to enjoy, a Themed Supper. The theme was “A Winter Warmer” which was Yorkshire pudding filled with sausages, mash, and onion…
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Well, the festive season is over for another year but we made the most of it. In addition to our regular monthly events and activities we had a Carols Singalong, a Christmas Party, Christmas Lunch, and a New Year’s Eve Quiz to go…
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Clair Crowther, Blagdon’s Village Manager, always goes the extra mile to make sure that the community runs smoothly and is a lovely place in which to live. This doesn’t go unnoticed by our residents, who all speak warmly of her. We caught up…
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November was a very busy month with several extra one-off events on the calendar. We were honoured by a visit from the Mayor for a Coffee Morning and the Boules Group annual lunch. We also had another Jewellery Show, the Sunset ceremony on Remembrance…
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Autumn has brought some superb colours to the tree foliage, although we’re not the only part of the country to experience this of course. During October we had two talks by outside speakers, another afternoon of musical memories, a 95th birthday celebration, a…
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In September there were three one-off events at Blagdon Village. These were the annual Decade Busters Party at the beginning of the month, a coach outing, and a themed supper in the restaurant near the end. The Decade Busters Party: This annual event…
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August was very quiet indeed with many residents being away on various forms of holiday. A few of the regular activities were suspended for the period but we did have a themed evening in the restaurant. This was a well attended “Blagdon’s Glorious…
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Where would we be without the summer holidays? We’ve had some superb weather to enjoy and there were two events of note over and above the routine activities, another themed night in the restaurant and a talk. Themed night The theme this time…
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What a momentous month June was for the country, and for us here at Blagdon Village. We celebrated the Queen’s official birthday and we voted in the referendum. Before those events there was a coach trip and two speakers on the EU. Coach…
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May was not as busy as April because of the two Bank Holidays. Nonetheless we did have few one-off events on top of the regular ones Anglo-French Boules Match. The Boules match is now an integral part of the annual twinning visit between…
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April was a busy month with two talks by public figures, another performance with a difference by our play reading group, the Grand National Sweepstake, and our Residents Association AGM. All of this took place on top of the regular activities. Sue Mounstevens…
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It may have seen the first day of spring but March did not bring a great awakening in the village, apart from in the grounds where the daffodils and hyacinths were in their impressive full bloom and our superb maintenance workers were busy with grass…
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The Blagdon Bugle – the residents’ regular village journal – has just celebrated its 100th edition. The first was published in December 2007 soon after the first residents moved into the village and was edited by Janet Standen. Janet handed over to Dudley…
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A Quiet Month. As it was Valentine’s Day John Kinahan gave us another session of music, romantic of course. Regrettably, this was probably his last because failing eyesight prevents him from reading playlists on his extensive collection of CDs and making suitable selections. We…
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A Quieter Month. After the relatively busy festive season, January settled down to a quieter routine but was brought to an end with a flourish. As Burns Night was on the 25th, the normal Quiz Night on the last Friday of the month,…
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As is to be expected there were a number of extra events during the Festive Season: Christmas Party. A hilarious party was organised by Rae Donaldson and Pat Gooding. It started with canapés in the bar before we all sat down in our…
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The Festive Season Approaches. During November our thoughts were turning towards the festive season. Our play Reading Group got us into the festive spirit with another of their hilarious productions, this time with the title “Blagdon’s Bungled Christmas”. This was judged to be the…
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Routine activities are beginning to come to life again so our social calendar is looking a bit better. There was only one additional function, a Harvest Supper. This was another one in the popular monthly series of themed evenings in our restaurant. As…
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Getting Busier. All of our routine activities are now in full swing but there was plenty of time for some extra events – a Ploughman’s lunch, a Mad Hatters supper, a session of Autumn music, and a Hallowe’en quiz. Tea and Chat. Ploughman’s Lunch. Since…
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August was generally fairly quiet. Some of the routine activities were suspended, because a number of residents were taking their summer breaks. We did, however, enjoy a regular annual event, the Decade Buster’s Party. This year six residents, who had reached the milestone of…
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We were beginning to think that summer had deserted us. Dull days with a fresh breeze meant little outside activity. On top of that, some of our routine activities were suspended for a few weeks, while people take their holidays. But it was…
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The summer weather began to show its true nature and residents were keen to soak up the sun on the patio. It’ s also the time of year when people are away as they take their holidays or short breaks. Even so, the routine…
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The town of Taunton is twinned with Lisieux in Normandy and our boules team were asked to join with the official Civic party on a four day visit, in particular to play against the locals and also to join in the general festivities!…
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“April was relatively quiet, perhaps because we were all caught unawares by the unusually warm weather. Most of the routine activities took place as usual but there was one annual highlight – the Grand National sweepstake. In a well-established procedure the race was…
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nnMarch saw a flurry of activity in the village, as residents took advantage of the warmer weather, lighter evenings and busy social programme. The weekly boules sessions have restarted and the team are in training for a match against a French team that…
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nThe Snowdrops have come and gone but fortunately our flowerbeds are getting brighter with daffodils and hyacinths appearing. Temperatures are noticeably rising and the sun has been shining brightly on and off, perhaps too brightly at times for ageing eyes. The big question…
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As expected, January was a quiet month in Blagdon Village. Recovering from the festive season and the onset of colder weather combined to keep residents in their own homes, but routine activities were able to continue as normal. We had one additional event,…
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“The Blagdon Festive season” December saw a number of festive events including carols, our Christmas Party, Christmas Day Lunch, and New Year’s Eve event. In addition, this year there was a revival of “Songs of Praise”. Christmas Carols. Our Singalong Group no longer…
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A Lull Between Storms. After the excitement of the wedding November was much quieter. The only one-off item was the periodic Jewellery Show when a local craftswoman shows off the results of her labours, many of which were bought by residents either for themselves…
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The Wedding. Undoubtedly THE event of the month, if not the year, was the wedding of June and Geoffrey on the 25th October. A good number of their fellow residents at the church to wish them well and fortunately the weather was reasonable. All…
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After the relatively inactive summer months it was good to see the social scene coming to life again in September. All but one of our regular activities resumed but, in addition, we had some interesting and entertaining one-off events. Visit by Nigel Welby,…
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August was fairly quiet because several residents were away on holiday or visiting relatives and some of our routine activities remained suspended. Even so, the favourites the First Monday Talk, Whist and Quiz Night, kept going with reduced attendance. There was however two…
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In general July was a relatively quiet month with some of the routine activities suspended due to a number of residents being away. However, the month was not without activity altogether. There is always something happening at Blagdon. Roulette. There was a new innovation…
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Many residents have been away enjoying a range of summer holidays, leaving numbers a bit thin on the ground to maintain some of the village’s regular activities throughout June. While some of the clubs and groups have suspended operations temporarily, a number of…
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We enjoyed three extra events during May. The first was another talk in the political series organised by our Current Affairs Group. This was given by our local MP, Jeremy Browne, to a very good turnout of residents. The second event was…
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We know how to enjoy ourselves here at Blagdon Village. As well as a good selection of routine events we also have one-offs. April was no exception. A Grand Grand National! As is customary we held a sweepstake for the Grand National. The…
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At last it seems that Spring is finally here. All around us the daffodils are out, with the trees also in blossom and showing their new leaf growth. Our maintenance staff are busy keeping our grounds smart, as always, and the warmer weather…
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February was a quiet month as far as activities are concerned. There was only one extra event, an afternoon of romantic dance music from the 40s and 50s, presented once again by John Kinahan from his CD collection. The date? What else but…
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After all the activities during December the village settled down to enjoy the routine activities, until a surprise event was organised by Rae Donaldson and her team. Rae is from Scotland so what else could it be in January but Burns’ Night, on…
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This month’s entry is a bumper one as appropriately, the festive season was full of festivities for residents at Blagdon Village. First up was our Christmas Party on the 7th, ably organised and executed by Rae Donaldson and Pat Gooding. The restaurant had…
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