Christmas Preparations

Well its almost that time of year again to get into the festive spirit.

Service user's at The Willows were supported to put up the christmas tree on the weekend in and around the house.

All we need now is a visit from santa to cover the bottom of the tree with gifts................

Lets hope he is feeling generous...............

66th Birthday

Happy Birthday to you.................................................................

Yesterday Colin Ashman celebrated his 66th birthday at The Willows.

Colin spent the day relaxing and being pampered.

Staff customised a birthday cake for Colin which was enjoyed after tea by all.

Baking Day

Christine has been busy in the kitchen this afternoon baking ginger biscuits with staff support as she decided it has been to wet and cold to go out today.

Here is Christine showing off her pre baked biscuits.

Yummy thank you Christine

Christmas Preparations

I know its only very early November but these things need to be done!!!

Grazina spent the morning in the kitchen with staff support and made a christmas cake for The Willows.

All service users and staff on duty were also given the chance to stir the mixture while thinking of a wish they would like.............. mmmmm I wonder if they will come true??

We will keep you posted!

Halloween Party

That time of year has come around so quickly.

The clocks changed on the weekend and the scary celebrations of halloween commenced.

The service user's and staff at The Willows enjoyed a party on sunday evening with spooky food, decorations and costumes.

Apple bobbing in angel delight and hanging donuts where all part of the fun.

Spooky music was played during the evening and a good time was had in the house.

Here you can see that Christine is a happy lady in the kitchen with team leader Brian all smiles.

Christine has just been supported to make some lunch for herself and she has been telling staff that Brian is a very nice man.

He appears to be her favourite person, as every time she comes back from the local shops she always brings back a chocolate bar for them to share.

Relaxing Times

One of Keith's favourite relaxing hobbies is his fishing. Keith has found with a member of staff a new location in Somerset to fish.

You can see in these pictures the beautiful setting of Batcombe Vale, which is just on the outskirts of the small town Bruton.

Keith has told us he has had a fair old few carp out of this lake.

NVQ 2 and 3

We would like to congratulate Brian (team leader) and Dan (support worker) on completion of their NVQ.

Brian has completed his level 3 and Dan has completed his level 2.

Here you can see Dan ( the taller chap) and Brian.

Well done to you both.

ASDAN

Grazina has been working hard towards completing more of her ASDAN awards and here you can see her involved in laundry day which will help her towards her independent living skills.

Grazina has also worked hard with staff support towards budgeting skills and saved enough money to pay for a short break to Portsmouth with staff support.

Well done Grazina.

Day at the beach

On friday staff supported some of the service users at The Willows to make a packed lunch and go off for the day down to the beach in Dorset.

Some time was spent walking in the sand enjoying the weather and, to quench the thirsts of everyone, a trip to the beer garden to sit in the shade while everyone was rehydrated.

A fun day out was had by all.

Summer Fun

Last week at The Willows a fun week had by all and the weather when nice, always appears to brighten people's mood.

Staff took some fun pictures of Keith and Jamie enjoying some fun in the sun as you can see..... Boys will be boys.........

College is out!!

Today Grazina, Keith , Ian, Colin, Kurt and Jon were all invited to Trowbridge college to collect their certificates for the courses they have undertaken over the last year.

They have all come back to The Willows in very high spirits and are proud of the achievements they have accomplished over the last 10 months.

Well done to you all.

Colins Holiday

Colin has just enjoyed a short break in Swanage with two members of The Willows staff team. They had fantastic weather and Colin spent all day out and about exploring the area and as you can see in the pictures he was very happy and relaxed.

Colin stayed in a very comfortable bed and breakfast with the whole of the top floor to himself and staff and was made to feel very welcome.

As the holiday was such a success Colin's keyworker is in the process of arranging another holiday so watch this space.....

World Cup Fever

Well it's here there is no getting away from it!

We have some very keen football supporters at The Willows so it was decided to hold a World Cup party on saturday evening to see the first England game in.

Although the result was not what we would of wished for the atmosphere could not be dampened.

Ladies on holiday

Last week Grazina was supported on a holiday to Minehead by Marianne and Charlotte.

Grazina choose the staff she wanted to support her and also the location for her holiday.

While away Grazina and the staff enjoyed the entertainment both in the day time and the evening and in this picture you can see the ladies enjoying the night club scene.

Grazina meet some other service users from a different area that were on holiday and they have agreed to remain in contact on their return.

New Car

We have been waiting a while for our new car to arrive and on Friday it was finally delivered to The Willows.

It is a Kia Sedona, leather interior, automatic almost everything!!

All the service users and staff are very happy with the new car and everyone has already been out in it with more trips planned.

What to do on a rainy day!!!

Yesterday was not very nice weather wise however, it was agreed with almost all of the service user's that a few games of pool and a couple of drinks in the local pub would be a good idea.

Keith and Sheriff can be seen in the picture to the left enjoying a game of pool while in the picture to the right is a very happy Christine posing for her photo with Brian one of our team leaders.

Pool Tournament

Recently a new pool table was purchased for the service users at The Willows, everyone, including the staff get involved with a pool tournament.

Here you can see John getting himself ready for his next strategic shot......

To date the leaders on the board are Jamie and Sheriff.

Sparing Partners

With the weather still gracing us with sunshine the garden has been used over the last few days by our two kick boxers.

Kurt and Sheriff attend kick boxing training twice a week in Trowbridge and when the weather is a good as it has been in recent days they both practice in the garden.

Keith's Holiday

As promised early this week we have photos of Keith's fishing holiday in Cornwall.

Keith, Brian and Dan went away monday morning and have arrived back home this afternoon after 4 days of fishing.

Keith told us he caught some roach, rudd and different species of carp and is very happy to share his fishing stories with us all.

Brian is a keen angler himself and Dan fished for the first time on this holiday, and has said he really enjoyed it, so we have 3 happy people returning from a great holiday and what lovely weather they have had.

The ladies

The weather has much improved over the last few days so we have been able to get out and about so much more.

Wednesday Sue and Christine were supported on a trip to Weston Super Mare with another service user and two members of the staff team.

Sue and Christine are pictured here on a stroll near the sea front looking very relaxed.

Is it big enough

Yesterday Keith went to Bournemouth with a member of staff and had a brilliant day.

Just look at the size of this ice cream that Keith would have loved to have eaten but had to make do with a normal one.

Today Keith has gone on a fishing holiday to Cornwall for the week so watch this space for the fisherman's pictures!!

Spring has sprung!

It's that time of year when the first mowing of the lawn is taking place, after what can only be described as a long cold winter!

As you can see the garden is once again starting to bloom with colour coming though from all angles.

Les is busy making sure the lawn looks it's best - keep up the good work!

NVQ

We would just like to inform you all that Jim Tanner has today successfully completed his NVQ II in care.

Jim has been a support worker here at The Willows since October and has proven to be a valuable member of our team.

Well done to you Jim!!!

Training Days

Exalon as a company value the staff's well being and feel it is so important to train all staff to a high standard so the roles can be carried out effectively which will and does already enhance the lives of the service users that are being supported.

Here you can see some group work being undertaken at the recent BILD approved positive approaches to behaviours that is being taught by Karen Wilkinson who has a great way of training the staff and the feedback received was fantastic.

In a stew!!!

To promote independence and skills Kurt has been assisting staff in the kitchen today to prepare and cook the evening meal which will be a warming hearty homemade chicken stew.

At The Willows we feel it is of great importance to involve all the service user's in as much of everyday skills that we all take for granted.

Here you can see Kurt in full infection control kit starting the prep work with a bright smile upon his face......... lets hope there is some left for me to try yummy!!!!!

Sport relief mile

Kurt & Sheriff supported by Jim took part in the sport relief mile yesterday in Trowbridge park, this was a great achievement and help raise money for a great cause.

The weather was ideal and everyone really enjoyed the atmosphere of the event - well done!

Asdan

As mentioned in the previous post Sheriff is undertaking his Asdan awards and he went shopping on thursday after completing the shopping list.

Sheriff was supported to do this with a member of staff in the local supermarket and managed to stay within budget.

Well done Sheriff!

Asdan

As Asdan is now well under way at the Willows more of the service users are taking interest at gaining awards and this week Sheriff started off on an independent living awarded.

Sheriff has been doing his laundry, helping to serve a main meal for the service users and staff and is now compiling a shopping list from the menu so he can be supported to get the food for the weekend.

Well done to you Sheriff!!

Red Belt

To encourage fitness and an outside interest Kurt has taken up kick boxing along with Sheriff and has already achieved his red belt so well done to Kurt and keep up the good work!!!

Busy day

Sheriff and Jamie spent much of the day at Laser Quest in Bristol supported by Jim. They all had great fun in the chosen activity and are already planning the next round, which they say will include more of the service users and staff team.

Christine had an enjoyable morning at Ashton Street doing various craft activities before returning home, then out with Sue for a tea & Cake supported by Gill.

Grazina spent the morning at work answering the phones and copy typing, which she really enjoyed.

John has just left to go to college to do his catering course.

All in all a very busy but enjoyable day had by all and the weekend has not even started!

I can do that!

Grazina has enjoyed learning new skills in the kitchen with support from staff and this is all in preparation towards independent living which Grazina is now undertaking for her ASDAN award.

Good Morning

Christine loves to have her picture taken and for this one she is all smiles.

Christine enjoys a cup of tea in bed in the mornings before getting up for her breakfast and more tea then support from staff to enable her to get ready for the day ahead.

Christine has a day off from Ashton Street today so had a relaxed morning after being supported before popping into town to buy some slippers.

Wiltshire Area Manager

With effect from today 8th February 2010 Steve Tayler is now the Wiltshire Area Manager.

Steve will be responsible for the management and development residential services and the domiciliary services that are currently run in Wiltshire.

Steve will continue to be the Registered Home Manager of The Willows and his time will be divided between here and Albion house.

We would all like to say congratulations to Steve on his new role.

Congratulations!!!

We at The Willows are pleased to announce that Steve Tayler, registered manager of the home, has now completed his Leadership and Management Award.

Steve is a dedicated home manager, and The Willows has grown into a very professional service user centred home that is a pleasure to work in with his direction.

Asdan

The Willows is a registered ASDAN centre which stands for "Awards Scheme Development and Accreditation Network " which enhances service users self esteem and aspirations through completing achievable and meaningful tasks to gain awards and work towards a more independent living lifestyle.

Grazina is here proudly receiving her first certificate for everyday living skills from Mercedes, support worker at The Willows, who is taking the lead on ensuring all service users have to opportunity to take part.