Birchwood House, the Tunbridge Wells-based care home, hosted a socially-distanced Harvest Hoedown in its grounds on Wednesday 9th September, for all staff and residents. Sealed food was also donated to benefit the local community.

Based in a period country house in the village of Speldhurst, Birchwood House has been locked down since before the start of the pandemic to keep residents safe. The Hoedown was arranged by the senior Birchwood House team who were keen to give staff and residents a mini-escape from a challenging time, as well as helping the local community and St Mary’s Church with harvest donations.

The harvest celebration took place in the fresh air, with a country and western theme, complete with straw bales, staff in checked shirts and cowboy hats and hats for residents. Country music was the backdrop for a range of games for staff, such as sponge throwing, apple bobbing, country dancing and an obstacle course. Seated activities included a tin can alley game and giant dominos.

The Hoedown followed the success of Birchwood’s July summer BBQ and Afternoon Tea in August, and was the care home’s biggest event to date. Event organisers, Helen Geer, Birchwood House Manager, and Claire Tye, Birchwood House Deputy Manager, asked for contributions of sealed food produce, which will be given to St Mary’s Church and the local community.

Niral Patel, Birchwood House’s owner, comments: “Following the difficulties that the Covid-19 crisis posed for us all, we wanted to provide everyone with a way to socialise and have fun in a safe and enjoyable environment. We also wanted to say a big thank you to our fantastic staff, who we are very lucky to have.

Our previous parties have gone down really well, and this was our biggest yet. It’s also vitally important that we are able to make a difference to the local community, even though we are currently still in lockdown.”