Author Archives: Craig

Bradbury House Sports Day

Tuesday, April 10, 2012 Comments Off by Craig

March 2012 - Bendalls Farm recently hosted a successful and sunny sports day, in aid of Sports Relief.

On 26 March, Bendalls Farm Daycare  hosted the Bradbury House Sports Day in aid of Sports Relief. Much preparation went into the event – there were cakes to be baked, posters to be made, a mile to be measured and a tricky obstacle course to be designed.

The weather did its part too and produced a gloriously sunny day. Spirits were high and everyone eager for the races to commence.

The first event of the day was the egg and spoon race – as much fun for the contestants as it was for the spectators. This was followed by a fun and fast 30-metre dash and then the relay race, loudly cheered on by supporters.

Next up was the obstacle course, which involved jumping over pipes, stepping into tyres, going through hoops and round posts. The wonderful welly throwing event followed; Jerry was in place with his trusted tape measure to calculate the distance of the welly throws with the winning welly travelling an impressive 73 feet.

Before the final event of the day, it was time to rest and replenish energy stores with a lovely sit-down buffet lunch provided by the farm shop. With lunch over, excitement began to mount for the much anticipated final event: the Bendalls Mile.

Everyone lined up on the track; chatter, laughter and excitement in the air. The hooter sounded and they were off. The “Bendalls Mile” took participants along the farm track and back again, with every single participant proving they could go the “extra mile” to complete the race.

Bradbury House staff were also called to participate in an obstacle course race. This seemed to reveal the more competitive side of their natures, and a hard fought race was eventually won by Jason.

The day ended with a presentation of certificates to congratulate every participant on their sporting achievements as well as to thank everyone for their efforts to raise money for Sports Relief.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the day such a success. We raised over £100 for Sports Relief. In particular we would like to thank Neal, Phil and Lacel who raised a significant portion of the funds from their own sponsors.

Bradbury House Sports Day Results

Women’s Egg and Spoon Race:

1st Kelly (Street Farm)

2nd Lisa (Street Farm)

3rd Catherine

Men’s Egg and Spoon Race:

1st Rob (Bendalls Farm)

2nd Jamie (Bendalls Farm)

3rd James (Old Rectory)

Women’s Obstacle Course:

1st Claire (Street Farm)

2nd Kelly (Street Farm)

Men’s Obstacle Course:

1st Daniel (The Old Rectory

2nd Lacel (Bendalls Farm)

3rd Phil (Cyprus Lodge)

Relay Race:

1st Catherine, Helen, Kelly

2nd Claire, Lisa, Richard

3rd Jamie, David, Phil

30-Metre Dash:

1st Martin (Bendalls Farm)

2nd Richard (Bendalls Farm)

3rd Lacel (Bendalls Farm)

Women’s Welly Throwing:

1st Helen (Street Farm)

2nd Kelly (Street Farm)

3rd Lisa (Street Farm)

Men’s Welly Throwing:

1st Lee (Bendalls Farm)

2nd Robert (Bendalls Farm)

3rd Chris (Bendalls Farm)

2011 The Greatest Hits

Saturday, March 10, 2012 Comments Off by Craig

February 2012 – Some of the best bits – 2011

Twenty-eleven was a good year for Bradbury House with activities and adventures abounding. Here’s a look back at the wonderful memories made at all our Bradbury residences and beyond, from the year’s snowy white beginnings right to its ceremonious end.

With a snowy start to the year, The Old Rectory kicked off 2011 by building snowmen and having ecstatic snowball fights. Silver Tree Lodge opted for a more civilised affair, at the theatre, and organised a charter event in Weston to see the pantomime Cinderella.

In March the boys of Bendalls climbed onto quad bikes and set free their need for speed around the racetrack. The outing was organised by the brave Baruti who led the way with his record-breaking lap times. (We’re still not sure that he used his brakes at all.)

Come summer, and the royal wedding scheduled to be the event of the year, Bendalls Farm and Street Farm rose to the occasion and held their own royal tea parties. It is still contested whether the boys outdid the girls this round, with their lively decorations and mouth-watering buffet and cakes. The boys even did some rather splendid posing for the camera.

Summer was all thrills for Silver Tree Lodge who visited the newly built Pier in Weston where they discovered the rides (which were literally a screaming success). For Adam the thrills were to be found at Longleat Adventure Park, where he capably demonstrated his steely courage by having some very big spiders and snakes crawl and slither all over him. (We’re still cringing at the memory.)

Staff and management from The Old Rectory went a little ape at their annual team-building event – using harnesses, pulleys and pure will to swing amongst the treetops. Also on the Rectory calendar were unique events (like pig racing) and culinary achievements (grand buffets and award-winning cakes) plus a host of funfair-style stalls, races and games.

A new event in 2011, the I Can’t Believe it’s Not the Bath and West Show hosted by Bendalls Farm was an all-out success – even the weather was on top form. Visitors strolled the grounds, tried their hand at making or doing farmy things, sampled good old farm fare and bought handmade produce from the stalls. A great day out and you can believe it’s going to be even better in 2012.

Street Farm also got very busy in 2011. Not only did they continue with their classes at Silver Tree Crystal, they took their skills to new levels by progressing to glass blowing and mould making (Christmas presents sorted!).

After all their hard work, Street Farm headed for the sunny shores of Spain at the end of the year for a well-deserved break. As well as lots of sundrenched relaxation there was also some memorable celebration – Street Farm stole the show when they clambered up on stage during a Michael Jackson tribute!

Meanwhile the boys of Bendalls Farm decided to slow things down, opting for an ocean outing and a spot of fishing.

The Craftshed (a Bendalls Farm initiative) also displayed their skills to good effect when they attended a local two-day event hosted by Priddy Good Farm Shop. The Craftshed crafters sold produce handcrafted on the farm, including owl boxes, beeswax candles and glass-blown items.

Bradbury House and Cypress Lodge were the first to use the new activity centre at Cypress Lodge by hosting their Halloween party there. As well as some horrifically good costumes and ghoulishly good treats, there was also live entertainment by Steve, who treated partygoers to a display of his breakdancing skills.

The annual bonfire lived up to its reputation. This sensational farm event included a pig roast, an awards ceremony and a huge fireworks display. Always a favourite on the Bradbury House group calendar.

The year also included its fair share of barbeques, funfairs, trips to the seaside, pancakes (made by our Bendalls cooks), dressing up (for Red Nose Day), local adventures, social gatherings, parties, and bucket-loads of fun and laughter. Bring on 2012 and buckets more.

For the full articles on these events – please look through the Events page or you can go through each homes events by clicking on the relevant tab under Residential care.

Organic birthdays

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 Comments Off by Craig

February 2012 – Robs birthday and the organic farm

Rob hits the flamboyant fifties

Robert, Bendall’s Farm resident, made sure to celebrate his recent 50th birthday in flamboyant style. He already began planning in December, during an outing to a nearby pub. Robert set the arrangements in motion and took along a bevy of friends to celebrate this landmark birthday at his current favourite haunt – the Castle of Comfort. Cheers and many happy returns Robert!

An organic outing

Organic explorers, Lacel, Robert, Richard and Jamie, recently enjoyed lunch at the Ethicurean Café at the Walled Garden in Wrington. The café serves food that has been organically grown in the gardens as well as free-range meat and eggs. Lacel was very impressed and between bites spoke to the café staff about the scrumptiousness and making of artisan bread. After their delicious lunch, the four explored the walled gardens, the restored Victorian kitchen gardens and artist studios, collecting a bunch of ideas for the farm along the way.

Cypress on Safari

Monday, March 5, 2012 Comments Off by Craig

February 2012 – A spring adventure at Longleat

With spring in the air and the sun in the sky, residents at Cypress Lodge had a taste for adventure… on the wild side. Andrew, Francis, Rosie and Raymond packed up for a safari drive – at the Longleat Safari & Adventure Park.

Andrew made sure that each of the adventurers were assigned tasks for the trip – making sure to first assign himself the task of adventurer photographer. Once at the park, the four stopped for a bite at the café, filling up on a variety of treats to sustain their energy levels for the safari ahead.

Andrew was amazed by the lions, exclaiming, “Look how big they are!” But promptly followed up with, “They’re all lazy, they just lie there doing nothing.”

Rosie (adventurer in charge of music) was taken with the wolves, saying they were her favourite of all the animals at the park. She has since learnt dozens of new facts about the park and its animals off the CD of the guided tour – and has been sure to share these with us daily!

Everyone was thoroughly taken with this wonderful adventure on the wild side; even the short hailstone shower went almost unnoticed.

Mosaic name plaques

Sunday, February 26, 2012 Comments Off by Craig

January 2012 -Making Mosaics

Bradbury House got marvelously creative at the beginning of the year when everyone at the residence got stuck in making special mosaic name plaques for the doors to their rooms.

Every step in this skilful craft was carefully executed: from the initial stenciling of names and choosing of colours to the patient gluing of each little tile.

This delightful creative activity gave everyone the opportunity to see their own design come to life and personalise their room with a proudly made artwork. It was a wonderful and well-rounded day of purposeful fun and satisfied accomplishment.

Christmas cards

Friday, January 13, 2012 Comments Off by Craig

December 2011 – A Creative Christmas

All the Bradbury House homes got creative this Christmas, sending in many glittering entries to the Day Care Christmas Card Competition. After much deliberation, a winner was selected: congratulations to Tracey of Bradbury House who won the competition with her lovely Christmas Angel entry.

Tracey’s design and four others were chosen for the Bradbury House Christmas cards, which were sent out to family and friends. The Christmas card designers also included Christine in 2nd place (Bradbury House), Rosie in 3rd place (Cypress Lodge), Kim in 4th place (Bradbury House ) and Philip in 5th place (Cypress Lodge).

Tracey was awarded with a delightful arts and crafts material pack and the runners up also received crafty prizes – we’re sure the prizes will inspire even more glittering creativity.

Overall the effort and quality of the artwork was so impressive that a special award was introduced for those who put in an excellent effort. An additional 15 runners up were selected and awarded with certificates and festive chocolates.

Well done to all the talented designers and artists who inspired us with their delightful Christmas card designs.

The Craftshed

Friday, January 13, 2012 Comments Off by Craig

December 2011 – Another accomplishment for The Craftshed

Bendalls Farm Day Care have set up their own enterprising craft group called The Craftshed, which made a successful appearance at a recent two-day event hosted by the Priddy Good Farm Shop.

The Craftshed is a not for profit concern within the Bradbury House organisation whereby our services users make a variety of rural crafts and produce from scratch and then sell them locally. The unique crafts include bird boxes, hand blown glass, beeswax candles, willow craft and homemade preserves.

The Craftshed hosted a stall at the two-day event, organised by and held at Priddy Good Farm Shop. A number of people from Bendalls Farm and The Old Rectory attended the event to sell produce they had made and assist in running the stall. The Farm Shop made it an especially festive event with offerings of mince pie and mulled wine.

Customers and stallholders alike were in high spirits during the festive wintery event. Our stallholders worked especially hard. Lacel added up the stall’s sales on his calculator and Dan proved to be a natural, with the stall up and running like clockwork within minutes. Leon and Richard chatted to customers about the handmade crafts and handed out the free mince pies.

At lunchtime, our enterprising Craftshed stallholders decided to treat themselves to a break with a lovely pub lunch enjoyed by the warm log fire. Feeling refreshed, they returned again to the wintery cold to enjoy the festivities and sell more of their lovely handmade crafts and produce.

The Craftshed has made a great success of its stalls this year and we hope to plan more for the new year – watch this space!

“I really enjoyed talking to all the people about the things that I made and felt very proud that they were so impressed and wanted to buy things off me.” – Lacel  

 “I love working on market stalls as I used to help my family out on the weekends doing something similar, I really enjoyed getting out for the day and mingling with new people.” – Dan

“Can we do another one next week? I really enjoyed it! I felt really proud!” – Richard

A festive party with daycare

Friday, January 13, 2012 Comments Off by Craig

December 2011 – Bradbury House Christmas Party

The annual Christmas party was a resounding success again this year. Father Christmas (looking remarkably like support worker Jerry Hale) found time from his busy schedule to sit in our grotto and hand out presents to one and all.

Christmas party attendants first had to follow a trail of muddy clues to find Father Christmas’s location, causing much excited anticipation. Even two of Santa’s reindeer put in an appearance: Donner (played by Sally) and Blitzen (played by Alice).

While feasting on party food and pop, the partygoers enjoyed fun Christmas games like pass the parcel, pin the nose on Rudolf and the Christmas quiz. Richard from Bradbury House treated everyone to a moving rendition of Jingle Bells and Catherine impressed by naming all of Santa’s reindeer.

Daycare’s christmas meeting

Friday, January 13, 2012 Comments Off by Craig

December 2011 – Ideas flow at the Bendalls Farm end of term meeting

At the end of each term, Bendalls Farm daycare gather round with tea and snacks to reflect on the activities and events held over the last three months. Ideas for the next term flow and plans start to take shape.

At the latest end of term Christmas meeting there was much nodding and agreement that animal care is the leading favourite of the farm jobs. Attendants requested more animal care work in the next term, which luckily there will be plenty of! The animals will be bedded up inside for the winter and will need to be fed and cared for.

The Quantock group eagerly requested more day trip adventures to explore the local area. Suggestions included Cheddar Gorge and a day trip to the seaside. Organising begins with the new year, though we may have to wait for the weather to warm up before we brave the seaside (unless of course we can dive in to a cheerful seaside café after to warm up).

Music was also high on the list. Rob is very keen to try out some relaxation sessions and would like to attend more music and dance workshops. Craig asked if he could organise a night club party in the Quantock group room and invite everyone along for a bit of fun.

The Mendip group said they have really enjoyed making produce for the craft stalls. Favourite activities include melting and rolling candles and cooking up jam and chutney in the farmhouse kitchen.

Thinking ahead, Lacel recommended planting some bulbs in pots so they’ll be ready to sell at the stalls in spring. With many keen gardeners in attendance, the idea was a firm favourite. The group said though that they had got a bit fed up with all the mulching done for the vegetable plot. (Pushing wheelbarrows up a hill is indeed hard work!) It’s been agreed to take a break and begin again with vegetable planting for spring.

The Blackdown group are very keen to continue walking the pygmy goats and making bird tables. The group is also ready to take on the task of mucking out the pigs but would like to share the load with another group. Neal requested a trip to the garden centre to buy new seeds for his square foot garden. Phillip said that he would like to do more art activities as he really enjoys being indoors in the warmth through the winter months.

With such great feedback and so many good ideas, our group leaders have plenty of inspiration to start planning activities for the new term and new year. 

“I love working on the veg plot and doing the mulching. And the new thing I learnt this term was how to make candles.” – Jamie

“I really liked being praised by people who bought their produce on the stall.” – Lacel

“My favourite jobs to do on the farm is the fencing and banging in all those posts with the tools we get to use.” – Martin

“Next term I would like to start doing my strimming again around the footpaths if it ever stops raining!” – Lee

“I just love coming to day care to see the rabbits in our barn, they have grown so much. I always save time at the end of the day to cuddle them and read them stories from my book, I wish I could take them home!” – Catherine

“At day care I like walking the goats around the farm on leads and feeding them treats. My favourite goat is called Nelson. Next term can we make things with papier-mâché?” – Phillip

“I want to get more involved with running the market stalls, I really enjoyed running our festive stall and I want to get on the committee and be able to make more decisions about what we do and how we do it.” – Daniel

Fireworks on the farm

Monday, November 28, 2011 Comments Off by Craig

November 2011 – Bendalls Bonfire 2011

The Bendalls Bonfire night was held at the Mendip Group Barn and gave everyone the opportunity to participate in a range of games and activities, to sample homemade produce and purchase handmade crafts produced on the farm.

The menu for the evening included a hog roast and burgers, kindly provided by Priddy Good Farm Shop, as well as meat provided by Bendalls Farm. Will and Jo worked especially hard all night to make sure that everyone had their fill of hot food, trying to keep the queue as short as possible at all times.

Our arts and crafts activity was among the most popular for the evening and was held around our new indoor art table. Here everyone had a go at creating their own homage to the dazzling fireworks using chalks, glitter, sticky stars and lots of glue! It was certainly a very sociable place to sit and catch up with friends whilst sampling the homemade non-alcoholic mulled wine on offer and watching the buzz of the evening.

The fireworks display held at the Mendip Barn proved to be a spectacular finale to a great evening. Everyone went home with stars in their eyes, full bellies and bags full of wonderful produce and crafts. Certificates were also handed out to Bendalls Farm residents and staff in recognition of all their hard work on the farm during the year. Well done to our very own Kim for getting her special certificate for hard work in health and safety.

There was also a raffle and tombola on offer for those that were feeling lucky. The top prize was a delectable, luxury hamper of farm shop food, which was won by Mrs. Longman. Congratulations for buying the winning ticket, we hope you enjoyed your winnings!

We would like to thank everyone for attending and particularly those whose enthusiasm and hard work made the evening such a great success.