Birtley House Nursing Home is unique and unlike other care homes
At a time when new care homes are opening across the South-East on a weekly basis, Birtley House offers its residents a very different proposition. It takes years to build a true home, a bank of trusted staff and an excellent reputation, as we have done.
Established in 1932, and a fourth-generation family-run business, the owners of Birtley House live on-site and our history and experience in care means we truly understand what it takes to create a genuinely homely environment whilst offering the highest quality service not just in care but with quality of life for the resident at the heart of it.
We pride ourselves on creating the ultimate home-from-home stay that exudes a vibrant, friendly and relaxed atmosphere. We encourage our residents to feel at home by bringing their own furniture and personal belongings, so they have familiar home comforts available to them. Birtley House prides itself on no specific visiting times, and with ample parking on site, family and friends can visit whenever they wish.
Birtley House provides specialist care services for both long and short-term stays including respite, and convalescent care, palliative care, or end-of-life support. Boasting a strong care team, Birtley House has on-site well-being staff such as physiotherapists, and an in-house chef creating delicious and nutritious food throughout the day, much of it sourced from our own large kitchen garden.
We offer potential residents a variety of accommodation options including nursing home rooms and our unique West Wing apartments, both of which have 24-hour nursing care on call. We also have an over-65’s retirement development of two-bedroomed supported-living flats, designed to provide a calm and worry-free life for those who are looking for more independence and flexibility, and who don’t require care just yet.
We always say that the best way to decide if Birtley House is right for you is with a visit. When you enter any care home, you will get an immediate feel as to whether the atmosphere and environment suit you, and what you are looking for. We are here every step of the way to guide you with impartial advice, and help you make an educated choice that is right for you.
For an insight into life at Birtley House, please take a moment to look at our social media accounts. Additionally, there is an independent website which publishes verified reviews from both residents past and present and their relatives, and our entry can be found here. We are very proud of our 9.9 out of 10 review score on carehome.co.uk.
Marlow Tastes, the town’s excusive safari supper, is now open for bookings to allow hundreds more diners to sample gourmet food while helping charities that support families in need of help.
The three-course mystery tour of some of the town’s finest restaurants was introduced on a limited scale last April and was a resounding success. Places were sold out within a few weeks and the evening raised £8,000 for charity.
This year Marlow Tastes plans to double in size to enable around 400 food-lovers to sample the culinary delights of eight of Marlow’s top restaurants. But the mystery is, they won’t know which three restaurants they will be eating in until they arrive for each course.
A choice of menus will be offered a few weeks before the supper to include dietary needs and preferences. Then the adventure begins with a drinks and canape reception at All Saints Church in Marlow on Tuesday, April 30.
The event is being hosted by Marlow Thames Rotary Club and the website for bookings opens on New Years Day.
The club’s president, Julian Rhodes, explained: “This progressive supper is unique to Marlow, a town gifted with fine restaurants. It’s an opportunity to try out some of our best fare at new venues.
“Rotary is at the heart of its communities but is also quick to respond to worldwide demands. This year our Marlow Tastes adventure will support two leading charities: Marlow United Charities which supports struggling local families, and Parkinsons UK. Further funds will be distributed to other charities supported by Rotary.
Restaurants welcome Marlow Tastes because it enables them to showcase their offerings. Taking part are the Compleat Angler Riverside restaurant, La Cantina del Vino, Cote Brasserie, The Ivy Marlow Garden, , Lavvin, The Marlow Bar and Grill, The Oarsman and Suum Kitchen.
The cost of the reception and the three courses is £65 and much of this amount will be shared by the charities.
Bookings open on Monday, 1st January on the website Marlowtastes.menu and close on March 25 ahead of the event on Tuesday April 30. Bookings can be made for groups of up to six people, in even numbers. Every effort will be made to place known groups together.
The selected restaurants for all groups will not be announced until arrival following the reception and are always within ten minutes’ walk.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been raised by Marlow’s three Rotary clubs in a variety of ways and the most familiar – and the biggest contributor – is the Santas Fun Run.
Beneficiaries include One Can Trust, Marlow United Charities, Horizon Sports Club, Marlow Opportunity Playgroup, Rivertime Accessible Boating, Wycombe Homeless Connection, various refugee support groups (including Ukraine), Thames Valley Air Ambulance, JAM Theatre, Bucks Young Carers, South Bucks Hospice, South Bucks Headway, Thames Valley Hospice, Alexander Devine Hospice, Thames Valley Adventure Playground, Bucks MIND, Aquabox, Shelter Box and many more.
Real Penguins visit Rowan Lodge Care Home in Hampshire
Residents at Rowan Lodge Care Home expressed a wish for more animals to visit the home, so Terri Eakins, Forest Care’s Group Activity Lead suggested penguins, and their faces lit up.
On the day of the visit, the communal lounges were packed with residents, their loved ones, and staff members, everyone intrigued…and then they appeared, two Humboldt penguins – Pringle and Widget, came waddling through the door.
Faces full of fascination, everybody wanted to touch and cuddle them. One resident Jean said: “It was lovely, I have never seen it so packed here, they just waddled in. I learned that they have a partner for life and their only enemy is the shark. I would love to see them again.”
Another resident Janet, with a huge grin on her face, talked about how lovely it was to see them.
Pringle and Widget brought much joy to our residents, and their popularity has meant penguin visits to other Forest Care homes have been arranged.
Terri said: “Of all the animal visits to Forest Care homes, the penguins have had the most positive impact on our residents’ well-being. Pringle and Widget visited the rooms of our residents who are less mobile and able, and just sat on their beds. Residents’ faces watched them in amazement and were able to recall their personal penguin visit the following day. This is great proof of how meaningful the penguins were, and even weeks later residents are asking me ‘when are they coming back?’”
Child Bereavement UK helps families to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies. They support children and young people (up to the age of 25) when someone important to them has died or is not expected to live, and parents and the wider family when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying.
On Sunday 4th February 2024 they will be holding the popular Snowdrop Walk at West Wycombe Park. This annual event is an opportunity to enjoy a walk in the beautiful surroundings. Children can enjoy a treasure hunt and visitors can finish their walk with hot food, cakes, and refreshments at West Wycombe Village Hall, where further children’s activities will be taking place.
Snowdrops will also be available to plant in memory of someone special.
If you’re not able make it along to the day but would like a snowdrop planted on your behalf, please make a donation of £5 and include the reference Snowdrop.
Child Bereavement UK offer free, confidential bereavement support for individuals, couples, children, young people, and families, by telephone, video or instant messenger, wherever you live in the UK. Face-to-face support is also offered from a number of locations.
A new permanent exhibition, opening on 27th January 2023 at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, tells a story of how a small act of kindness can have a life-changing impact. Naomi and Arthur: Letters from Liberation focuses on two people from different worlds – Arthur Tyler, a soldier with the Oxfordshire Yeomanry, and Naomi Kaplan, a Polish Jew who survived both Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps.
When the Oxfordshire Yeomanry liberated Bergen-Belsen on 15th April 1945, they found prisoners living in appalling conditions of disease, starvation and cruelty, with many thousands of unburied dead. Naomi Kaplan was one of the survivors who had endured several years in the Nazi camp system. She approached soldier Arthur Tyler and asked him to write to her family to tell them she was alive. Her mother, husband and sister-in-law had all perished in Auschwitz, but Naomi remembered the address of her Uncle Bill in Houston, USA. Arthur wrote a letter straight away and began a correspondence with Naomi’s sister Elizabeth Brandon, who was also safe in Houston.
In her response Elizabeth thanked Arthur saying: ‘I am infinitely happy to know that she is alive and well and I will not rest until we are reunited.’ Naomi herself described the effect of being reconnected to her family as ‘a continuation of wonderful experiences’, as her brother-in-law and other US Army soldiers were soon able to visit her in Germany.
When Naomi eventually reached the USA, she also wrote to Arthur, to thank him saying: ‘I met very many British soldiers and I asked everybody to write about me to my family, but nobody did it – only you.’
Her optimism and courage were clear from her attitude to her new beginning in the USA, reunited with her remaining family: ‘I try to forget my sad past, I am thinking about the fine present and the beautiful future.’
Naomi became a highly successful businesswoman in Houston, bringing up three children and running an international meat import and processing company. She remembered Arthur’s kindness throughout her life, telling her family of the soldier who had helped her. Her retirement was filled with philanthropy, sharing her experiences with young people and supporting Holocaust Museum Houston. For her 80th birthday and to celebrate her extraordinary life, her three children established an education programme – the Warren Fellowship for Future Teachers – based at Holocaust Museum Houston, which continues to teach and inspire. Arthur led a modest life in London after the war. But he never forgot what he had seen at Bergen-Belsen.
Almost 50 years after the liberation he protested against Holocaust denial, standing shoulder to shoulder with survivors, and being interviewed for several national newspapers. Both Naomi and Arthur had their lives changed by their meeting at Bergen-Belsen. Now a new generation has been touched by the story. Research by Dr Myfanwy Lloyd has enabled the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum to connect with Naomi’s children and grandchildren in Houston. Through their generosity, visitors to the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum can see the original letters, family photographs and newspaper reports that tell the story of Naomi and Arthur.
Ursula Corcoran, Director of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum said: ‘Letters from Liberation is a war-time story with a difference – focusing on an act of kindness, and the courage of survival. Through Naomi and Arthur we can remember the devastation that the Nazi regime inflicted on so many families. But we also see that humanity can shine through in the bleakest of situations. The story is also a powerful reminder that we need to be vigilant against Holocaust denial and the rise of authoritarian rule. The new display gives a human face to the Holocaust Memorial Day theme for 2024 – the ‘Fragility of Freedom’.
‘Naomi and Arthur: Letters from Liberation’ goes on display at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum from 27th January 2024.
Bring along items you no longer wear & exchange them for something new to you!
New year, so how about a ‘new to you’ wardrobe? Let someone else love your unwanted clothes and take home some new ones for yourself.
The clothes swap on Friday, 2nd February, 7pm, Northcourt Centre, Northcourt Road OX14 1NS, is exactly what it says – bring items you don’t wear and swap them. It is the most sustainable way to update your wardrobe!
You can drop off up to 10 items of adult clothing (no children’s please) from 7pm and then relax to allow time to sort into size order and type for easy swapping before doors open officially at 7.30pm. See what takes your fancy, try it on, and take it home – it’s that easy.
Between 7-7.30pm, refreshments will be available to purchase and there will be stalls from local, sustainable businesses.
Please only bring freshly washed items in good condition. Ask yourself ‘would you give this to your best friend?’ – if the answer is yes, please bring it along!
Tickets just £5.
Also, if there’s any suitable workwear items still looking for a home, organisers willl take them to Smart Works Reading, a charity that provides women with the clothing, coaching and confidence they need to succeed in interviews and get the job. 10% of the profits will go to Smart Works, Reading.
All other left over items will be donated to local charity shops or kept for the next swap! More datils & to buy tickets, visit Clothes Swap!
Grayson’s tapestries visit Surrey for the first time. For those with good taste. Possibly.
Grayson Perry’s The Vanity of Small Differences – six large-scale tapestries exploring the British fascination with social class, created by the Turner Prize-winning artist as a result of his acclaimed TV series – go on display at The Lightbox this January. The tapestries, which are part of the Arts Council Collection, are touring the country and this will be their first public display in Surrey.
Inspired by the characters, incidents and objects the artist encountered during the making of his Channel 4 documentary series, All in the Best Possible Taste, the tapestries evolved from drawings and photography Perry made whilst travelling around England in search of what is – or isn’t – deemed to be ‘good taste’.
Grayson Perry is one of Britain’s most celebrated artists and cultural figures. He is recognised as a great chronicler of contemporary life, tackling subjects that are universally human: social status, identity, sexuality, religion and more.
In The Vanity of Small Differences, Perry shares a story of 21st century social mobility. The tapestries chart the life of a fictional character, Tim Rakewell, whose ‘class journey’ has parallels with that of his 18th century namesake, Tom Rakewell – the central figure in William Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress (1732-34).
As Hogarth told his tale in a series of eight paintings, Grayson Perry shares the rise and demise of Tim Rakewell in this series of six, 2m x 4m tapestries – an art form traditionally associated with grand houses for the depiction of great historical, religious and military scenes. In The Vanity of Small Differences, Perry plays with the idea of using this ancient allegorical art to elevate the commonplace dramas of contemporary British life.
Art historical references within contemporary scenes feature throughout the series. In The Adoration of the Cage Fighters,in which the infant Tim reaches for his mother’s smartphone, there are echoes of Mantegna’s Adoration of the Shepherds (c.1450), and Perry’s second tapestry, Agony in the Car Park, is described by the artist as a “distant relative” of Bellini’s Agony in the Garden (c.1465).
The Annunciation of the Virgin Deal shows Tim as a wealthy man having sold his business to Richard Branson, with the convex mirror and discarded shoes recalling the famous Arnofilni Portrait (1434) by Jan van Eyck; and in The Upper Class at Bay, Tim and his wife, now owners of a mansion in the Cotswolds, resemble Mr and Mrs Andrews walking through their estate in Thomas Gainsborough’s celebrated painting.
But the story ends in tragedy. In Perry’s final, dramatic tapestry, Lamentation – which takes inspiration from The Lamentation (c.1441) by Rogier van der Weyden – Tim’s life comes to an end following a car accident. This image also reconnects the series with Hogarth, whose final painting in A Rake’s Progress records Tom Rakewell’s death.
Grayson Perry said: “The tapestries tell the story of class mobility, for I think nothing has as strong an influence on our aesthetic taste as the social class in which we grow up. I am interested in the politics of consumerism and the history of popular design but for this project I focus on the emotional investment we make in the things we choose to live with, wear, eat, read or drive. Class and taste run deep in our character – we care. This emotional charge is what draws me to a subject”.
Sarah Brown, Director of The Lightbox, said: “We are thrilled that The Lightbox will host this exhibition, which marks Grayson Perry’s first solo exhibition in Surrey and is also the first time that The Vanity of Small Differences have been on public display in the county. Creating local opportunities to experience the best contemporary and modern art is at the heart of what we do, and through our exhibitions, activities and community events we work hard to ensure that as many people as possible can benefit.”
“We share with Grayson a firm belief that “art is good for you”, and never have we needed it more. This exhibition will provide inspiration for the New Year and we look forward to welcoming visitors.”
Grayson Perry: The Vanity of Small Differences opens at The Lightbox, Woking on 27 January (until 2 June). A programme of events for visitors, schools and community groups accompanies the exhibition. For further information: lightbox.org.uk
A welcome return from Marika Hackman sees her release her first album in nearly four years and it promises to be one of the most intriguing releases of 2024. Already.
Marika Hackman likens her creative process to hacking into a block of ice. “It’s about chipping away at whatever that golden thing is in the centre. The more you do it, the more visible and easy to access it becomes.” The problem, Marika says, is if you leave the block for too long it freezes over. The glow gets duller, the fear of finding it intensifies. “Not the most relaxed metaphor for a musician who’s trying to reduce their stress levels, admittedly.”
Such was the case with Big Sigh – the “hardest record” Marika has ever made. As its title suggests, it is a release of sorts – of sadness, of stress and lust, but mostly relief.
At the start of 2020, Marika hurtled into lockdown; stifled and isolated, her musical brain nullified. She had been in a constant cycle of write/record/press/tour for thirteen years, since the age of nineteen, and the eerie silence of stopping was agonising. “I have pretty bad anxiety. It’s usually manageable but having a lack of control for two years during the pandemic was impossible.” Being with friends, swimming, collaborating and touring, everything Marika normally used to distract her mind from spiralling thoughts and feelings had disappeared. She stopped writing songs. The ice got thicker.
As the months progressed, she accrued scraps of melodies but never felt that spectral hit of a fully formed song arriving in her brain. Instead, she recorded and produced Covers – brilliant interpretations of some of her favourite songs. Deep down, however, Marika wondered if she’d ever write again.
Until one evening in 2021, when she struck gold in the most unlikely of places: a toilet.
Restrictions had been lifted, and Marika went to the pub. “I had written a song at home that day and recorded it onto my phone quickly as I had to leave to meet friends. When I was at the pub, I went into the loo to listen back to it and realised it was a cracker. I welled up with this huge relief. I realised I’d done it – I’d put the first crack in the ice.”
That song became Hanging, a track that processes the end of a relationship in a delicate, dissociative daze, until its engulfing ending – a crash of banshee wails and grunge guitars. Not only was it the song that freed Marika’s creative flow, but it’s one that epitomises the album’s opposing themes: the contrast of loud-quiet, the rub of industrial and pastoral, and the innocence of childhood versus the gnarly realities of adulthood.
To achieve these dualities, Marika had to summon a very specific soundscape for each song: she not only played every instrument save for the brass and strings on Big Sigh, but produced it too, along with Sam Petts-Davies [Thom Yorke, Warpaint] and long-term collaborator Charlie Andrew. “I’d always produced on my records, but I’d never backed myself enough to actually say that I had. I liked being a sponge and I saw the first two thirds of my career as a learning experience – I would sit back in a slightly deferential position to allow the dynamic to work. With this album I got to a point where I realised I’d done the learning, I knew what to do.”
Big Sigh is the latest advancement by a musician who has remained inventive with every release. Over the years her enigmatic genre-morphing sound has been compared to “the lovechild of Nico and Joanna Newsom”, Blur and Rid of Me-era PJ Harvey, while the Guardian’s five-star review of 2019’s Any Human Friend praised her “lethally sharp pop hooks”.
On Big Sigh, however, Marika ventures into fresh terrain. There is a constant tug between organic instrumentation and the harsher dynamics of synthetic distortion – like walking into an abandoned industrial wasteland covered in poison ivy. If it’s her haunting soundscapes that first lure you in, it’s her lyrical acrobatics that latch onto your brain – images of gore, yearning and off-kilter romance.
Leaving the carnal days of her 20s behind, this album is less a photo-real documentation of the moment, but more like an artist peering through a gap in a door to reassess her former life. Except for No Caffeine, however, which thrusts its listener into the eye of the storm. A To Do list sung as if in the foetal position, it rattles off the preventative tools Marika has learned to try and stop a panic attack. “Occupy your mind / Don’t stay home / Talk to all your friends, but don’t look at your phone / Scream into a bag / Try to turn your brain off.”
On Big Sigh, not only is Marika recounting her experience of anxiety, but reckoning with it. She first encountered an acute level of fear at the age of 17 when her appendix burst – a near fatal incident made worse by contracting sepsis in hospital. “It was a big body shock. I was just a kid, and then after that I had subsequent quick traumas, which I didn’t deal with. It was then I had my first panic attack and I’ve been anxious ever since.”
That confrontation with death altered Marika profoundly – it became the genesis of her musical career. Not only did she start making music soon after the incident, but it gave her one of her greatest thematic traits: a wry, disturbing preoccupation with bodily expulsions – blood, sick and beyond. These are all the physical elements of being alive that make her feel out of control, the ones she so desperately avoids in real life, but in her music confronts corporeality with brutal, deadpan humour.
Perhaps at the core of that block of ice is less of a mystical golden orb, and more of a human blob, a beating heart, a weary brain. In her never-ending pursuit of untangling her internal universe and exploring complex melodies, she has made her most honest and brave album yet.
“This album took a long time to make. It was not easy, and by the time I got to the end of it I was quiet. I wanted to be away from it and let it sit in its own space. Now the dust has settled and I’ve got to re-enter the world of Big Sigh, and I’m excited.”
Stepping into a new world, moving forward, chipping away. Breathe in, breathe out. Big sigh.
The New Year is always a great time to consider making positive changes. Here are suggestions from Wokingham-based Plastic Free Home when it comes to living more sustainably in 2024 and beyond…
1. Shop smarter Aim to only buy and consume what you need, to help reduce your footprint and the amount of waste you produce. Support local and independent businesses wherever possible and explore how you might rely less on big supermarkets and major retailers. Is there a zero waste shop or business, butchers, greengrocers, bakery and so on near you? Aim to buy sustainably sourced, ethically produced, high quality and long-lasting products. Think – where has the product come from, who made it, under what conditions and where? What from? How is it packaged? And how can it be disposed of, reused or recycled afterwards?
2. Lightbulb moment Energy is responsible for around a quarter of our emissions. If you haven’t already, switch to a renewable energy supplier, or at least a green tariff with one of the larger ‘big six’ energy companies. From insulating your home and avoiding endless devices and gadgets to using central heating sensibly and washing your clothes on a cooler setting and drying them on a line, consider ways to reduce your use of energy at home. And the old classic – turn off lights, appliances and devices and don’t leave things on standby where avoidable.
3. Staycationing Taking one medium to long-haul flight generates more emissions than an average person in many countries produces in a whole year. In recent years we’ve all been reminded of just how much the UK has to offer – get out there and explore it more before venturing further afield. Even cutting two annual overseas holidays down to one can make a big difference.| |
4. Plan ahead We live in a fast-moving and convenience-led world, which has resulted in us becoming lazier and far more wasteful. Plan ahead when going out – carry a refillable drinks bottle, take a packed lunch or picnic, and if you can’t live without caffeine, a reusable coffee cup too. The same goes for a reusable bag – you never know when you might need one. If you are buying on the go, consider the less packaged and more eco-friendly options. Planning ahead is also a good idea when doing your weekly shop. Make a shopping list and stick to it, to avoid unnecessary impulse buys. And when buying gifts all year round, share lists with family, friends and colleagues or find out what the recipient(s) really like or need to avoid giving something they won’t enjoy or make use of.
5. Not so fast fashion The fashion industry is responsible for around 10% of global emissions and globally just 12% of the material used for clothing ends up being recycled. Buy far fewer clothes and aim for organic or naturally derived textiles (e.g. 100% cotton) and clothes that are responsibly sourced and made. If the company offers a closed loop option, allowing you to return items for recycling when you no longer want them – even better.
6. Waste not, want not Nowadays, very little should end up in ‘the bin’. Be sure that you are disposing of, recycling and reusing everything you use correctly, from kerbside, food and garden waste collections to supermarket recycling points and local TerraCycle schemes. And if you can donate, pass on or sell something, do.
7. Nurture nature Nature was there for all of us when we needed it most during pandemic times. Now it’s our turn to be there for it. Plant trees, wildflowers and pollinator friendly plants, add bird, insect and animal feeders and create habitats, litter pick locally, support a wildlife charity. Don’t pave over a large area of your garden and avoid artificial grass. There are many ways to show you care.
If the start of a new year has prompted you to get out and do something about your fitness, then how about doing it while raising funds for a fabulous cause in 2024.
Come and join WalkWithMe, a charity fundraising 26-mile walk being held on Sunday, 5th May. We start and finish in the beautiful grounds of Moulsford School, Moulsford-on-Thames. The route winds through some stunning South Oxfordshire and West Berkshire countryside, including a section of the historic Ridgeway and the River Thames. Registration is £65 per person plus sponsorship fundraising (enter before 15th January for a reduced registration of £55).
WalkWithMe was established in 2011 by a group of friends with the simple concept of ‘walking together to make a difference’. Over the last 12 years we have raised more than £520,000 for a variety of local and national charities. This year we are fundraising for Maggie’s Cancer Care Centre in Oxford which provides invaluable support for cancer patients and their families.
We hold organised training walks between February and May in the local area to get you ready for your challenge slowly building up the distance walked each session.
For all the information you need about the event and Maggie’s and to register visit the website here.
If you need to get in touch, email [email protected]. Come along and help raise loads of money for our fantastic charity and let’s get together, get fit, make a difference!
