Balkerne Gardens Trust

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Balkerne Gardens Trust

Delivering individualised care, community living, and trusted support for later life in Colchester.

Guided by our values: Respectful - Dedicated - Trusted - Inclusive 🌿 The Trust is a long established not for profit organisation registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide nursing and residential care in two Care Homes and care and support to individuals in their own homes. It is also a Registered Social Landlord and is regulated by the Homes and Communities Agency.

03/10/2026

☕️ A coffee morning with a little competitive twist! 👀

At our latest Coffee Morning, our Sheltered Housing tenants decided to spice things up with a couple of fun mini competitions!
⚖️ First up was The Great Maintenance Weigh-In – could our tenants guess the combined weight of our brilliant Maintenance Team?
The answer… a whopping 76 stone! 😲👏
🏆 Lucette came closest and took the win – well done!
🍬 And, of course, we couldn’t forget the classic Guess How Many Sweets Are in the Jar, with Brian taking the crown on that one! 👑

Such a fun addition to our usual coffee morning and a brilliant way to get everyone involved, have a few laughs and raise money for a fantastic cause. 💚

Well done to our winners – and to everyone who joined in! ☕️🍰

01/10/2026

☕💚 Coffee, cake and an incredible cause! 💚🍰
We recently came together across Balkerne Gardens Trust for our Trust-wide Macmillan Coffee Morning – and just LOOK at this amazing spread! 🤩🧁
Our staff, residents and tenants certainly proved we have a talented bunch of bakers among us, with plenty of homemade cakes, sweet treats and delicious goodies to go around.
Best of all, we raised a fantastic £650 for Macmillan Cancer Support, helping to support the vital work they do for people living with cancer and their families. 💚
A huge thank you to everyone who baked, donated, bought a treat or simply joined us for a cuppa. Another brilliant example of what we can achieve when our Trust community comes together. 🫶

29/09/2026

🍫🛍️ SALE, SALE, SALE! 🛍️🍫

Fancy doing a little baking without all the measuring and fuss? Freda Gunton Lodge have been busy putting together these absolutely delicious Brownie Mix Jars, and they’re now available to buy! 😍

Everything is ready for you — simply mix, bake and enjoy! 🍫👩‍🍳
Not only do you get a seriously tasty sweet treat, but every purchase also helps FGL raise a little extra money for the home. 💙

Brownies AND supporting a good cause? That’s a win-win! 🙌
Pop into Freda Gunton Lodge and grab yours while they’re available! 🍪✨

27/09/2026

📸 GUESS THE YEAR! 👀🕰️
We’ve been digging through the Freda Gunton Lodge archives and found these brilliant photos from years gone by! 💙The challenge? Every one of these photos was taken in the SAME year… but what year was it? 🤔🔎

Look closely for clues – do the clothes, hairstyles or decorations give anything away?📸

Does anything in the photos bring back memories?🗓️ And most importantly… what year do you think it was?

Drop your detective work and best guess in the comments below! 👇👀We’ll reveal the correct answer soon… and there may be a few more trips down memory lane to come! 💙✨

26/09/2026

🎉 WE DID IT… WE BEAT LAST YEAR’S TOTAL! 🎉

Our annual staff collection for Colchester Foodbank has once again shown just how generous our team at Balkerne Gardens Trust can be. 💙

Our staff kindly donated an amazing range of essentials, from food and toiletries to school uniform and much more, all to support people and families within our local community.

⚖️ Last year’s total: 77kg🏆 This year’s total: 83kg

Our goal was simple — beat last year… and we did it! 🙌
A HUGE thank you to every member of staff who donated. Every single item added to that total and will help support someone in our community who needs it. 💙

25/09/2026

🎺☀️Brass band in the garden, anyone?

While the rest of us were spending Saturday doing the food shop, housework and all the other boring adult jobs that somehow take up the entire weekend… our FGL residents were doing Saturday properly! 😂

With the sun shining, everyone got comfy in the garden and enjoyed a fantastic live performance from a brass band. 🎶🌷

Sunshine, live music and good company… now that sounds like a Saturday well spent! 💙

We’re only slightly jealous… 👀😂

23/09/2026

🐾🧡 Have you met Treacle?
Treacle is our much-loved resident cat at Freda Gunton Lodge, and it’s safe to say… he runs the place. 😂

You’ll usually find him sunbathing in the garden, taking up far more sofa space than necessary, or heading off on one of his little adventures around town. He’s even been known to wander down to KFC at lunchtime, earning himself the nickname “the KFC cat”! 🍗🐱

Treacle is a lovely little chap who absolutely adores attention – and luckily for him, there’s never a shortage of residents ready to give him plenty of cuddles and fuss. 💙
It’s Treacle’s world… we’re all just living in it. 🐾

21/09/2026

🌸 Penny’s Bench 🌸
A beautiful new addition has found its place at the main entrance of Freda Gunton Lodge – one that holds a very special meaning.

Penny came to Freda Gunton Lodge in February 2026, initially for a short respite stay, before making the home… her home. During her time with us, Penny became a much-loved part of our community, sharing special moments with her husband, family and friends – from visits with their beloved poodle, Flirt, to a wonderful birthday afternoon tea filled with cakes, Prosecco and the people she loved. 💗

Sadly, Penny later passed away peacefully, with her husband beside her holding her hand.
In gratitude for the care and support Penny and her family received, her husband kindly donated this beautiful memorial bench.

Now sitting proudly amongst the gardens at the front of Freda Gunton Lodge, Penny’s Bench is a place for residents, relatives, staff and visitors to stop, reflect, talk, or simply ‘sit a while’ – just as Penny and her husband once did together.

A quiet and lasting tribute to a very special lady who will remain part of Freda Gunton Lodge for many years to come. 🌷

19/09/2026

🎨✨ There’s something about art at Cheviot…

Art is easily one of the favourite activities at Cheviot Nursing Home and always one of our busiest sessions!

While music and games might bring plenty of excitement, laughter and dancing, art brings something completely different… absolute peace and tranquility.🖌️💙 Everyone gets their heads down, switches off from the world and gets completely lost in creating their latest masterpiece.

And with so many brilliant pieces being produced, we thought they deserved to be seen! We’ve now started displaying them in our very own mini Cheviot art exhibition. 🖼️✨

Now, I’m certainly no artist… but I’d say they’ve done a pretty impressive job! 👏🎨

17/09/2026

💙 What advice would you give your younger self?

We asked some of our wonderful residents and tenants to share the advice they would give to their younger selves if they had the chance… and some of their answers were absolutely brilliant. 🥹
Full of wisdom, humour and life experience, their words are certainly worth listening to.

The people within our homes and community are what make Balkerne Gardens Trust so special. 💙
So now we’re asking you… what advice would you give your younger self? Let us know in the comments! 👇

Address

Balkerne Gardens Trust Parsley House
Colchester
CO11PR

Telephone

+441206543517

Website

https://www.balkernegardens.org.uk/

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