Withens Nursing Home

04/09/2026

04/09/2026

🤠🎸 COUNTRY MUSIC CAME TO THE WITHENS! 🎶🤠
This week we swapped Southfleet for a little taste of Nashville as we welcomed the fantastic Lee Hodgson to The Withens for an afternoon of live country music! 🎤🎸
Our residents had a brilliant time listening to some great songs, singing along, tapping their feet and simply enjoying the atmosphere. There’s something very special about live music — it brings back memories, gets everyone smiling and has a wonderful way of bringing people together. ❤️
Lee certainly brought plenty of country charm to The Withens, and it was lovely to see our residents relaxing, joining in and enjoying the performance.
A huge thank you to Lee for entertaining us and making our afternoon such an enjoyable one. Judging by the smiles around the room, I think we can safely say he was a hit! 🤠👏
At The Withens, we love filling our home with music, laughter and experiences for our residents to enjoy — and this was definitely an afternoon to remember.
🎶 Real country. Real music. Real smiles at The Withens! 🎶

31/08/2026

🎪✨ THE GREATEST SHOW… WITHENS STYLE! ✨🎪

🎶 Ladies and gentlemen… this is the moment you’ve waited for! 🎶

On Saturday, the circus came to Withens for our Greatest Showman themed Summer Garden Party… although the British weather had other ideas! ☔😂

The rain came down, our garden party became an indoor extravaganza, and we even had a few last-minute challenges with entertainment cancellations… but did that stop us?

ABSOLUTELY NOT! 🎩🎪

Because, as they say… the show must go on! 🌟

And what a show it was!

Our home was transformed into our very own Greatest Show, complete with popcorn, an incredible magician, games, sweet stations, some AMAZING desserts, face painting, a delicious BBQ and karaoke!

And of course, no Greatest Showman party would be complete without our very own Ringmaster and Bearded Lady! 😂🎪

But the real stars of our show were our wonderful residents, relatives and staff, who completely embraced the afternoon and made it so much fun. There was laughter, singing, plenty of food and some brilliant memories made along the way. ❤️

A HUGE thank you to our fantastic magician, who had everyone completely mesmerised and wondering, “How on earth did he do that?!” 🪄✨ You truly left us all in awe!

A very special thank you also goes to the relatives who saw that we had been let down and simply stepped in to help — we cannot tell you how much we appreciated it. ❤️

Thank you to Sharne for the amazing face painting 🎨, and to John for lending us the karaoke machine… although after hearing some of our performances, you may want it back very quickly! 😂🎤

And finally, the biggest thank you to our incredible Withens team. From setting up and decorating, to keeping our residents involved, safe and happy, joining in with the madness and then tackling the enormous clear-up afterwards — you worked incredibly hard to make the day special. ❤️

The weather may have changed our plans and we may have had a few unexpected hurdles thrown our way, but none of that mattered.

We had our residents.
We had our families.
We had our team.
And together… WE PUT ON THE GREATEST SHOW! 🎪🌟❤️

Because at Withens, when the rain comes down…

WE JUST MOVE THE CIRCUS INSIDE! 😂☔🎪

🎪✨

28/08/2026

🚑💙 BLUE LIGHT BREAKFAST DROP-OFF 💙🚑

Today was another one of our Blue Light Breakfast Drop-Offs, and this time we headed over to visit our fellow blue lighters at South East Coast Ambulance Service!
Our ambulance crews work incredibly hard, day and night, caring for people in our community, so we wanted to deliver a little breakfast pick-me-up to show our appreciation.

We arrived armed with a hamper packed full of sausage baps, bacon baps, egg baps, crispy hash browns, juices and breakfast bars — plenty of fuel to keep the team going through a busy shift!
And because we wanted them to remember their friends at Withens, we even popped in a few notebooks as a little keepsake!

It was lovely to meet some of the crew and hand over our hamper. Our Blue Light Breakfasts are our small way of saying a very BIG thank you to the amazing emergency and healthcare teams who are there for our residents and our wider community whenever they are needed.

Thank you South East Coast Ambulance Service for everything you do — we hope you enjoyed your breakfast!

Until our next Blue Light Breakfast adventure… who will we be visiting next?

26/08/2026

💐 A Very Special Goodbye to Our Kellie 💐

Today was an emotional one at The Withens, as we said goodbye to our wonderful administrator, Kellie. ❤️

It’s difficult to put into words just how much Kellie has meant to us all. She has been the heart of The Withens — the first friendly, smiling face we see when we walk through the doors in the morning and the person who somehow always seems to know the answer to absolutely everything!

Honestly… what are we going to do without her?! 🥹

Kellie’s knowledge, kindness, patience and genuine care for our residents, relatives and staff have made her such a special part of our Withens family. But more than that, it’s simply Kellie being Kellie that we are going to miss — her beautiful personality, her smile, her humour and the warmth she brings with her every single day.

We couldn’t let her leave quietly, of course! We had a little goodbye buffet together, and Kellie was thoroughly spoiled with lots of beautiful flowers, gifts and well wishes from the team — all very much deserved. 💐🎁❤️

Thankfully, this isn’t completely goodbye! Kellie will still be part of our RCH family, just transferring to our home in Ashford. While we completely understand her reasons for making the move and wish her nothing but happiness and success, that doesn’t mean we won’t miss seeing her lovely face every morning.

As one chapter closes, another begins, and we have welcomed our lovely new administrator Jurate into The Withens with open arms. We know she is going to be an amazing addition to our family and we’re so excited to have her with us. ❤️

But Kellie… there will always be a Kellie-shaped space at The Withens. 🥹

From the bottom of all our hearts, thank you for everything you have done for The Withens, our residents and every single one of us. We will miss you more than you know.

Good luck on your next adventure — Ashford are incredibly lucky to have you back! 💐❤️

It’s not goodbye… it’s just “see you soon.”

With lots of love,
Your Withens Family ❤️

24/08/2026

🎉 A VERY SPECIAL WELCOME TO THE WITHENS TEAM! 🎉

Today was a double celebration at The Withens as we welcomed our lovely new Administrator, Jurate, to the team!

Starting a new job can be a lot to take in at the best of times — new faces, new systems, lots of information and an induction packed full of everything Withens! But Jurate chose an extra-special day to start… her birthday! 🎂🥳

Starting a brand-new job on your birthday — now that’s dedication! 😂

Of course, we couldn’t let the day go by without making her feel welcome and celebrating with her. We hope that despite the information overload, she had a fantastic first day and birthday with us!

Welcome to the Withens family, Jurate! We’re so pleased to have you on board and look forward to working with you.

And most importantly… Happy Birthday! 🎈🎂 Here’s to new beginnings, new adventures and hopefully a slightly less information-packed second day! 😂

18/08/2026

Who knew sitting down could be this much fun? 🎶💪

This afternoon, our amazing residents brought the ultimate energy to our gentle chair exercise session! The room was absolutely buzzing with music, movement, and so much joy.

A massive shoutout to our incredible session leader, who always brings the brightest smiles and makes these afternoons unforgettable.

Active bodies, happy hearts, and endless laughs—that’s how we roll! 😊✨

14/08/2026

🍕 PIZZA PERFECT AT THE WITHENS! 🍕👨‍🍳👩‍🍳

Yesterday, our residents swapped the dining table for the Withens Pizzeria and got busy creating their very own pizzas! 😋

With plenty of toppings to choose from, everyone became head chef for the afternoon. Some residents took the “more is more” approach and piled their pizzas high with as many toppings as they could fit on 😂🍕… while others kept things traditional with the unbeatable classic — cheese and tomato! 🧀🍅

There was lots of chatting, laughter and, of course, some very serious decision-making over which toppings deserved a place on each masterpiece! 😂

Once our creations were ready, it was time for the best part… eating them! Freshly made, personalised exactly how we liked them and definitely made with a little extra love. ❤️

A brilliant afternoon of getting creative, having fun and enjoying something delicious together.

We think we may have discovered a few budding pizza chefs amongst our residents! 👨‍🍳🍕

Move over Domino’s… The Withens Pizzeria is officially open for business! 😂🍕❤️

13/08/2026

🔨🎂 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR MAINTENANCE MAN! 🎉🥳

Today at The Withens, we swapped the toolbox for the cake box as we celebrated our maintenance man’s birthday! 🔧➡️🎂😂

Of course, we couldn’t let the day pass without making a fuss! We surprised him with a birthday cake and our residents joined together for a very enthusiastic rendition of Happy Birthday 🎶🎉

After all, when you’re the person we call to fix, mend, build, repair and generally save the day, you definitely deserve some cake! 😂🔨

A very Happy Birthday from all of the residents and team at The Withens! ❤️🎂

We hope you have a brilliant day – and don’t worry… we promise to try not to break anything today! 😂🔧🎈