Loveday Kensington was thrilled to participate in Kensington & Chelsea Art Week, showcasing the exceptional work from our talented Members in a colourful exhibition.

The Loveday Arts programme, delivered by Artist in Residence Grace Holliday, offers a constantly evolving platform, creative safe space and social experience for Loveday Members, who have benefitted from the artist outlet since 2016. By fostering individual interests as well as collective experiences, the programme aims to enhance the lives of everyone who participates – inviting memorable moments with ongoing impact, putting wellbeing and enrichment at the very core.

‘The Loveday Residency Archive: Celebrating Art in Lockdown and Beyond’ showcased at Loveday Kensington from 22^nd June – 2^nd July 2023. This body of work tells the story of this time with examples of work created remotely, whilst also celebrating a diverse collection of mixed-media works produced at the point of reuniting.

Projects featured in this incredible showcase included:

‘Pet Portraits’

A brief designed by Grace in 2020 that brought together staff, Members, family and friends to honour a shared love and adoration of pets. This was part of a submission process, sending Grace photographs of pets to edit into line templates, before these were transformed into dynamic and characterful portraits, bringing together elements of fashion and alter-egos to add to the fun! These were then made into an archive series of Giclee fine art prints and exhibited at Loveday Residences. It is always the intention of the programme to ensure Member’s art is showcased within the Loveday homes – adding a sense of ownership and pride in the space that individuals are living in, as well as sharing the work with visitors – using pieces as conversation points, as well as navigational focal points when moving within the building. The identity of the work showcased also assists in zoning spaces – giving a unique feeling and complimenting the beautiful interior design.

‘My Place’

A collaborative project with the Royal Hospital Chelsea, invited all artists to celebrate their favourite places in London and beyond. The inspiration for this project came when thinking of the amazing locations of the Loveday homes and the Royal Hospital, as well as the heritage and cultural connections of Members and pensioners. Using art as a way to present associations with places also adds to the storytelling element of the programme. It is a place where people recall memories and also delight in the discovery of new ideas and information. The original mixed-media works showcased as part of this project are also part of the event programme for the new Hobby Centre at the Royal Hospital.

‘The Mindful Meadow’

A series of works produced in paint and curated together to form a collection dedicated to the joy of spring that we visit on the programme, as well as reinvent each year.

Loveday Arts Club has been running at Loveday since 2016, where Members have enjoyed a dynamic, vibrant and inspiring curriculum of therapeutic art workshops.

Created and hosted by Artist in Residence Grace Holliday, an acclaimed Illustrator, Mark-Maker and Creative Educator, Members have benefited immensely from their weekly artist output which has covered a wide array of visual arts including collage, mixed media, portrait, illustrating, painting, sculpture and photography.

Highly acclaimed artist

In high demand and sought out for her knowledge, creative approach and excellence as a Creative Educator, Grace has delivered events and workshops in some of the country’s most esteemed establishments including Central Saint Martins, Brighton University, The University of West London, London College of Communication, Royal College of Art, Camberwell College of Arts, Dulwich Picture Gallery, The House of Illustration, The Wallace Collection and The Barbican amongst many more! Loveday is honoured for Grace to hold a residency where our Members also benefit from her teachings.

Grace’s extreme talent has also extended to fashion, where she designed a collection for Anthropolgies, made from recycled plastic bottles and inspired by Springtime meadows, nature and Victorian architecture.

Grace employs her extensive educational experience to deliver workshops that resonate and connect with Members. Grace truly takes the time to get to know each Member, to understand their personalities, hobbies and their interest and has cultivated the curriculum to embrace elements of life, love, memories and seasonal events. Grace delivers connectedness in every session, making the art relevant to each individual to ensure they enjoy the therapeutic benefits of art making.

Previous Loveday Arts projects have included:

Stories of Spring – a collaboration with the Royal Hospital inspired by the happiness and events of the Springtime

Pet Portraits – a lockdown project which celebrated our furry friends and connected us with our loved ones

Memory Meadow – paper sculpting beautiful Icelandic poppies

Photography project– photographing our local neighbourhood and using the photography to create mixed media collages

Mobile Museums – bringing a series of lectures from other London galleries to Loveday

There is an exciting programme ahead for this year including:

“Fashion project” with an iconic British fashion designer

“My Place” Summer exhibition at the Royal Hospital which will feature works from all of the Members, opening on 13th June

Textile projects culminating in an accessories range

Ceramics project

Extension of the Pet Portraits project collaborating with Battersea Dogs Home

We are delighted to launch our floristry workshops with acclaimed florist Anna Paley-Smith from Floria Floral Design Studio. Every month, Anna will be teaching flower art in each Loveday Residence, where Members will learn how to tie bouquets, arrange vases, create floral art and learn all about the beautiful blooms of the season.

At Loveday, we are passionate about creating meaningful experiences for our Members, affording them the opportunity to try new things, engage with old hobbies, ignite happy memories, socialise and explore creativity. We go to great lengths to curate an exciting and diverse programme of activities that resonate with our Members and support their independence – every day is different, but every day is filled with enriching experiences.

In our first floral art workshop, Loveday Members delighted in creating beautiful arrangements in vases with a selection of vibrant blossoms of early spring including flower favourites of roses, tulips, mimosa, eucalyptus, sea holly and carnations.

Senses were stimulated as Members enjoyed the sight, smell and touch of the beautiful eucalyptus and holiday memories of yesteryear were sparked and explored.

One Member took great pleasure in perfecting his bouquet, which he was creating for his wife, taking great precaution in trimming each stem and removing leaves. Another Member enthusiastically created three vibrant vases, enjoying the creativity and artistic outlet.

The favourite flower of the workshop was the mimosa which brought joy to Members as they touched the little pompoms, which were “as soft as cotton wool” and “bright as sunshine”.

Anna comments, ‘There is something wonderful about working with your hands. Floristry has a calming, restorative effect. We call it flower therapy. The Members loved immersing themselves in the beautiful botanical world of flowers and it was a joy to see.’

The beautiful arrangements created by our Members are adorning our homes, giving a sense of pride to our budding team of Loveday florists! We can’t wait for the next floral art workshop.

At Loveday, every day is extraordinary, from our innovative weekly programme of activities, excursions and therapies to the exceptional money-can’t-buy experiences. We take immense pride in delivering meaningful experiences to each Member, bringing joy and happiness to them and their loved ones.

We believe that people should continue living a fulfilled life, enjoying all the things they always have despite their age or diagnosis. In fact, we have found these experiences to be extremely beneficial to the health and happiness of our Members with the effects lasting long beyond the experience which is why we are so passionate about personalising our activities.

2023 Extraordinary Days at Loveday

We are delighted to be adding another element to our already exceptional programme with exclusive, extraordinary days, curated around the hobbies and interests of our Members.

These enriching experiences embrace the senses and cater to all tastes including art, history, culture, sport and nature. From start to finish, these extraordinary days go the extra mile and are enveloped with carefully selected transportation and hospitality experiences.

We have hand-selected our own Loveday chauffeur and tour guide and trained them in the Loveday Way to meet our exceptional standards. We have teamed up with unique travel companies to provide transport to venues, including Route Master buses, classic car companies, boats and vintage limousines. We have secured private access to venues, exclusive tickets and behind-the-scenes tours.

Some of our show-stopping Extraordinary Days include:

Travelling in a vintage route master bus to explore the golden age of travel with a private tour around the London Transport Museum, with our Loveday tour guide. This has been curated around one of our Members who has a keen interest in travel, having enjoyed a successful career in transport. His favourite restaurant is the Ritz, so naturally, we will be heading there for lunch after the tour.

Appealing to our many Members who love history, we have arranged a journey through London’s rich and interesting past with a private chartered boat cruise to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Our Loveday tour guide will tell tales of the Thames as we cruise and Members will enjoy a delicious lunch on board with live music played by a string quartet.

Many of our Members are sports car enthusiasts so we are off on a trip to the Goodwood Revival, the greatest historic motor race meeting. Members will choose their own classic car to be chauffeured in and have the opportunity to meet drivers at the race. They may also dress in vintage fashion to fully embrace the experience.

As the year progresses, we will add and adapt this programme to cater for all our Member’s likes, hobbies, interests and histories (and also to take advantage of seasonal events and exclusive tickets) so please sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date.

Members at Chelsea Court Place were delighted to welcome a lively kitten Zeus into their home for a holiday over the summer. The tabby Maine Coon brought a smile to the faces of all, and surprisingly, much, much more!

Upon meeting Zeus, one Member proclaimed her dislike of cats, but within a couple of hours, with some gentle coercion, she became curious and asked to see him and eventually stroked him. This Member, who is living with Alzheimer’s, was unable to pronounce his name, calling him “June”. On day four, after much practice and to the surprise of the care team, she pronounced his name correctly!

Despite her initial reservations about cats, this lovely Member made a special bond with Zeus, she was calmed by him and often called for him.

Benefits of pet therapy

The benefits of our furry friends are well documented with dogs, cats, rabbits, horses and many other animals providing companionship to people of all ages. They can be our comfort or security blankets, something to cuddle, nurture and talk to – they never give negative back chat, they don’t judge and never complain (unless feeding time is delayed).

The calming nature of animals helps decrease the stress-inducing hormone cortisol and increase the oxytocin, the stress-reducing hormone, making pet therapy a valuable tool for care homes. Pets can be very soothing, not only helping decrease stress and reduce anxiety but helping with mental and physical well-being.

Pets can be a good distraction when times are tough, bringing joy and happiness to all – just as Zeus did to our Members.

It’s been a summer of awards nominations for Loveday, where our teams, services and homes have been acknowledged for many outstanding standards. We are passionate about leading the industry, spearheading research and new innovations in the field of dementia and most importantly, providing the very highest levels of care to our Members, whom we hold in the highest esteem.

Loveday has been the recipient of the following distinguished awards this summer:

Care Home Awards 2022:

Chelsea Court Place won two awards at the Care Home Awards earlier in the summer including:

Overall Gold Trophy Winner – Outstanding Independent Care Provider

Winner – Best for Nursing Care

Congratulations to our amazing team!

Care Home Catering Awards 2022:

Loveday Abbey Road’s Head Chef Adriano was also awarded Care Home Catering’s Above and Beyond Special Award, where he was recognised for regularly going the extra mile. Well done Adriano!

Care Home Professionals Power List 2022:

We were thrilled to see James Cook, Managing Director named in the Care Home Professional “Leaders of Tomorrow” power list, which honour the inspiring, dedicated and talented individuals who make a positive difference to everybody around them with their attitude, their expertise and their passion every single day.

James was acknowledged for not only overseeing the development of Loveday Kensington, but also for the innovative conception and launch of the hugely successful “Recover at Loveday”.

Loveday has also been named finalists in the following awards:

Knight Frank Luxury Care Home Awards 2023:

We are thrilled to see Loveday Kensington shortlisted as a finalist in these very exclusive awards, which recognise the highest quality hospitality and care services in a prestigious setting. We are looking forward to the awards which take place later in the year.

Caring Times National Care Awards 2022:

Congratulations to our exceptional team for making the shortlist in three categories:

• Loveday Chelsea Court Place- Care Home of the Year
• Alex Morte – Care Chef of the Year
• Loveday & Co – Business Initiative of the Year

Good luck in the finals!!

LaingBuisson Awards 2022:

We are delighted to see Loveday & Co shortlisted in these very prestigious awards in the

Small Residential Care category. LaingBuisson Awards celebrate businesses that set new standards of excellence within their industries. We are honoured to be part of this.

The Great British Care Awards 2023:

An exceptional shortlist for this year’s awards with five Loveday finalists announced: Congratulations to:

• Izabela Klaczkiewicz – Registered Manager Award
• Alex Morte – Care Home Cook Award
• Milarni Barrers – Care Newcomer Award
• Cynthia Duvigneau – Activities Coordinator Award
• Anna Borowiecka – Dementia Carer Award

Wishing everyone the very best of luck in the finals!

We are hugely grateful to our incredible team and truly appreciative of the ongoing hard work and dedication demonstrated across the board, always going Above and Beyond. We are proud to provide a culture of constant improvement, supporting our team to be the best they can be and progress in a very rewarding career in care.

Congratulations to everyone on these amazing nominations and thank you for your ongoing hard work in setting new standards of excellence in care.

Izabela is a vastly experienced care professional, having excelled in the business for over 18 years.

Izabela studied medicine at a university in Poland before moving to the UK, working for prestigious care providers including Hallmark, Barchester and Sunrise.

Specialising in dementia care, Izabela has participated and contributed extensively to many dementia pilot projects to promote therapeutic approaches, interventions and innovations. She is dedicated to progressing the field of dementia and the way we deliver care to those living with the disease.

Izabela has a passion for providing the very highest standards of excellence for everybody, every day. She has a strong level of integrity and a belief in the need to value every person as an individual, thus extensively tailoring care plans around personal requirements and preferences. She ensures each Member is living a fulfilled and meaningful life.

Izabela has a unique style of management built on the foundations of exposure to many roles within a care home. Izabela always goes above and beyond for Members and the team, creating a very homely and inclusive environment for everyone. Understanding, compassionate and kind, Izabela always finds solutions and goes to great lengths to support everyone around her, including Member’s family and loved ones.

Izabela has received national recognition for her commitment and contribution to dementia care including runner-up in the National Dementia Care Awards and the Dementia Champion Award at the national level.

Izabela was previously the manager of Loveday Chelsea Court Place, before opening Loveday Abbey Raod. In her previous roles with other care providers, Izabela was instrumental in developing the Dementia Strategy and improving the Care Home rating from “requires improvement” to “outstanding”.

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Loveday Chelsea Court Place won two awards at the prestigious Care Home Awards on Friday 1st July, 2022.

Chelsea Court Place were the recipients of:

Outstanding Independent Care Provider, where the team were praised for working collaboratively and excelling in every aspect of their job.

Best For Nursing Care, beating six other finalists for this highly desirable award. The team were noted for delivering excellent, enriching dementia care and optimising the health of each individual.

The Care Home Awards are benchmarks for innovation and excellence in care business management, care operations and delivery of service. We are very proud to have been shortlisted and delighted to have won such esteemed awards with such impressive competition. We believe these awards are a testament to our staff, leadership, values and promises.

Thanks to all of our amazing colleagues for your ongoing loyalty and dedication and for always going above and beyond to deliver the most outstanding care, services and experiences to our Members. We are proud to work with such an esteemed workforce and couldn’t do it without you.

Congratulations to all and thank you.

Millinery Masterclass

Members at Chelsea Court Place were delighted to have Milliner Petula Duvigneau host a millinery masterclass over the Platinum Jubilee weekend to celebrate the Epsom Derby.

Petula brought her exquisite collection of couture hats and fascinators for our Members to try on. From perchers and boaters to crowns, halos, Bretons, berets, turbans and fedoras, they were impressed by the range and diversity of the colourful collection and took great pleasure in choosing favourites. Members also became models, posing in their favourite hats for a Vogue-style fashion shoot.

The Millinery Masterclass also encompassed a reminiscence workshop as we explored fashion from the races over time and our favourite memories of going to the races. Reminiscence is always a very powerful exercise, helping connect individuals to the past and evoking happiness and contentment.

Following the Millinery Masterclass, our Members were treated to a regal high tea party to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, filled with our favourite cakes, sandwiches and patisserie delights – fit for a Queen!

Thought to be named in homage to the Duke of Wellington, who lead the British Army to victory during the famous Battle of Waterloo, Beef Wellington has become a luxury staple sure to take crowning glory at any celebratory banquet.

Alex shares his Jubilee Beef Wellington Recipe for all to enjoy this Jubilee weekend: