St Patrick’s Day Gets The Green Light At Austen House Care Home

Residents and staff at Austen House in Lower Earley, Reading celebrated all things Irish for St Patrick’s Day this week. The home was decorated with shamrocks and everyone dressed in green to mark the day.

Held on March 17th, Saint Patrick’s Day actually observes the death of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, but the day has come to be a huge celebration of Irish heritage and culture.

Staff and residents at the home marked the day by making shamrock decorations, going on a virtual tour of Ireland, learning Irish dances and enjoying a live music show that took place at the home. Local singer, Jim, performed a selection of Irish songs including Molly Malone, The Irish Rover, Danny Boy, The Belle of Belfast City and many more. Residents joined in with the singing, clapping and dancing and sampled some Guinness too.

General Manager, Simona Cioinac said: “Our residents had a brilliant day, everyone has enjoyed the festivities – I think we all agree St Patrick’s Day is the best of all the saints days! We had a fantastic time listening to Irish music, singing and dancing.”

Brenda, resident at Austen House said: “It has been a lovely day. I really liked making the shamrock decorations and the virtual tour of Ireland brought back so many memories of holidays, it was wonderful to reminisce about the trips we had all taken.”

Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.

Austen House is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering high-quality care across its care homes and hospitals. Austen House provides nursing care, residential care and respite care.