Here was the Chef - in case you hadn't guessed! Now awaiting coffee, liquer with after dinner mints - in your dreams says Mandy. Oh well, home for an afternoon nap.

Merry Christmas to Everyone.

Always a chore for someone - but Andrew and Nicola look happy.

Everyone tucking in! Mmmm - scrumptious.

The table is laid - Danny and Andrew are ready and waiting - sorry guys another hour to go!

Today is 'Christms Dinner Day' at Bath Road. Preparations are well under way. The turkey is in the oven, festive songs playing in the background and here is Kelly preparing the vegetables - with the obligatory sprouts!

Back to the kitchen. Jo

Hope everyone has fun and stays safe at any fireworks and bonfires you may go to.

Last night Bath Road went to the big extravaganza at the Three Counties Showground. We had some rides on the funfair before tucking into burgers, hotdogs and fries.

Then the main event - the bonfire was lit and we witnessed a most spectacular firework display lasting twenty five minutes - lots of oohs and aahs!

Fortunately it stayed dry - but as you can see from the photograph (courtesy of Radio Wyvern) - we were all wrapped up and stayed cosy and warm.

 

Happy Bank Holiday to you all.

There is an eerie silence all around - perhaps that is because Worcester has not woken up yet!

Hope you have fun whatever you are doing today - we may go for a stroll round the countryside park and end up at the cafe for a treat!

Happy Days - love all at Bath Road

It's always very strange when the family are away. No Micah opening and closing my drawers and insisting he wants his "book". No Elijah asking to use my phone, for something to eat or asking to see granny. No Dave with his endless ebay packages and no Kirsty with her knitting and other creative plans! ( You can tell Jonah and Noah are good at keeping clear of the office).

SO.... Ben's been very busy re oiling the family room, Teresa's hatched a plan with Kirsty to swap furniture around. So we have all been very busy getting things in place for the family's return.

Meanwhile I've just received a message that one of the family members ( no it's not Dave - an unnamed junior member) has decided to go swimming with his mobile in his pocket for 20 minutes!!!

Really I'm begining to wonder if we should allow the family out of the country!

Other than that the only message I've had from Dave is that it's hit in Spain - I'm hoping that it's not an anagram and that he's not been partaking of too much of the local hospitaility.

Hoping everyone has had a lovely time and looking forward to hearing all about it on Monday!

After the panic of last Thursday and Friday, it now seems eerily quiet on the Rainbow Hill campus! No early morning visits to our bedroom by Elijah, no Signalong/singalong sessions with Micah, just a somewhat forlorn Harvey wandering about, who's missing all his family. The week will no doubt flash by for them all, with lots of sun and sea and fun with Granny and Grandpa Spain. We look forward to hearing all their holiday stories next weekend - unless they blog them here before that.   Viva Espana! 

Dave and Elijah arrived at Murcia airport only half a day later than planned but rather exhausted from all that trauma! What a relief!

For anyone planning a trip abroad, don't be as daft as us and always check your passports before you book!

See you back in the UK in a weeks time

Bye for now

Kirsty

It was a long night last night!

10am seemed to take years to arrive!

The phone rang at 10.30am, it was Dave...

...'the passport'

...'yes'

...'it's sorted'.

The relief was amazing, I no longer had to think about how I was going to tell my five year old son that he couldn't visit his grandparents afterall!

At 2pm Jonah Micah and I set off for the airport leaving Elijah with Roma to have fun at the countryside centre.

Our flight went as planned and we flew into Murcia airport only hours after the guys from Redditch were on their way home!

All hands on deck!

A quick dash into town to get passport photos and application forms from the post office.

A pleading phonecall to our good friend Duncan Sutcliffe (our hero...thanks Duncan) to come and sign the back of Elijah's photos to prove he is indeed his parents child (poor lamb)!

A long train trip ahead for poor Dave, who has drawn the short straw, whilst I stay behind to pack the bags, comfort Elijah and get the rest of the party ready to fly the following day!

Just doing a few last minute bits of work before our long awaited family trip to visit my parents in Murcia, in Spain the following day. Elijah has been literally crossing the days off in his calendar for the past three weeks!

Next job, on to holiday checks...book our hire car, check our tickets, get our euros, start to pack our bags, check our passports...aaaaaahhhhhhhh! Elijah's passport is out of date! Panic, shame, terror...what are we going to do?

On the phone to the passport office. The only appointment in the whole country is for tomorrow morning at 10am in Durham (and then a four hr wait to collect it)! After a few quick caluations we realise this means that whoever goes to Durham to get a new passport will not be making the flight from Birmingham airport at 5.30pm the following day! 

They all had a fabulous last day on Friday. Everyone enjoyed going to see some mineral enriched waterfalls and swam or paddled in their waters. Leo braved jumping from a height, followed by Sue to the cheers of the rest of the party.

They then went to Mandomar dolphin park and watched in awe an amazing dolphin show. They walked around the park enjoying snacks and drinks and took photos of the other animals.

On arrival back at the hotel everyone swiftly stripped off and jumped in the pool to cool down.

At the time of receiving the information for this blog, everyone was getting ready for their dinner and  Leo was hogging the boys bathroom! Who is he trying to impress?

Adios from Benidorm. See you all on home soil!

Sorry this blog is rather late...The Broadbent family had a bit of a stressful day on Thursday and Friday...why? Find out more on the next blog...

On Wednesday night everyone enjoyed the Miss Monaco competition which involved lots of party games. They all did the conga around the bar which was great fun. This morning (Thursday) Brett and Annabel went sun glasses shopping after Brett's glasses got trodden on and Annabel's fell apart! They enjoyed the morning expoloring and after taking some nice photos they returned to the hotel. This is when tragedy struck and Brett's mobile phone took a tumble down 4 flights of marble stairs and is now a heap of rubble. Oops...looking on the bright side, at least it was only a phone (probably not a helpful comment)!
After spending the afternoon relaxing by the pool, everyone showered and changed before dinner. At the time of this blog they were all listening to bingo in the club bar waiting for the entertainment to begin.

Kelly, Andrew and Sandra enjoyed a few hours in the hot-tub at no. 54 this afternoon. Kelly's hips seem a little better at the moment, so maybe a bit of hydro-therapy every few weeks has helped! I think it's safe to say that Kelly enjoyed herself as she was rather tricky to get out, giving Sandra and I the run around and cheekily pressing every button in sight to try and get the bubbles back on! Andrew looked very happy too (despite Harvey dog's rather eager welcome when he arrived)  with lots of smiles to prove it (sorry no photos).

Monday night's entertainment proved to be very entertaining and amazing, with a knife throwing, gun shooting dare devil. To everyone's delight he ended his show by balancing chairs and a pushchair on his chin!
On Tuesday, Sam and Brett took a stroll around town as Sam wanted to get his Mum a special pressie. Everyone else just chilled by the pool. You apparently have to be up and out early to get a sunbed, so its like a major military operation in the mornings when everyone wants to top up their tans!
The food continues to be excellent and they have been enjoying socialising with other holiday makers. Everyone enjoyed a dance last night as there was a live singer who warbled her way through some well known music.
This morning everyone decided to gather around the pool again and whilst waiting for the sun to find its way around the hotel to warm them all up again they took the opportunity to get covered from head to toe in suncream to avoid the big sizzle.
It was Sue and Leo's turn to have a wander around the town this morning so they could buy a few souveniers to take home.
Adios from all the holiday makers

Some of you may remember Blossom the cat that adopted us at Bath Road some years ago when both Sweet and Sour were still alive. Sadly she has passed to the great cattery in the sky. Blossom aka Lottie arrived at Bath Road one day when she was about 18months old. We always thought she had two homes as she was well cared for but she decided to settle with us for a few years, and Ted named her Blossom. Then one day she disappeared and we subsequently discovered she had moved back home, two doors away, when her previous owners moved out and took up residence with Simon and Tanya in the upstairs flat. How fickle cats are - but she did come back to visit us on occassions looking for food!  Apparently she had been unwell for some weeks and a scan revealed she had a large internal tumour. They brought her home so the children could say goodbye and she just fell asleep that evening........

Here you can see Danny receiving help from Sandra but still Kelly won on the swingball. I think there was cheating on the snakes and ladders because Jo came last!

Ok, so it may not be 29 degrees in Worcester but at least it is warm and sunny today. Sounds like things going well in Benidorm - hope everyone continues to have fun. Looking forward to seeing a photo of the new slimline Brett in his trunks!  Plan to make the most of the weather today so we have dug out all the outdoor games - still on the theme of sensory awareness and co-ordination so hopefully a little exercise and some fun. Although the garden swing and paddling pool look more appealing!

Fabulous weather enjoyed by all. They spent the morning browsing the shops of old Benidorm. Everyone bought postcards and enjoyed the exercise there and back. After a delicious lunch they all enjoyed a leisurely Sunday afternoon soaking up the rays and relaxing in and out of the pool. They laughed and chatted about what they were going to do this week. They have already booked a waterfall and dolphin excursion for Friday and are going back to the old town to book a boat trip as well. After dinner everyone enjoyed the "Tony show", a juggling and balancing act. Leo particularly enjoyed this specticle.

The holiday makers from 612 have arrived safe and sound in sunny Benedorm. The temperature is a cool 29 degrees and they are all sitting in the lovely grounds of the Sandos Monaco hotel and Spa. Annabel and Sam have discovered the ice cream man, Leo is making friends with the pool and Angela and Andrea are enjoying a siesta which is well deserved. The sun is glorious and the bar men have already learned the signs for coca cola and orange juice. Annabel is getting her head around having dinner as late as 7.30 pm local time but has had a nice snack to tide her through.

Good luck to all the King's School boys off to Vancouver, in Canada, today and then off to Seattle in the USA, tomorrow, to play their first rugby match of the tour, on Monday. With Noah's help, we were pleased to be able to sponsor the boys shorts and training jackets and think they all look great in their kit.

David and Kirsty would like to wish everyone at Outlook a happy holiday.

Its Zumba time at the Outlook! Yes me and the girls all got the mexican rhythms going as we start on our new fitness dance regime! We have started on the easy basic steps first as we are not all natural dancers (especially me!)and have had a real hoot learning a little salsa and merengue. We done a few stretchs before starting, then we did some afterwards, we are now looking forward to our next Zumba fitness class! 

Colin has been to Head Office today to do some gardening tasks. He started by getting rid of the weeds between the cracks in the patio and made a fantastic job of that. With time to spare he started cleaning the garden furniture and was delighted when I suggested he might like to sand it down and paint it with some protector and stain. Colin had enough time to complete the table and is looking forward to getting on with the chairs very soon.
Thanks Colin for a fantastic job.

I'd recommend Colin to anyone else who has any garden furniture that needs a bit of a sprucing up...have a look at the results (photo attached)

Well this is the first official blog direct from Bath Road. (New Quay was posted by Kirsty as technology had not reached Wales!)

I thought I would take the opportunity to have a test on the blog so that when exciting things happen we can post straight away.

The weather is dull in Worcester - rain forecast for the rest of the week - where is summer? But nonetheless Marilyn is out watering all the hanging baskets and vegetables - which are coming on a treat.

Right, on with the day and some proper work now!

Jo

The photos of Craig's birthday BBQ at Outlook are now live on the gallery of our website so please feel free to take a peek.

Thank you to all those involved in organising a fantastic afternoon BBQ for Craig's birthday. All the Broadbents had a lovely time and wish Craig a Happy Birthday.

Here's a photo of Craig with Sam enjoying the party. I hope to post the other party photos on our gallery very soon, so keep logging on. If anyone has any other photos they want included in our library, please email them to Kirsty who will be happy to get that organised.

We’ve just got back from Craig’s birthday BBQ at Outlook. We were really pleased to be invited and it was wonderful to see Craig looking so well and happy. Thank you to all the Outlook staff for their usual warm hospitality and also for the splendid spread. Brett and Ben did a sterling job with the BBQ!   It gives us such a glow each time we see the members of the Broad Group team – residents, staff, family and friends - all enjoying one another’s company at occasions like this.  We were especially pleased as this now includes the littlest Broadbent, Micah - already joining in with the signing - and Noah, who has become a member of the staff team. Congratulations to all who played a part in making this yet another special and memorable afternoon.  Ted and Roma.

Outlook are off to Drayton Manor!!!!!!

In typical British Bank Holiday tradition, the rain appeared to plague us once again on Monday afternoon. So Sam decided he would give Annabel a quick tutorial on accessing the internet and how to use 'instant chat' facilities to talk to her friends in real time.

Nothing unusual about this, but we all had to smile when they carried on chatting via their laptops, despite being sat in the same room as each other!

We at the Outlook Project would like to say a big thank you to Gemma our work experience student, who completed her one week work placement at the Outlook Project today and it has been an absolute delight having her here with us. Gemma was not phased by the job and enjoyed taking part in all areas of our working week, participating in the activities and even the writing of the diaries. We were especially impressed with Gemma's lovely warm manner and politeness, a true credit to the youth of today! We wish her good luck for the future and wish her every success in her up and coming exams!!

As the weather was rather wet everyone decided to spend their last morning at the swimming pool in Newquay before going off to spend their final pennies at the arcades.
The last treat, to have fish and chips at the seafront, really paid off when the sun finally shone through and a final photo shoot was able to take place.
Despite the rather mixed weather it seems that everyone has had a great holiday and should be arriving back at no. 85 in a few hours time feeling relaxed and refreshed...fingers crossed!

Team Outlook enjoyed a lovely meal out together for Annabels 32nd Birthday - Annabel enjoyed a Chicken Tikka Masala and washed it down with a Lemonade! Then it was more cake all round - we really are going to need more exercise next week at this rate!

Annbel has started celebrating her birthday with a lovely lunch with her Mom, Aunt and Uncle. Annabel enjoyed an awful rendition of HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you from family and friends, before having a photo shoot with her birthday cake.

Nicola looks very happy relaxing in her deckchair on the beach in the sunshine! (photo)
For those of you who haven't seen this phenomenon before, you are in for a treat! Warning...the next photo is of Josephine getting changed ready for a swim in the sea!!! By the way Jo, did you realise you had an audience (background of photo)? Can she do this without falling over? (photo1)
Ta da !!!! (photo2)
Who's next? Gail? (photo3) I'm pleased to see such concern for our resident's modesty!
Several hours later after all the others had used Jo's tent (I have photographic evidence of them all but I think you get the picture) they eventaully made it into the sea! (photo 4)

Quick tide on it's way in, lets move! (photo)

Testing the water before they go swimming (photo1)

Getting a piggyback! (photo2)

I think Sandra and Jo made the right decision when they decided to bring in the professionals but they weren't listening to Andrew when he tried to tell them it wasn't the best place to set up camp! Can't they see the notice on the rocks just behind them?

Here's Jo and Sandra getting set up ready for their day on the beach.

Exercise is the focus of the day as we all enjoy our wednesday's keep fit session with superfit Sonia and the outlook gang stretching and moving to music. As usual we had laughs and fun - Angela enjoys the washing warm-up and Annabel enjoys being the queen with her hand waving warm ups.

The Outlook gang decided as it was a beautiful morning we would take a stroll around the lovely Arrow Valley Park. We regularly walk here to promote our fitness and enjoy the tranquil and beautiful scenery that is a haven for lots of wildlife. Here the gang is posing with Gemma, and then taking a well deserved break half way round to gather their breath.

Yay! The Outlook is finally online and enjoying reading about Bath Roads excellent and fun filled holiday! The pics are fantastic!

Well we are very busy ourselves as we prepare for Annabel's birthday on Thursday. We are going to the pub for a meal, Annabels idea, and on Friday they are hitting the Hop Pole in Bromsgrove for live music and dancing!

Just wanted to say hi and to let Kirsty know - there are others out there!!

Brett

 

 

David Baily in the making?

Everyone walked along the sea front up to Aberystwyth castle to look at the amazing view!

(I was supposed to be finished work for tonight but just checked my emails and couldn't resist posting these fabulous photos!)

Quick let's go buy a lottery ticket (photo)

On our way back to the mini bus a seagull poo fell out of the sky, catching Jo on the head! (photo1)

The holiday makers decided to spend the day in Aberystwyth today so the first port of call had to be the cliff railway. (photo).
They all enjoyed the trip up the famous funicular track which is 778 feet in length and which began operation in 1896.
The railway is part of Constitution Hill, a Victorian development on the hill of the same name built by the Aberystwyth Improvement Company,^[2] and form of early theme park. It consisted of arcades and a restaurant at the foot of the hill, the railway, and at the top of the hill a camera obscura and park. Constitution Hill was designed and engineered by George Croydon Marks, who later became a Liberal peer, who at the same time designed the new pavilion for the Royal Pier.
Nicola and Andrew particularly enjoyed the ride up the cliff but if you ask me, Andrew is looking a tad nervous! (photo1)
They eventaully got to the top, what a relief and it was all worth it, what an amazing view! (photo2 & photo_2)

Can u spot the fashion faux pas? (see photo)

I really must check with Jo next time on what kelly's wearing! :0)))

Returned home as weather refused to change. Came back to Newquay with clear blue sky and with the sun shining! Went swimming again and then Mandy won Kelly a big teddy from the arcade! Dave, "we need a bigger mini bus as we now have an extra passenger" (see photo)!!!

We're still waiting so we're having a picnic in the mini bus. :0)

We arrived at 11.40  and are still sat in the mini bus waiting and praying the wind will die down and the rain will stop!  It's now 12.20 and the weather has not changed yet. :0( We're patient and determined. We can wait .....

Kirsty's niece Gemma, is spending the week at "The Outlook Project" next week as part of her school's work experience programme. On behalf of everyone at Outlook and The Broad Group we'd like to welcome her and wish her a happy week.

Sandra took her shoes off at the sea edge to take a photo of Kelly, Andrew and Jo paddling in the sea. When she looked down, there was only one shoe left on the beach! Ooops ha ha!

Jo spots Sandra's mistake straight away and watches as the waves come crashing in and carries Sandra's shoe away! At that moment Sandra noticing her mistake, runs forward as the wave ebbs back and quickly grabs the shoe and makes a quick sprint back to the beach before the wave manages to reach her.

Everyone finds the whole specticle very funny, particularly Andrew who's smile swifty turns into a laugh!

I don't suppose anyone caught any of that on camera did they?

An unexpected wave came.

Guess who got wet ........? (see photos attached)

The sun has been shining again today. Everyone went in the pool this morning. Kelly and Andrew particularly enjoyed this and could be seen smiling and laughing and having a great time. Next stop, to Newquay again to buy postcards and to sit on the beach with a big ice cream.

Sat on the beach at Newquay watching the dolphins out at sea.

 A fabulous view of the sea in Newquay, Wales!

First day hectic but they're all settled and sorted now. The sun is shining already and they have a view of the sea from their caravans which is apparently very beautiful. After breakfast and showers they'll be off to explore!

The hard workers back at HQ would like to wish all the happy holiday makers a good one. It looks like they're got off to a great start as the sun is shining already!

Sorry forgot to include Sandra on the holiday list - hope you all have a fab time!

A big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to let us know what they think of our new site. The furthest response we have had so far came from Sydney Austrialia!

Most thrilling for me is that word is out there in the deaf community.

Vic (Our IT consultant) has been working hard making adjustments to the site in response to your comments - they really do make a difference.

So the more observant will be able to spot the changes.

Holiday

Jo, Mandy and the residents at Bath Road will be happy that the sun is shining - I've heard that there is going to be a heatwave by the weekend - I hope they've packed the sun cream.

In between basking in the sun they are going to keep HQ informed as to how they are getting on - so family and friends look out for the blog!

I'm off too for the week - I'm sure there will be a huge pile of things on my currently clear desk to welcome me on return.

 

 

Word is out there!

Being a family office, Kirsty and Dave often work "out of hours" - very early this morning Kirsty emailed as many of our contacts as possible to tell them about the new Web Site.

The feed back so far has been really encouraging - Kirsty's hard work has paid off!

We've had lots of lovely emails back saying how much they have enjoyed having a look around the site.

Please keep the responses coming!

Another busy day at HQ!

The Bath Road residents are on holiday on Friday, so Jo ( see Bath Road Gallery) is busy making arrangements making sure the "kitchen sink" is packed and every eventuality is covered!

She's currently trying to locate the "anti hijack" button on our new vehicle!??

Welcome to our new Web site and blog - we hope you enjoy looking around. Please don't forget to fill outour survey or send us your suggestions and ideas to improve our services or make the site even better. Read about our services and our history, take a look at our fantastic gallery and read our current newsletter.