Glebefields Care Home in Banbury celebrated National Garden Day by transforming its outdoor space with the help of residents, staff and visitors.

The gardening event saw participants weeding flowerbeds and planting colourful seasonal blooms, with table-height stations ensuring everyone could take part, regardless of mobility.

Residents & Staff at Glebefields Care Home enjoy National Gardening Day (Image: k)

Glebefields Care Home Garden was a Hub of Activity (Image: k)

Benazir Shakkir, general manager at Glebefields Care Home, said: “Life enrichment activities like this are vital. Gardening doesn’t just brighten our outdoor spaces, it boosts wellbeing, sparks meaningful conversation and brings genuine smiles to everyone involved. It’s been a lovely day filled with fresh air and laughter.”

Residents enjoyed potting plants for the garden at the potting station (Image: k)

Staff and residents enjoyed the social time together and reminiscing about their own gardens (Image: k)

For many residents, the activity sparked fond memories of tending to their own gardens, offering both emotional and therapeutic benefits.

Residents and staff are now looking forward to watching their efforts bloom, providing a colourful backdrop for outdoor events in the months to come.

Visitors and residents enjoyed time together planting and weeding (Image: k)

Barchester Healthcare is one of the UK’s largest care providers supporting older people living independent lives with dignity and respect. Providing a wide range of services for a variety of needs, Barchester Healthcare supports over 13,500 residents across 268 homes and hospitals for short breaks to long term stays.

Published on April 13 and detailing the year to September 28, 2025, Stonegate Group said it had disposed of 109 trading sites which, along with other activity, earned it £74 million.

Stonegate Group owns over 4,000 bars and clubs around the country including eight in Oxfordshire.

READ MORE: Major Oxfordshire pub owner appoints restructuring firm

Its Oxford premises are the Slug and Lettuce by Oxford Castle and the City Arms on Cowley Road, while in Banbury they run Fever, and Zinc and Fever on the High Street and the Dog & Gun on North Bar Street.

The City Arms pub in Oxford (Image: NQ)

A pub in Bicester, The Lamb Inn on Sheep Street, is also owned by the group as is one in Didcot, Broadways on Broadway, and in Thame, the Birdcage Inn.

In its latest financial results, the company revealed its revenues declined by £128m to £1.62bn, giving it an overall pre-tax loss of £174m.

Its statement referenced its transformation strategy that is pushing ahead with despite the ongoing challenges the sector is facing.

Broadways in Didcot has had a major revamp. (Image: Broadways)

READ MORE: Special Oxford school forced into emergency closure after ‘flooding issue’

It said: “Over the course of the financial year, rising operating costs, including labour, have impacted the profitability of our managed estate more than our L&T and Craft Union estates, and therefore the Group has accelerated its transitions program for sites that are less sustainable as a managed pub for the Group.”

Since the period that the accounts update covers, Stonegate has reportedly appointed restructuring firm FRP Advisory to advise the business on next steps.

This could include further potential sales with the company reporting £3.81bn of debt.

Oxford Cat Clinic, which has focused exclusively on cats for 20 years, has renamed its clinic in Marston as the Oxford Vet Clinic to mark its milestone anniversary and expanded its services to include dogs and other pets.

However, the Botley practice will continue to care solely for cats.

Melanie Weatherall, practice manager, said: “We’ve been caring for cats from across Oxford and beyond for 20 years and have established a superb reputation for our expertise in feline veterinary care.

“During this time, we’ve regularly been asked if we can treat dogs and other types of pets by clients who wanted to use an independently owned practice in and around Oxford, but found there were very few options available.

“This development has taken a lot of planning and investment, but we had surplus space at Marston which has enabled us to expand without disrupting the services that our cat clients enjoy.”

The Marston clinic has been fully refurbished and remodelled to include dedicated facilities for cats, such as a separate waiting room, consulting areas, a hospital ward and an operating theatre.

It now also offers care for dogs and small animals in similarly comfortable surroundings.

The practice is working towards becoming a gold-certified Cat Friendly Clinic, the highest accreditation from the International Society for Feline Medicine.

Ms Weatherall said: “Crucially, cat owners travel from far and wide to use our services, so Botley will remain cat only and Marston now has a clever layout that enables us to still provide the cat-focused care we’re known for.

“We’ve worked hard to recruit an experienced and well-respected veterinary team in Shivana, Anna and Matilde, who all complement our cat expertise but also bring additional veterinary skills with them, so there’s no doubt they are all great additions to our team who will further enhance the level of service our clients enjoy.

“We’re all delighted to have been caring for Oxford’s cats for 20 years and we can’t think of any better way to celebrate this milestone than by welcoming even more local pets to benefit from our independent veterinary services.”

Three new vets have joined the Marston team: Dr Shivana Seemungal-Dass, Dr Anna Ducos, and Dr Matilde Costa Fernandes.

Additional recruitment is planned for next year.

The clinic is marking its 20th anniversary with special offers. New clients can access booster vaccinations for just £20.

Existing clients are eligible for a vaccination amnesty, allowing lapsed vaccination courses to be restarted at the price of a booster.