Rodeo Rides Into Hythe for Martello Manor’s Big Launch
Martello Manor’s gardens turned into a corner of the Wild West on Saturday 22 August, as the Hythe care home threw open its gates for Rodeo Fest, its community grand launch.
Throughout the day, the lawns and courtyard at 18 Farmer Road filled with residents, families, team and neighbours from across Hythe, all dressed for the occasion, right down to the youngest guests in cowboy hats and cowgirl outfits. Guests of all ages took to the courtyard for a group line dancing session, and the Bucking Bull drew a steady queue all afternoon, including one resident who sat down for a go and grinned straight at the camera, thumbs up, alongside another guest. Nearby, the Saddle Up Saloon and a barbecue cookout run by the home’s culinary team kept the day fed and watered.
Among those who braved the Bucking Bull was Tracy West, Chairman of the Hythe Dementia Awareness Forum, who was at the home that day for a special reason. Partway through the afternoon, she unveiled a plaque marking the Forum’s partnership with Martello Manor, a relationship the home has been building since it opened. “Line dancing certainly took a bit of practice, but there were plenty of laughs along the way. And then there was the Bucking Bull… quite an experience! Let’s just say the hips definitely felt it this morning. A wonderful atmosphere, lots of laughter and smiles all round. It was also a real honour to unveil the plaque for you. Thank you for allowing us to be part of such a special occasion,” she said.
What struck the team most, though, wasn’t any single moment. It was the sight of the home simply full: residents who moved in earlier this summer mixing with the families who chose Martello Manor for them, staff members off duty and enjoying the day alongside the people they care for, and local people who had never set foot inside the home before finding a reason to come through the doors.
Jude Coveney, Admissions Manager at Martello Manor, has spent recent months guiding families through the decision to move a parent or partner into care, and says the day put that trust into sharper focus. “So many of the families I’ve worked with, some who’ve already made the move and some who are still deciding, were there mixing easily with residents and the wider community. When you see that kind of ease on a day like this, you know the trust people place in us is well founded.”
For Home Manager Marlene Abreu, the day was as much about her team as it was about the guests. “My team gave up their Saturday to make this happen, and you could feel it in the atmosphere they created. Seeing residents, families and neighbours all in one place, laughing at the same jokes and cheering each other on the Bucking Bull, that’s the warmth we want this home to be known for.”
Rodeo Fest builds on relationships Martello Manor has been forming since opening its doors in June, including its ongoing work with Hythe Town Football Club and the Royal British Legion Hythe & Saltwood Branch. Martin Murphy, Director of Operations at Boutique Care Homes, said delivering a day of this standard is not left to chance. “An event like Rodeo Fest looks effortless from the outside, but it takes the same discipline and attention to detail we apply to care itself. As we grow as a group, that consistency is what we hold every home to, whether it’s day forty or day four hundred,” he said.
For Ameet Kotecha, Founder and Managing Director of Boutique Care Homes, the day was proof of something he has believed in since the company’s earliest homes. “Martello Manor has been open a matter of months, and already you can see a real community taking shape around it. That’s exactly what we set out to build when we open a new home: not just a place where people receive care, but a place people want to be part of. Seeing residents, families and neighbours together on the lawn like that tells me this home is already becoming what we hoped it would”.
Martello Manor is still a young home, but days like this are exactly what its team set out to build: a place where care extends naturally into community, and where residents, families and neighbours find they belong together. That’s not a happy accident. It’s what Boutique Care Homes sets out to deliver, at Martello Manor and at every home in the group.
