Best Life Companions

03/09/2025

Nearly 700 followers 🥳

✨ ..And we’re celebrating the power of companionship! ✨
To spread a little joy, we’re giving away a luxury afternoon tea for two 🍰☕ – the perfect treat to share with someone special.
To enter:
1️⃣ Like our page
2️⃣ Share this post
3️⃣ Tag who you’d love to enjoy it with 💛

02/09/2025

✨ A huge thank you to everyone who made today’s event at The Old Bank Hotel, Chipping Sodbury so special ✨

We are so grateful to the hotel for generously sponsoring the cream teas and venue, helping us raise £80 for Bristol Dementia Action Alliance 💜

The afternoon was full of memories and conversation thanks to a wonderful reminiscence workshop led by Kate and Sue from Yate & Sodbury Historical Society. With books from Jim Elsworth, beautifully labelled old photographs, and plenty of stories to share, it was truly a trip down memory lane.

Special thanks also to:
📸 Rich McD for capturing the day so brilliantly
🖼️ Yate Heritage Centre for the fascinating photographs
📚 Lisa from BDAA for joining us and sharing valuable dementia awareness resources

It was a joy to bring people together, raise awareness, and support such an important cause. 💫

02/09/2025

✨ A huge thank you to everyone who made today’s event at The Old Bank Hotel Chipping Sodbury so special ✨

We are so grateful to the hotel for generously sponsoring the cream teas and venue, helping us raise £80 for Bristol Dementia Action Alliance 💜

The afternoon was full of memories and conversation thanks to a wonderful reminiscence workshop led by Kate and Sue from Yate & Sodbury Historical Society. With books from Jim Elsworth, beautifully labelled old photographs, and plenty of stories to share, it was truly a trip down memory lane.

Special thanks also to:
📸 Rich McD for capturing the day so brilliantly
🖼️ Yate Heritage Centre for the fascinating photographs
📚 Lisa from BDAA for joining us and sharing valuable dementia awareness resources

It was a joy to bring people together, raise awareness, and support such an important cause. 💫

26/08/2025

Be more Ethel we say! 😍 https://www.facebook.com/share/1FMkzhvzS7/?mibextid=wwXIfr

The oldest living person in the world, Ethel Caterham, has celebrated her 116th birthday in a Surrey care home. Ethel is the last surviving citizen of King Edward VII and was born on August 21, 1909 - three years before the Titanic sank and eight years before the Russian Revolution.

She has seen four coronations, lived through two world wars and survived the Covid pandemic. Ethel didn’t stop driving until she was 97 and says the secret to a long life is “never arguing with anyone, I listen and I do what I like”.

A statement released by her care home said: “Ethel and her family are so grateful for all the kind messages and interest shown to her as she celebrates her 116th birthday this year. Ethel will spend the day quietly with her family so that she can enjoy it at her own pace. Thank you again for your kind wishes on this special day.”

Happy Birthday, Ethel! 🎊

22/08/2025

Wonderful Job Vacancy 🌟

We have a wonderful older lady in Saltford, Bath with memory problems looking for an older companion 3 hours per week:

🕰️ 10am to 1pm (3 weeks out of 4 per month) on a Monday or Tuesday to go for walks and coffees with!

If you know anyone that might be interested, please get in touch 🤩

• Rate of pay: £14/hour
• Ethical employer and purposeful role
• Same client each visit
• No personal care

16/08/2025

Found this on FB and it definitely resonated with us!

“To My Caregivers, My Children”
You didn’t sign up for this.
Not for the slow unraveling of the parent you once knew,
not for the days that feel like watching me
fade in real time.

You didn’t sign up for the tremor in my hands,
the halting of my words,
the way I sometimes stare at the wall
because my mind has slipped somewhere you can’t follow.

You didn’t sign up for the smell of medicine on my breath,
for changing my clothes when I cannot,
for the endless cycle of pills, appointments,
and tears I try to hide.

And yet… here you are.
Not turning away.
Not running from the parts of this that are ugly,
or heavy,
or unbearably slow.

You see me
not just the shell of me,
but the one who taught you to walk,
who stayed up in the night when you were sick,
who loved you before you even had a name.

And now,
you love me in the most unglamorous,
unphotographed way
with hands that lift me,
with patience that holds me together,
with a steady presence that says,
“I will not leave.”

I know it’s hard to watch me
die by inches.
It’s hard to see me slip away
and still come back tomorrow,
ready to help me take another slow step.

But please know this
every touch, every small mercy you give me
is not lost.
It is written in the deepest part of me.
And if I could,
I would gather it all into words
and tell you how much it means
that my last chapters
are being written in your hands.

Thank you
for carrying me
through the part of life no one dreams about.
For showing me
that love doesn’t end
when the body begins to fade.

29/07/2025

🎟️ RAFFLE PRIZES NEEDED! 🎟️
We’re reaching out to our wonderful community to help support a very special fundraiser for “Our Town, Our People” a reminiscence workshop celebrating local memories and stories. 🧡

We’re hosting this in collaboration with Oasis Memory Café, Yate Heritage Centre, and The Old Bank Hotel Chipping Sodbury, and are hoping to raise vital funds for Bristol Dementia Action Alliance to make this event extra special for those living with memory loss, and their carers.

💬 Can you donate a raffle prize?
From gift vouchers to hampers, homemade treats to pamper products, every prize helps and every bit of support makes a difference.

🙏 Whether you’re a local business, maker, or just someone who wants to give back, we’d be so grateful for your kindness.

📅 The fundraiser will take place on 2nd September and all proceeds will go toward supporting BDAA’s activities in our community.

To offer a raffle prize or find out more, please drop us a message or email hello@bestlife.org.uk and we will be sure to give you a social shout out!!

Thank you so much for supporting ‘our town and our people’. 🧡

26/07/2025

People living with dementia are not empty shells.

They are human beings.

Still, I hear it all the time.

They’re gone.

They’re just a shell.

They’re not in there anymore.

People say this because they’re hurting. Because the changes they see are painful and confusing. Because it’s hard to reconcile who someone used to be with who they are today.

Someone with dementia is as human as they have been for every moment of their life.

Yes, dementia changes people. It changes memory, language, personality, and behavior.

It can make someone unrecognizable in ways that feel cruel and unfair. But it does not erase who they are at their core. It doesn’t wipe away their humanity.

They feel love. They feel fear. They feel comfort.

Here’s why remembering that matters:

If we start believing that people with dementia are “gone,” we stop trying to connect. We stop talking to them like adults. We stop treating them with the dignity they deserve. And that is when the real loss happens.

People with dementia are still here. Different, yes. But absolutely still here.

And they deserve for us to see them.

25/07/2025

Thanks for the write up Gazette Series - Gloucestershire, Thornbury, Yate and Chipping Sodbury! ❤️

23/07/2025

What an unforgettable day on the water! 🚤☀️

Our annual boat trip was a huge success, with 27 of us on a fantastic day out. There were smiles all round, plenty of laughter, and even the chance for some of our clients to take the wheel and drive the boat such a special moment! 🧭💙

A huge thank you to everyone who came along and to the amazing staff and crew who looked after us so well. These moments of connection, joy, and togetherness mean the world.

Already looking forward to next year’s adventure! 🌊✨

18/07/2025

I’m raising awareness of a traumatic event that has recently occurred to a local family in Chippi… Stephen Collins needs your support for Catastrophic event !

18/07/2025

📢 Do you live in South Gloucestershire and have dementia, or care for someone who does?
South Glos Council wants to hear from you! 🗣️

They’re running a short survey to understand what support people with dementia and their carers need and your feedback can help shape local services. 🧠💬

👉 Take the survey here:
https://online1.snapsurveys.com/Interview/6f49dc76-12d7-4924-bc6f-32665a680f56

📝 Why it matters:
Your views can help improve support, raise awareness, and make South Glos a better place to live for people affected by dementia. Whether it's access to activities, better information, or just being heard your voice counts.

Please share with anyone in South Glos who might be affected 💜