A Shining Ruby...

A new care home with outstanding features is opening in Sowerby. Ruby Lodge greets visitors with a warm, friendly and bright reception area and a coffee shop right on hand with some very fancy cakes, a clue to what lies beyond.

Passing the baby grand piano, an acknowledgement that music can be very uplifting for residents, you enter a welcoming home for up to 69 residents that has been built with large well equipped bedrooms.

Details such as the motorized curtains and the en suite wet rooms reflect the experience acquired in this business. Everything has been very carefully thought out.

Country Court Care began in 1983 with a single care home in Lincolnshire and has grown as a family business. Aly Kachra, the son of one of the founders, came to open the latest addition to the group.

I was told that it is a tradition that a member of the family comes along for each new opening.

The business has steadily expanded, now looking after about 1,600 residents with some 2,000 staff, making Ruby Lodge its 47th property.

The facilities are frankly spectacular. As well as communal dining areas there is a private dining room where a resident can entertain family members, for instance on a birthday.

There is a cinema room, a spa, beauty salon and even a pub called the Winning Post, where I was fascinated to see a football game projected onto the floor.

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