Ground Broken

The Groundbreaking ceremony all went off very well last Thursday, we were joined by the Mayor of Peterborough, as well as many other local dignatories. We even got Jan into the digger!

Although a huge amount of the preparation work has already been completed, we had a clear area by the Oak Tree. Coupled with unexpected sunshine, the ground was firm enough to pose for some shots, before heading back to the site cabin for tea and home made cake (thanks to Seb and Krissy for that!) Alex the Archaeologist brought some of the finds from the well and everyone had a play with the two thousand year old pots and coins.

All in all a really good day.

And again...

And another appearance in the Evening Telegraph today, with a piece on the Roman finds on the site. All very exciting and hopefully we'll get a closer look on Thursday as the archaeologist is bringing some with him to the ground breaking. Personally I think the shoes and coins are fab, but the experts are getting worked up about the stone lining on the well... Shows what I know!

by the way thats a shoe in the picture - a Roman size 36 I think...

In the papers again

We were in the papers again this week, with a little piece in the Milton Keynes Citizen, not about the Peterborough site this time but a report on the awarding of Gold Standards Framework and Beacon Status to Bluebirds Nursing Home, the first home in Buckinghamshire to achieve this and one of very few homes nationally.

We're hoping to see the press on Thursday at the Oak Tree site for our ground breaking ceremony, the Mayor of Peterborough is coming and I have spoken to ITV and the press who have all shown an interest.

Watch this space!

What do we do?

A lot of you reading this will be fully aware of what PJ Care do, who we care for and why we do it, but it occurs to me that not everyone knows, and rather than keeping this a secret I thought it might be a good idea to share, particularly with a focus on Peterborough.

So what do we do? We provide specialist care to people with physical illnesses, restricted mobility and challenging behaviours as a result of organic, degenerative or neurological disorders. These include Acquired Brain Injuries, Strokes, Huntington’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, and Spinal Cord Injuries, as well as various progressive terminal illnesses and early onset dementias. We also specialise in providing care for complex Frontal Lobe Dementias like Alzheimer’s and Picks Disease.

As you can see this is quite a wide remit and although these conditions individually only affect a few people, collectively they affect a very large percentage of the population. When I say affect this includes knowing someone with one of these conditions.

As medical care and practice improves we are living longer and surviving accidents and illnesses that only a few years ago would have killed us. Unfortunately survival sometimes comes at a cost, that cost can be an ongoing need for continuing care. This is where we come in, often freeing up a blocked hospital bed by providing high quality on-going care designed for an indivual.

For more information on PJ Care please visit our website www.pjcare.co.uk

And we're off

OK it might be a bit of a slow start, but like the old man on the bike, we're off. The Castleoak team are on site and work on the build has begun.

The surveyors are measuring the land levels that have all been messed up by the archaeologists, trying to work out what we've got to put back and what else we've got to take away.

The next couple of weeks see all the preparation work, making sure that the site is safe and clean, then the big yellow machines will start to roll in and the real work begins!

The official ground breaking will be on February 10th, hopefully we'll have all the brass there in shiny hard hats. Can I get Jan Flawn to sit on a JCB? Although with her busted ribs, she may be a little wary of climbing onto anything for a while!

Planning Approved!!!

Formal planning approval has been granted now the archaeologists have finished digging up the site, so its chocks away and here come the machines.

After a very long list of exciting finds we are now making plans for a permanent display to celebrate what appears to have been some kind of ritual well. Watch this space for more exciting information.

Peterborough City Council's decision notice includes a number of fun conditions, including protection for bats and ensuring the landscaping retains and improves the biodiversity of the site. This all fits in with our environmental policies anyway so no worries there.

Tomorrow is our Gala Awards Dinner, so watch this space for some embarrassing pictures of PJ Care Management pretending to be cool on the dance floor!

Well I never did!

Is it a well? Is it a tank? Actually I don't think anyone knows yet, but it gets more exciting all the time. At about 3 metres deep it was definitely used for storing something.

It is located bang under what will be the turning circle for delivery and refuse lorries, so unfortunately we won't be able to leave it there, however we are looking to see if we can move part of the well to inside the building, we can't really have a 3m hole in the floor, but we could ensure the top of the structure is preserved for posterity and can still be viewed, got to be much better than covering it all over again. Although if anyone wants the entire well/tank/store do let me know. It would make a lovely garden feature....