WHEN a borough care home invited residents to share their memories of winters gone by, the community was rewarded with heart warming stories.
Glebelands care home in Wokingham encouraged its seniors to share their lifelong experiences of the festive season, and enjoyed hearing about Christmases that had been special for them.
Kathy Chin Choy, 91, said: “One winter afternoon when I was 12, we went food shopping as a family and when we got back home, my mother told us to wash our hands.
“But we only had cold water to wash with, so I ended up more freezing than ever and had to sit on the fire for a while to warm up.”
Jean Eldridge, 93, remembers travelling to Austria by coach to the boarders of Switzerland, with amazing views.
“It was my first time to see such an abundance of snow – around 10 feet of it being pushed to the sides of the road,” she said.
“Pushing the children in a stroller was ever so tricky on snowy paths, but it was overall a remarkable experience.”
Activities team leader of the not-for-profit care home on Woolf Drive Ellie Scrutton explains that conversation and memory recall are key to living well and happily and that sparking old memories is beneficial to older adults, who can sometimes experience isolation during the winter months.
She said: “Winter can be a hard season for many, but it is also a time to cosy up with others, to care and feel cared for.
“Our residents at Glebelands have loved sharing their wonderful memories of winter days; and our staff, relatives and social media followers have enjoyed hearing them.
The stories have been making waves, with people sharing their own memories too.
“There have even been suggestions to pull the collection into a book.”
Another resident Irene Miller, 88, remembered: “My friends and their families used to love to ski in Scotland with my family.
“One day, we decided to move it up a notch and went to France to ski.
“We were three families who each rented a villa and we took turns in cooking and shopping.
“One afternoon, I accidentally knocked my husband John down on his way up to the chairlift.”
Irene remembers them both laughing about how he landed on the snow.
Baljit Moti, 82, recalls flying to England from India for the first time in 1966.
“She said: “The house we lived in was with a nice fireplace, tea maker and the orientation was completely different from what I was used to.
“I immediately fell in love with the place, and said to myself, ‘this is what you call life.’”
Glebelands is run by care charity Greensleeves Care.
The group is running a Warmth of Care campaign, with free online resources and advice, as well as a Big Warm Up day, when Glebelands care home will open its doors to the Wokingham community, along with Buckler’s Lodge in Bracknell Forest and The Manor in Old Windsor.
Ellie said: “The Big Warm Up is a free open-day, and a chance for visitors to celebrate and experience the joy and humanity that exists in care settings like our home.
“For families concerned about an older loved one, it’s an opportunity to talk through practical information to support decision-making around care in a relaxed and welcoming environment.”
Glebelands’ Warm Up open day is on Saturday, January 25.
For tips and advice to help older adults to stay warm and well this winter, people can access free resources at: greensleeves.org.uk/WarmthOfCare
