Wisdom beyond their years: Care home residents offer their top tips for living

THEY say that wisdom comes from living, and that’s exactly what residents of one of the borough’s care homes has discovered.

Fusing modern technology with decades of knowledge, a new year’s post on social media went viral.

Residents of Crowthorne-based Pinehurst Care Centre were asked to share their words of guidance as the nation moved from the bleakness of 2020 into the new year.

And the residents, aged 84 to 105, of the 47-bed home responded in droves. Each posed for a photo holding up a placard with their pearls of wisdom on them.

Although this is an annual tradition, it is the first time that they have been shared online. And the response surprised everyone: more than 45,000 people have seen and shared the tip from people aged between 84 and 105.

Activity manager Victoria Pembroke said: “This is something we’ve done for a few years now, and the images have been shared with the residents’ families, but particularly over the last year, we’ve been trying to engage with our wider community more through social media – as face-to-face opportunities have been limited – so for the first time, we’ve posted them for everyone to see.”

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Ms Pembroke said that the women, who live in the Duke’s Ride complex, have a wicked sense of humour, something that came across in their advice as witnessed by 105-year-old Claire, who says: “I’m still learning! Be as wicked as possible. Life’s for living. You can’t please all the people all the time.”

“I am fortunate enough to be able to ask these lovely ladies for advice whenever I need it; their views on dating were particularly helpful, though probably not suitable for publication,” Ms Pembroke said.

“Hopefully, people across the country can take enjoy sharing their advice as we head into 2021.