The theme for Wednesday Wisdom at
Market Lavington residential, nursing and dementia care home, in Devizes, is ‘Secrets to a long life’, and Residents have been sharing some excellent advice and tips for a long and healthy life. Wellbeing Coordinator Michaela Powell sat down with them this October.
Rona Bushell, who is 96, enjoys the group activities, especially the quizzes at the 80-bed care home as she loves being around people and having a good conversation with someone.
Rona Bushell’s secret to a long life is
“Plenty of good food and vegetables.”
Rona said she has always loved food and always known she must eat right to stay healthy.
Dennis Scurrell, who is also 96, has an amazing sense of humour and a lovely smile. He always has Colleagues at Market Lavington roaring with laughter with his one-liners and he certainly brings sunshine to the day. Dennis always tries to be involved in the home’s group activities, and he has made a few friends with the Residents.
Dennis, who was married for 73 years and talks about his wife often, said,
“I don’t have a secret to long life, I just feel very blessed to have experienced what I have in my life and to have people around me who I care about.”
Julia Bradley, who is 82, is new to the care home, and she has started to settle in beautifully. Julia used to fly to France for holidays with her husband, in his light aircraft, which she has enjoyed very much. Julia loves to sit and have a chat about her life, her experiences and her family, especially her horses. She also enjoys arts and crafts and is looking forward to attending the home’s activity groups, which are arranged on a regular basis.
Julia Bradley commented,
"Keeping active and being outside with my horses has kept me young."
Gordon Grist, who is 72, says that he feels very lucky to have found friends and a home at Market Lavington. He always has an interesting fact to tell everyone, whatever the subject. Gordon loves attending quizzes and he is very good at it too!
When asked about what the secret is to a long-life Gordon said,
“Having friends around me keeps my mind healthy.”
Michaela Powell commented,
“Here at Market Lavington we try to keep our Residents happy and entertained with a variety of activities, whether it be outdoors hoop and stick, sitting in our wonderful gardens, afternoon teas or doing arts and crafts inside on a miserable day.”
“I hope that I can one day look back on my life and smile about all the experiences I have been lucky enough to have had. I will then share them with the next generation the way our Residents have shared their experiences and memories with us.”
See pictured from left to right Dennis Scurrell, Roseanna ‘Rona’ Bushell, Gordon Grist and Julia Bradley.