Resident Stories

We all join in, getting to grips with the instruments, with several of the residents using the baton to conduct the musicians and us. Gwen always has the chimes, her lovely face lights up, her smile!

The staff are absolutely fantastic. They’re a delight to associate with and since we’ve been here they could not have been more helpful. I’ve got nothing but compliments for them, and they do it with a smile as well which is so important!

Residents at Shenley Wood Village in Milton Keynes were keeping their spirits up during the national Covid-19 crisis, celebrating Ted's 100th birthday, who moved to the community from Bletchley.

Now, more than 60 years after they first met, Val and Lynne have both moved to the new Longbridge Retirement Village in Birmingham, where they plan to spend the rest of their lives just a stone’s throw away from each other.

“I moved to the village in January 2018, the last three years have gone so quickly, I have a lovely apartment and friends and couldn’t be happier.''

Yvonne believes moving to the village is an adventure. ‘Neville would have wished me to move, it’s what he would have wanted for me,’ she says. ‘I think we would have closed the door behind us, both equally happy that we were going to the village.

Come and have a look, you’ll love it. We aren’t lonely anymore, you have people around you to make you feel safe. The staff are so approachable, I love it, there really is nothing I don’t like about it. I thought I had no life before, but this place has given me a new lease for life.

Lilian recently celebrated her 103rd birthday and enjoyed a party with friends and family at Sunley. She describes being 103 as much like being 100, but quite different from being 53; There is no secret, but having a positive outlook in life certainly helps.

Moving here has been so much better than my previous flat, I simply didn’t have the community there. Hughenden Gardens itself is a nice building to live in, and relatively new, when I first walked in I thought it looked like a hotel it was rather nice. Having regular contact with the group we have here is also deeply appreciated. We all enjoy a chat, and spending time together.

Everyone here does their very best. I like to have a chat sometimes, I’m quite the chatterbox. I also like my space and independence and it has been the right decision for me to move here. They do very well. The staff are lovely, that’s what matters. I feel safe.