Case Study: Liz Spokes

"It is very enjoyable living at Wadswick Green, it’s like a lovely family community with everyone looking out for one another.

Since moving here, I have joined swimming, aerobics, and Zumba. Also, a new class of Pilates starts today which is good for the core! There is never a dull moment as there is always something going on but also, when you don’t want to mix you can stay in your apartment – nothing is compulsory.

Before lockdown I enjoyed swimming a lot with my husband and would go about three times a week. What should be a two minute walk to the pool usually takes about half an hour because we always stop and chat to friends that we bump into on the way. I have been doing outdoor Zumba during lockdown which is immensely popular and the music cheers everyone up. There is an older couple downstairs who would sit on their balcony and watch, moving with the music ...they could not move very much but it lifted their spirits!

I feel part of a community at Wadswick Green. Living here makes us feel very safe and secure, they even have someone walking around at night. Most of us are here because we are thinking ahead to the future. My husband and I moved back from Spain after 12 years for this reason. There is a wonderful care team to look after you as you get older and they are genuinely nice people, I have met lots of them already. We have been in the UK for 4 years now. When we came back, we were living nearby in an apartment, but it was too small for a permanent home. A friend suggested Wadswick Green saying that they had penthouses with wrap around balconies! By the time we visited all the penthouses were taken, but we are still at the top of the apartment block and have a balcony overlooking the treetops. I like to watch the squirrels, red foxes, monk jacks and pheasants on the lawn.

Over lockdown the swimming pool was closed, so we started doing the outdoor Zumba classes and went on walks to keep fit. Whilst walking outside we met other people and we could stand two metres apart and have a chat, we never felt lonely. The village team have put a lot of benches in the gardens so if you can’t walk very well you can always have a little rest and enjoy the beautiful gardens. My treat after a long walk - 2 miles was my best - was to sit by the village shop and have a lovely takeaway cappuccino.

I had not read a novel in ages but over lockdown my daughter brought me 18 books, so I started reading again. I have already read four - probably better for your mind than watching television!

The team have supported us in a tremendous way over lockdown. They opened a shop for us with all the essentials, so we did not have to leave the village and it was such a success it has become a permanent feature! They also organised takeaways at the Greenhouse which were brilliant because it meant we didn’t have to cook all the time. The staff were very cheerful and supportive and kept us all going - they are always smiling! Someone from the concierge team even dressed up as the Easter bunny and hopped around dishing out eggs at Easter. It was rather jolly. Also, we celebrated VE day by waving flags from our balconies and were delivered scones, cream & jam!

I would like to say a great big thank you to the Wadswick Green team because they really cheered us up and kept us going through lockdown. They were there for us when we needed them the most.

Interviewed 24^th July 2020