Life On The Green - Louise Anderson

“We used to publish the magazine every three months but had to pause in May 2020 due to the Covid-19 crisis. A lot of residents missed it and wanted it back, so we’re delighted to have started working on our latest edition which should be published in March.  Usually we print about 500 copies, and they are distributed to every resident and displayed around the premises and included in the sales brochure packs. Friends and families of residents read it too!

“For our new edition we wanted to pick out all the positive things that happened at Wadswick Green in the last year. We have so many residents who learned new skills and projects during the lockdowns, from a lady who’s ambition was to get fit enough to run until the end of the drive, to our musical memory group which got familiar with Zoom and moved their meetings online.

“We’ve never run out of ideas for Life On The Green, with the content predominantly being collated and written by a group of residents. Everyone in our team is very sociable and they are always chatting to other residents and getting new story ideas. We try to stay topical and to reflect the community life at Wadswick Green. For example, this edition will have a feature to thank the staff and care team for all their efforts.

“A number of new residents moved to Wadswick Green over the past year, but we didn’t get to properly meet them for obvious reasons. So, we thought that we should feature them to allow everyone to get to know them. I handed the list to a member of the team, and he went off to chat to them, collect their pictures, and learn more about their story.

“There’s absolutely no experience necessary to take part in the magazine. The idea is that if you have something you want to share, you’re welcome to. We usually decide what we want to feature together, and then I delegate who will do what. Once I collect everyone’s articles, I edit them and send them to our professional graphic designer so she can put the magazine together.

“We’re a very relaxed and friendly group, there is a lot of affection and teasing between everyone. Some of our members walk together, they attend the book clubs, and I know that they’ve been phoning each other during the lockdown.

“The feedback from residents has been really great. They especially like it when it feels personal and when we talk about other residents and staff. Often, we’ll pick a theme, such as dance, sport or music, and we showcase some stories from residents’ lives around the theme.

“That’s what I love about working on the magazine. Older people have had such fascinating lives and they have great stories to tell. When you walk down the street you might see an older lady walking a dog, but really, maybe 58 years ago she could have run a marathon! All our residents have such amazing experiences to share, they’re really well travelled, they had interesting jobs... it’s great to give their stories a voice.”