I am a very sociable person; I like nothing more than to be able to enjoy the company of others. Thankfully, here at Layston Grove there are plenty of like-minded people to chat to. When you find people with the same interests and life experiences the conversation flows and it is wonderful to be able to take that walk down memory lane together.

We do have a lot in common but equally we all have our likes and dislikes. Some of us are real social butterflies who are ready to try anything, some of us are a little more introverted and enjoy quieter activities such as gardening. We are consulted regularly and asked for our opinions; we are involved in the activity scheduling and are always afforded the opportunity to put forward suggestions.  

This week we convened for what we thought was a meeting to discuss activities, however this turned out to be much more than your run of the mill meeting. 

We entered the room to be met, not with a clipboard and pen but a beautifully decorated box surrounded by balloons. It was so pretty. We were intrigued.

The team explained that they wanted us to make wishes, they wanted to know what we had on our bucket lists; things that we had always wanted to but not had the chance or things that we had done previously and missed.

We were told not to hold back but to dig deep into our imaginations. We had a wonderful morning discussing the things that we’d like to do, things that we had done; it was just lovely to hear others wax lyrical about places they had been and the things they had seen. 

Some of us struggled to think of a wish, we have lived very full lives and are content with the way of life here but in the end we all thought of something and carefully wrote our cards and placed them in the box.

This was such a lovely gesture. I am often astounded at the amount of work that goes into providing us with opportunities to learn new things, experience new places and to continue with much loved hobbies. 

Our cards are all now safely stowed in the box and all we can do is wait to see if wishes really do come true.

The team at Layston told us that are very excited to get started on turning the wishes into reality. Watch this space to see the magic happen.