16th June 2011
Connors House, part of The Abbeyfield Kent Society, celebrated Abbeyfield Week by inviting local school pupils to learn painting from one of its residents.
The theme of Abbeyfield Week 2011 is generational skills swap, and Abbeyfield Kent are promoting interaction between generations by bringing people of different ages together to share skills and show how the gap between the old and young can be bridged.
Connors House, a residential home in Canterbury, decided it to get involved by celebrating the talent and skill of one of its residents.
Marise Edlin has lived at Connors House for two years and is a keen artist, and spends a lot of her time at the home painting a wide variety of paintings. Marise’s oeuvre includes everything from landscapes to portraits, with some more unconventional works in between.
Marise led a class of six children from St Thomas’ Catholic Primary School in a special art class for the afternoon. The children set up an art studio on the lawn at Connors House, before painting pictures in the sunshine. A huge variety of paintings were created, including depictions of rugby games, pet rabbits and garden landscapes.
The Abbeyfield Kent Society is one of the largest providers of residential care and housing with support in the South East of England, looking after over 450 older people throughout Kent. As a registered charity, all the profits the organisation makes go to ensuring a higher standard of living for residents.
As well as bringing generations together, the most important goal of Abbeyfield Week was for people to have fun. All the school pupils enjoyed painting with Maris and she had a lovely afternoon, commenting: “I have been painting all my life, and I just love it. I was amazed that I learnt as much from the children as they did from me. I was surprising to find out that, even at my age, you can continue learning. I thoroughly enjoyed the day.”
Christine Devlin, Connors House home manager commented:
“We have an excellent relationship with St Thomas’ and I was very pleased to be able to invite them in to share in Marise’s talent. Since moving to Connors House Marise has once more become a prolific painter, and a lot of creations adorn the walls around the home. Everybody had a wonderful afternoon, and it was great to see the generations interacting and learning from each other.”
Marise Edlin with pupils from St Thomas' Catholic Primary School
Pupils from St Thomas' Catholic Primary School painting on the lawn at Connors House
Posted in 
When: 16 June 2011,
Where: Abbeyfield House, Bloomfield Road, Bangor NI
The charity Abbeyfield, which has been providing home-from-home accommodation for older people in Northern Ireland for over 50 years, is hosting the UK’s largest intergenerational skills swap during Abbeyfield Week.
Over 130 children aged 5 to 11 will work alongside residents aged over 75 to share gardening skills, planting sunflower seeds which the residents will nurture over the summer months. The children will return to their local Abbeyfield Houses in September to see how their plants have blossomed under the green fingers of the residents.
The children taking part come from ten primary schools, the Brownies and the Beavers and will be visiting houses in their neighbourhood:
1. Ballyholme Primary School, Bangor
2. Bannside Beavers, Banbridge
3. Brownie Pack, Greenisland
4. Carrick Primary School, Lurgan
5. Castle Gardens Primary School, Newtonwards
6. Donaghadee Primary School, Donaghadee
7. Holywood Primary School, Holywood
8. Model Primary School, Carrickfergus
9. St Patrick’s Boys Primary School, Downpatrick
10. St Annes’s Primary School, Donaghadee
11. Whiteabbey Primary School, Monkstown
12. Tir-na-Nog Primary School, Ballyclare
During Abbeyfield Week (10-19 June) Abbeyfield House on Bloomfield Road Bangor, which opened in 1971, is celebrating its ruby anniversary. A barbeque on 16 June is being hosted by two local schoolgirls and the guest of honour will be Lady Sylvia Hermon, MP for North Down.
This event is part of a national campaign – the Abbeyfield AGEnda Skills Swap – to highlight the need for young and older people to spend more time together to improve understanding and empathy. Abbeyfield’s recent research showed that the two generations spend only 12 days in a year in each other’s company. Over 50% of 65 year olds have a poor opinion of young people based on stereotypical images of their behaviour and the majority of young people also hold negative stereotypical views of older people, with many saying that older people have outmoded views, refuse to change and do not respect the younger generation.
On the upside, young people admire the life experience of older people, their wisdom, practical skills and willingness to share their knowledge. They also love listening to their life stories. Both young and older people said they are keen to learn new things from each other.
Abbeyfield’s AGEnda Skills Swap campaign was launched by the actor Geoffrey Palmer at the Houses of Parliament with the support of 50 MPs. Geoffrey said: “The skills swaps will prove to the different age groups that their negative ideas are far from the truth. The swaps, which range from activities such as gardening through to learning the wonders of social networking will help to build bonds between the generations.
“We’d love to see parents, grandparents, young people, community groups and clubs arranging their own skills swap. The Northern Ireland intergenerational swap is the biggest in the Abbeyfield network and is an inspiration.”
Geraldine Gilpin, Chief Executive of Abbeyfield UK NI commented: “Bringing younger and older people together is an essential part of our work. Young volunteers help out regularly at Abbeyfield houses. The barbeque at Bloomfield Road has been organised by two 18 year old volunteers who have been volunteering for several years. At other houses young people share their musical talents and others enjoy the company of the residents and help arrange activities. They make a great contribution.”
When: 16 June 2011(afternoon),
Where: Abbeyfield House, West End, Chadlington, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
The Chipping Norton-based charity Abbeyfield, which provides home-from-home accommodation and care for the elderly, is running a skills swap between its residents and local school children during Abbeyfield Week.
On 16 June children from the local village school will visit Abbeyfield House in Chadlington, Chipping Norton to meet and learn about the residents’ (all over 75 years old) lives, past and present, and share their own stories about their school and family life. The children will also teach the residents how to play modern high-tech games including Wii and Nintendo.
Abbeyfield’s residents will tell the children about the kind of games they played as youngsters and teach them new crafts. Individual residents who are talented at various crafts will demonstrate these to the children. For example, residents will teach them how make home made cards, needlecraft and dressmaking.
In addition to the skills swap, local businesses are giving presentations on how they source produce which is sold locally, including to Abbeyfield. There will be talks from the local butcher, and the grocer who is supplying the cheese for the event.
Abbeyfield’s AGEnda Skills Swap – which was launched by actor Geoffrey Palmer at the Houses of Parliament with the support of 50 MPs – is being run on the back of Abbeyfield’s research which showed that in the South East, only 42% of over 65s have a positive view of young people. The percentage of positive views on the elderly among 18-30s year olds was 40%, with the 10-17 year olds coming in at 32%.
On the upside, 45% of the 18-30s admire the life experiences of older people and 40% value their wisdom and are inspired by their stories. Seventy per cent of 10-17s are also enthralled by the stories of the older generation, are impressed by their practical skills, and admire their life experience and knowledge.
Both young and older people said they are keen learn new things from each other – this includes activity such as cooking from scratch (younger people) to using social networks (older people).
Wendy Bailey, Abbeyfield House Manager said: “Our generational skills swap will be a fun day for everyone. We aim to encourage young people to engage more with the older generation. Communication between the two groups is so important in today’s society where old and young no longer live so closely together. Our skills swap is part of a national event, so our houses and care homes all over the country are running swaps during Abbeyfield Week.”
During Abbeyfield Week, the charity’s houses throughout Hampshire are opening their doors to the local community, inviting people to spend time with residents and staff and learn more about the local homes.
14 June 2011, 1.30-2.30pm
Holloway House, 35 Sutton Close Quorn, Loughborough, Leicestershire
The Loughborough-based charity Abbeyfield, which provides home-from-home accommodation and care for the elderly, is challenging its residents and visiting young people to swap their experiences and skills during Abbeyfield Week.
On 14 June, Holloway House is hosting its AGEnda Skills Swap between the residents who are all over 75 years of age and 15 children aged 5 to 11 from St Bartholomew’s School.
The generational skills swap will centre around modern and traditional games. The children will show the residents games that they enjoy playing such as Wii, Play Station and online computer games. The residents will teach the youngsters a host of traditional games including Victorian score ball, laripino, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, marbles, yo-yoing, making paper planes and even hop scotch!
This skills swap will help the two generations gain a better understanding of each other; and the school children will be able to use what they learned in their course work.
Abbeyfield’s AGEnda Skills Swap campaign – which was launched by actor Geoffrey Palmer at the Houses of Parliament with the support of 50 MPs – is being run on the back of Abbeyfield’s research which showed that in the East Midlands only 35% of the over 65s had a good opinion of young people. And less than 30% of young people in the region who took part in the poll held a positive view of the elderly.
On the upside, the research found that 43% of 18-30 year olds in the region admire the life experience of older people, and 73% of the 10-17 year olds put this at the top of their “like” list too. The young adults also said they admired older people’s practical skills and they love listening to their stories. The younger people were equally enthralled by their stories with 46% ranking this as one of the things they most like about older people.
Both young and older people said they are keen to learn new things from each other – this included cooking from scratch (younger people) to learning about social networking (older people), hence the launch of the AGEnda Skills Swap.
When: 16 June 2011, 2-5pm
Where: Abbeyfield House, Trehill Road, Ivybridge, Devon
Ivybridge-based Abbeyfield, a provider of home-from-home accommodation and care for the elderly, is marking Abbeyfield Week by welcoming Mayor Councillor Trevor Parsons to open its new ramp for disabled residents and visitors.
During Abbeyfield Week (10-19 June), Abbeyfield House in Ivybridge is opens to the local community, allowing people to view the home and spend time with residents and staff.
In addition to meeting and talking with residents and staff, and taking part in the ramp ribbon cutting-ceremony, the mayor and guests will get a rare treat, when Steve Hooper puts on a birds of prey display featuring South Hams Hawks and Owls. Guests will then enjoy a cream tea and take part in a raffle to raise funds for the charity.
To celebrate Abbeyfield Week, nationally Abbeyfield is also running AGEnda Skills Swaps – an intergenerational skills swap launched by actor Geoffrey Palmer at the Houses of Parliament with the support of 50 MPs. This has been arranged on the back of Abbeyfield’s research which showed that, in the South West, only half of the over 65s who took part in the poll had a good opinion of young people. The result from young people on the elderly were even lower, with only 30% of 18-30s and 28% of 10-17 year olds holding a positive view of the elderly.
On the upside, 75% of 18-30 year olds admire the life experience of older people. And between 50 and 60 per cent admire their wisdom, practical skills and willingness to share their knowledge. The 10-17 age group look up to older people for the same reasons and 29% also said they admire the way grandparents look after their grandchildren.
Sixty-seven per cent of the over 65s are impressed by young people’s ability to embrace new technology, closely followed by their confidence (64%). Both young and older people said they are keen to learn new things from each other – this included cooking from scratch (younger people) to using social networks (older people).
The aim of the skills swap is to bring young and older generations closer – the events are taking place at different Abbeyfield homes throughout the UK.
When: 17 June 2011, 3.00pm
Where: Abbeyfield House, Church Street, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire
The charity Abbeyfield – which provides home-from-home accommodation and care for the elderly in Princes Risborough – is challenging its residents and visiting young people to swap skills during Abbeyfield Week.
Abbeyfield’s intergenerational skills swap is being attended by three guests of honour – the Mayor Mrs Eunice Clifford, Councillor Pamela Williams and Elizabeth Parker, the daughter of Abbeyfield’s founder Richard Carr-Gomm.
Abbeyfield House in Church Street, Princes Risborough has arranged for the music tutor from Longwick School to visit with the students to share their music skills with the residents. The students will also teach residents how to play computer games such as Game Boy.
In return, the residents will talk to the young visitors about their lives and teach them to play traditional games such as croquet and skittles.
This special day will bring the two generations closer together and enhance understanding between them.
Abbeyfield’s AGEnda Skills Swap – which was launched by actor Geoffrey Palmer at the Houses of Parliament with the support of 50 MPs – is being run on the back of Abbeyfield’s research which showed that in the South East, only 42% of over 65s have a positive view of young people. The percentage of positive views on the elderly among 18-30s year olds was 40%, with the 10-17 year olds coming in at 32%.
On the upside, 45% of the 18-30s admire the life experiences of older people and 40% value their wisdom and are inspired by their stories. Seventy per cent of 10-17s are also enthralled by the stories from the older generation, are impressed by their practical skills, and admire their life experience and knowledge.
Both young and older people said they are keen to learn new things from each other – this includes activity such as cooking from scratch (younger people) to using social networks (older people).
During Abbeyfield Week (10-19 June), Abbeyfield House is opening its doors to the local community, inviting people to spend time with residents and staff and to learn more about Abbeyfield.
When: 13 AND 14 June 2011,
Where: Abbeyfield House, Wootton Road, King’s Lynn, Norfolk
The charity, Abbeyfield, which provides home-from-home accommodation and care for the elderly, has organised an intergenerational skills swap between its residents and two local school children during Abbeyfield Week.
The AGEnda Skills Swaps are taking place over two days – 13 and 14 June – at Abbeyfield House at Wootton Road in King’s Lynne. Ashley Haxley and Daisy Mitchell will be visiting from Springwood High school will meet with the residents for one-to-one ‘taster sessions’ on the use of modern technology. Ashley and Daisy will be teaching residents including Carol Cope (84) who has just been given an Ipad as a gift and is keen to learn to use it and Geoff North (92) how to:
* log on and find their way around the internet
* surf the net
* shop online
* communicate with family through networks like Facebook, Twitter and Skype
* use the Ipad
Abbeyfield’s AGEnda Skills Swaps campaign – which was launched by actor Geoffrey Palmer at the Houses of Parliament with the support of 50 MPs – is being run on the back of Abbeyfield’s research which showed that in East Anglia only 44% of people over 65 have a positive view of young people. The majority of the participants in the younger group also had negative perceptions of people over 65 – in the 18-30s age group, 39% had positive views and in the 10-17s age group, this figure fell to 21%.
On the upside, 48% of the 18-30s admire the life experiences of older people and 39% value their wisdom and are inspired by their stories. Fifty per cent of 10-17s are impressed by the range of practical skills that older people have. This is closely followed by 43% admiring their life experience and wisdom. They, too, love listening to older people’s stories form the past.
When: Friday 17 June 1pm-3pm
Where: Abbeyfield House, 1 The Hawthorns, Banbury Oxfordshire OX16 9FA
Local school children will be attending Experience and Skills Swap event where old and young discuss their school days.
When: Tuesday 14 June 6.30-8.30pm
Where: The Royal Liverpool Gold Club, Hoylake, Wirral, CH47 4AL
Awareness raising event for school head teachers in the Wirral and Liverpool area to attract younger volunteers, being hosted by the following Oxton and Prenton Society and Heswall and Birkenhead Society
When: 18 June 2011, 1.00pm,
Where: Tamar House, 10 Beech Grove, Gosport, Hampshire
The charity Abbeyfield, which provides home-from-home accommodation and care for the elderly, is challenging its residents and young people to swap skills during Abbeyfield Week, Councillor Christopher Carter, Mayor of Gosport is guest of honour.
On 18 June four Abbeyfield houses (Tamar House and Privett Farmhouse in Gosport and Abbeyfield House in Havant and Cobbett Road in Southampton) are coming together to host a Country Fayre and Fun Day, during which they will run an AGEnda Intergenerational Skills Swap between its residents and a local majorette troupe.
The Amadeus Twirl Team will teach residents how to baton twirl and Abbeyfield staff will demonstrate biscuit and cake decorating to the majorettes. As part of the skills exchange, the residents and children will share stories about their lives.
The staff at Abbeyfield are putting on a stunning show, dressing up in Victorian costume to recreate the era for the all the youngsters visiting the Fayre, as well as hosting the Travelling Theatre Company which will perform an Olde Tyme Music Hall Show to entertain everyone.
In addition, the Gosport Firefighters will be attending with Blaze the Bear to give advice to young and old on fire safety.
This special day will bring the two generations closer together and enhance understanding between the generations.
Abbeyfield’s AGEnda Skills Swap – which was launched by actor Geoffrey Palmer at Parliament with the support of 50 MPs – is being run on the back of Abbeyfield’s research which showed that in the South East, only 42% of over 65s have a positive view of young people. The percentage of positive views on the elderly among 18-30s year olds was 40%, with the 10-17 year olds coming in at 32%.
On the upside, 45% of the 18-30s admire the life experiences of older people and 40% value their wisdom and are inspired by their stories. Seventy per cent of 10-17s are also enthralled by the stories of the older generation, are impressed by their practical skills, and admire their life experience and knowledge.
Both young and older people said they are keen learn new things from each other – this includes activity such as cooking from scratch (younger people) to using social networks (older people).
During Abbeyfield Week, the charity’s houses throughout Hampshire are opening their doors to the local community, inviting people to spend time with residents and staff and learn more about the local homes.