87-years young and running a sweet shop

At the age of 87, Barbara Cooper has found herself a new job – running an old-fashioned sweet shop at Priors House care home in Leamington Spa.

The nostalgic store has been stocked with traditional confectionary and vintage weighing scales, alongside other items such as soft toys, stationery and toiletries. As well as providing a useful service for the residents who live at the home and their visitors, it also offers a talking point which is particularly helpful for those residents living with dementia.                    

Barbara thoroughly enjoys every aspect of managing the store from organising and pricing stock to serving customers. She said: “I really love my new job in the sweet shop. It's great fun and I enjoy chatting to lots of different people every day. My favourite part is seeing what has sold at the end of the day, ordering in new stock and restocking the shelves.”

Other Priors House residents work at the shop to encourage independence as part of an ongoing project to provide a dementia-friendly environment at the home. The familiar surroundings are designed to spark fond memories and it helps to create a warm, welcoming environment for family and friends visiting the home, especially younger relatives.

Mawson Chipchase who works at the home said: “We're delighted to have opened the doors to our own sweet shop, with its traditional look and feel, it's created a buzz around the home and it's fast becoming a hub of activity. Residents are really benefiting from the responsibility of running their own store, as well as having the independence to purchase their own essentials and not have to rely on others.”

“It's also been a valuable reminiscence project. Capturing and preserving memories can trigger an emotional response that can effectively help someone living with dementia by creating a sense of familiarity and comfort.”

Priors House is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short term respite care. Designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home features a cinema, hairdressers and there's lots of space both indoors and out for relaxation and recreation. Check out the website to find out more.