Checkmate – Cheadle care home residents revisit favourite hobbies

Residents at a care home in Cheadle have been revisiting their favourite hobbies and shared their skills with younger generations.

Residents at Care UK’s Abney Court, on Abney Hall Park, have been playing chess as part of a nationwide initiative – Long Lost Hobbies.  

The ‘Long Lost Hobbies’ initiative sees residents in Care UK homes across the country share their favourite hobbies and try new pastimes with younger generations after a national survey found 77% of adults feel technology is the cause of traditional skills being lost, including flower arranging, knitting and woodworking.

To ensure the hobbies of older generations are not forgotten, residents at Abney Court have been getting to the knitty-gritty and unwinding what makes their favourite pastime so enjoyable. 

As part of the initiative, team members organised for chess-fanatic resident Eric Newman, aged 93, to take part in an afternoon of chess at a local club at Wythenshawe Forum Library – where he demonstrated his talent and shared his top tips with members of the community.

Eric Newman, a resident at Abney Court, said: “I’ve always loved a little game of chess and I’ve been playing since I was ten years old – it was great to be back and I thoroughly enjoyed the day.”

Born in 1929 in Levenshulme, in Manchester, Eric started playing chess when he was just 10 years old and has been playing regularly ever since. Over the past eight decades, he has played in multiple tournaments in UK and even faced Mike Short, the world’s fourth best chess player at the time. He was also part of the Wythenshawe Forum Library Chess Club at for over 40 years, where he made many friends. 

Andrew McIntyre, Home Manager at Abney Court, said: “It was fantastic to see Eric share his love for chess with the community.

“Eric is a cheeky chap, always up for a game of chess and looking to show off his talent with team members – he’s been playing since he was just 10 years old, so it’s safe to say he’s almost unbeatable too! 

“We always encourage residents to keep up with their hobbies and pastimes here at Abney Court, which we feel is something that is particularly important for older people, and those living with dementia, as it can help bring back memories, as well as providing an enjoyable way to connect with others through a familiar activity. 

“Eric’s trip to the chess club definitely prompted some happy memories from his younger years which moved him to tears, and encouraged other residents to talk about their own favourite hobbies. We’re looking forward to many more visits to the chess club – and to hear more stories from Eric’s past chess victories.” 

Abney Court has been designed to deliver the very best standards of care and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives. The home provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. The care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities and includes its own cinema, hair salon and café.

To find out more about Abney Court care home, email Pamela Wilson, Customer Relations Manager at pamela.wilson@careuk.com or call 0161 660 5713.

For more general information about Abney Court, please visit careuk.com/abney-court.

For top tips on how you and your loved ones can revisit forgotten pastimes, please visit: careuk.com/long-lost-hobbies.

TOP 50 LOST SKILLS AND HOBBIES

1. Writing letters
2. Map reading
3. Knowing proper grammar
4. Mental maths
5. Remembering phone numbers
6. Using a compass
7. Handwriting
8. Handwashing clothes
9. Making a fire from scratch
10. Stamp collecting
11. Sewing/making clothes yourself 
12. Spelling
13. Wiring a plug yourself 
14. Calligraphy
15. Preserving food – such as pickling
16. Sewing on a button yourself 
17. Making your own jam
18. Making your own cheese
19. Tying knots
20. Knitting
21. Identifying different plants, trees or insects
22. Changing a tyre yourself 
23. Making your own bread by hand
24. Remembering addresses
25. Using an index in a book
26. Giving directions
27. Remembering dates
28. Reading music
29. Carpentry
30. Baking a cake by hand 
31. Pottery making
32. Storytelling
33. Cooking something from memory
34. Reading
35. Putting up a shelf yourself 
36. Critical thinking
37. Time keeping
38. Caring for chickens
39. Speaking/learning another language
40. Budgeting
41. Creative writing
42. Finding facts
43. Following instructions
44. Caring for plants
45. Gardening
46. Following a recipe
47. Drawing
48. Fishing
49. Taking photos
50. Editing photos yourself