Dorset care home resident has wicket wish come true

A resident of a care home in Dorset was bowled over when his wish to visit a cricket stadium was granted. 

David Robinson, aged 85 and a resident at Care UK's Ferndown Manor on Golf Links Road, was a cricket player in his younger years, and has been a lifelong supporter and fan of the sport.

After hearing his stories and fond memories of cricket, the team got to work and organised for David to have a tour of the Ageas Bowl Cricket Stadium in Southampton – where he worked on the stadium’s accounting team while it was being constructed over 20 years ago. 

The tour saw David get an inside look of the changing rooms, backstage areas, and grounds while he reminisced on his time spent at the stadium over the years. 

David began playing cricket from a young age and was even the captain of his team in Poole.  

Talking about the day, David said: “The best bit of the day was getting to relive some of my best memories, and it was nice to have my son Nigel with me too. I have lots of favourite players and couldn’t choose one, but I was good friends with some of the England team, including Shane Warne.”

The visit was part of the home’s ‘Wishing Tree’ Initiative, which encourages residents to put wishes forward, allowing them to reconnect with a past hobby or try something completely new – from flying a plane to enjoying a fish and chip supper, no wish is too big or small.

Sara Muslin, Home Manager at Ferndown Manor, said: “Everyone at Ferndown Manor knows that David is a huge fan of all things cricket, and so it was wonderful to be able to organise such a special visit for him. It was great to see him in his element on the cricket pitch.

“We’re always keen to support residents to continue to enjoy their favourite pastimes and share memories which hold special importance to them, and visits like this are a great way to encourage reminiscence. 

“Thank you to Ageas Bowl Cricket Stadium for hosting us and showing David around the stadium – I’m sure we will be talking about this for a long time to come!”

Ferndown Manor has been designed to deliver the very best standards of care and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives in a luxury environment. The home provides full-time residential care, nursing care, dementia care and respite care. The care home also boasts its very own cinema and hair salon, and there is also plenty of space, both indoors and out, for relaxation and recreation.