Halstead care home resident celebrates her birthday with local scooter club

A Halstead care home resident celebrated her 90^th birthday in style with the help of a local scooter club. 

When the team at Care UK’s Colne View, on Dame Mary Walk, learned that 90-year-old Eileen Patten loved scooters when she was younger, they quickly got to work planning a surprise scooter drive-by for her birthday.

Keen to impress on Eileen’s big day, the team at Colne View worked with local scooter club, FaNs Network, to arrange the special visit. Ten different coloured scooters arrived at the home for the special drive-by event. 

Proving that life really is a hoot on a scoot, Eileen wasted no time in jumping aboard one of the scooters as soon as they’d completed their laps and enjoyed hearing all about their stories of restoration and how the new scooters are operated today.

Eileen first used a scooter when she was a midwife and a nurse, after realising during her training that getting between appointments was much quicker via scooter than car or bus. In her younger years, she owned several bikes, but her Lambretta was her favourite. She often took friends on the back of her bike, but her husband was never keen.

With a slice of birthday cake and plenty of special gifts on the day, the team threw Eileen a party at Colne View where she was joined by her family, friends and the local bikers. 

Commenting on the experience, Eileen said: “What a lovely surprise! I can’t believe you did all this for me. It was such a wonderful afternoon!”

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.

Monica Boldeata, Home Manager at Colne View, said: “Eileen had a wonderful time celebrating her 90^th birthday, especially after seeing the convoy of scooters make their way into the car park for the birthday girl herself. 

“Here at Colne View, we always strive to make an occasion of birthdays, and Eileen’s 90^th birthday was no exception. The scooter convoy was brilliant for everyone to watch – and certainly put a huge smile on Eileen’s face as she reminisced on her memories spent on her own scooter. 

“We’d like to say a big thank you to FaNs Network for their help in making this wish come true and to everyone who came along to help make Eileen’s special day that extra bit magical. Happy 90^th Eileen!” 

Colne View is a care home designed to deliver the very best standards of care, and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives. The home offers a range of services including residential care, residential dementia care and respite care.