Afternoons in the retirement home pt.2

Another visit to a retirement home, this one a little closer to home. I lugged my lighting equipment down the road to Stockport for a new session with another group of OAPs, ready to strike a pose. The home I visited was so accommodating, even providing props for the residents to wear while having their photos taken. 

I ended up taking a lot more photos this time, although I only really chatted to one lady. Many of the residents were non-verbal, so unfortunately, I couldn’t engage in conversation with them. However, it was a strong reminder for me to practice sign language. The lady I did end up chatting to was a character. At 107 years old, Dorothy was one of the more mobile guests in the entire home, even doing her own dusting and cleaning, scaring the staff half to death. She mentioned she wanted to bake, but her daughter wouldn’t let her. I sat down for a quick chat with her to see what her secret was to a long and fruitful life.

She mentioned her daughter lives across the street, but said they frequently travelled, “I’m not in here cause there’s anything wrong with me, I’m just here to get rid of me!” She half-joked, but I sensed a little bitterness.  

Are you originally from the Manchester area? 

“No, I’m a Cumbrian”

Dorthoy explained that she used to briefly visit the retirement home when her family would go on holiday for two to three weeks at a time. It carried on for a few years before her family said, “How would you feel if you were to stay permanently here?” And Dorothy agreed. “They're very nice here, it's not home, but you can't expect it to be home. But they are very kind, things are always very clean” 

So you said you’re 107 years old? What's your secret? 

“Not smoking and not drinking, I never did. My dad was T-total; he would have gone mad.” Dorothy did admit that one time she indulged in a sherry at Christmas that her son-in-law insisted on. 

Why was your dad T-Total? Was he religious? 

“No, my dad's family, they had a big business in Keswick, and his dad used to drink so much that the business went bankrupt. And from then on, his family was so against it, because it was a big business, and it just went down.” 

I wondered which business Dorothy just narrowly missed inheriting. Through research this could have possibly been the Cumberland Pencil Company, which filed a bankruptcy petition in 1905, just sixteen years before Dorothy was born. 

She also talked about how the rest of the family refused to drink alcohol, specifically her brother, but she stated that it was because he had Asthma. “Asthma is a terrible thing; you can’t breathe.” She said she used to get upset as her brother would stay home from school, while she had to go. Going so far as to have her dad give her a little bit of medicine because she would get jealous of her brother's medication. I tried to look into what medicine has been taken orally to treat asthma, as I was only familiar with asthma inhalers, and it seems like it's ephedrine, which is now mostly used to prevent low pressure during anaesthesia.

Later on in the evening, a few school children from the local primary school came to sing for the residents, and they were enamored by the school children. I got a few faceless photos of Arthur (as we didn't have written permission), one of the more eccentric children who loved being in front of the camera. Between Dorothy and Arthur, there were 102 years, an entire century between them.

 Dorothy sang a little song for Arthur, and then went on to do a dance with the carer who was in charge of the entertainment portion. She was such a lovely lady, and I’m honoured I got the chance to chat with her.