Silver Sunday festivities bring Balby residents closer together

Residents of a Balby retirement living scheme have enjoyed an afternoon of fun and games with the local community as they marked Silver Sunday.

Staff from Sanctuary’s Gresley Road scheme organised the event, which took place at the town’s community centre and saw guests enjoying a variety of activities and entertainment.

Visitors were able to chat over afternoon tea, play games of dominoes or mah jong and take part in chairobics classes at the event, which was set up to ease social isolation for older people in the area.

A total of £45 was also raised for Dementia Friends, a national initiative which aims to change people’s perceptions about dementia, and transform the way they act, think and talk about the condition.

Gresley Road Tenants and Residents’ Association chairman Mike Leadenham said: “All of us were invited to afternoon tea which we all thoroughly enjoyed – it was a real treat to have something organised and be able to meet with friends and neighbours.

“Although you see people passing, it’s not the same as being able to sit, relax and talk and get to know people better.

“It would be great if this sort of event could be a regular occasion maybe once a month or so, especially during the winter months when loneliness is cruel.”

Scheme manager Dawn Morris added: “We had a fantastic turnout to the event and it was great to see so many people enjoying themselves and meeting new people.

“It’s brought a lot of people closer together and made a real difference by showing that there are other people out there they can talk to and get to know.”

Silver Sunday, which this year took place on Sunday 2 October, was launched in 2012 to celebrate older residents, while helping them to meet other people.