Two lucky residents from Mountview care home in Rothley and Woodthorpe Lodge care home in Loughborough were invited to attend the British GT Championship at Donnington Park.
Mountview and Woodthorpe Lodge are residential and dementia care homes, operated by care provider, Ideal Carehomes.
Courtesy of Ginetta Cars, residents Peter Upton (85) and Alwyne Whitehead (95) spent the day exploring Donnington Park, watching the races, admiring the cars and meeting the drivers.
Peter and Alwyne were joined by members of the care team and Ideal Carehomes’ Managing Director, Stacey Linn. Stacey said:
‘It was an absolute pleasure to spend time with Peter and Alywne at Donnington Park at the weekend. As my husband was taking part in an event, I was able to show them around the garage which gave both gentleman the opportunity to get up close and personal with the cars.
‘I know Alywne had a distinguished career as an engineer and took a real interest in getting under the bonnet – I’m sure he could teach those race engineers a thing or two!’
Having worked as an engineer for most of his life, Alwyne had a ‘wonderful time’ at Donnington. Shaun Lucas, the caretaker at Woodthorpe Lodge who joined Alwyne for the trip, said that Alwyne was ‘glued to the races’.
Peter, who was accompanied by the Home Manager and Deputy Manager of Mountview, spent some time reminiscing about his adventures as a young boy, when he would sneak under the fences at Donnington Park to watch the races. He said:
‘It’s been a lovely day! It brings back so many memories of when I used to sneak under the gates with my friends as a young boy. It was great having a photo taken with the winners too.’
Stacie Weaver, the Home Manager at Mountview, said:
‘It was lovely to be able to take our residents to experience such a great event with our director. It’s so important to us to be able to give our residents experiences like this, because we want them to live their lives to the absolute fullest.
The trip meant a lot to Peter and Alywne, they were able to reminisce about their experiences together. Both residents were delighted to meet the drivers and hold the first-place trophy from one of the races.’
Ideal Carehomes provides 24 hour residential and dementia care, with an inclusive fee offer, in newly built, state-of-the-art homes across Yorkshire, the North West and Midlands. All of the care homes benefit from the support of Ideal Carehomes’ experienced team who make sure to attract and retain the best staff, offering extensive induction training and on-going learning to ensure residents receive the highest quality of care.