Locals grant wishes for Colchester care home residents
Watch a report from ITV News Anglia's Charlie Frost.
If you could wish for one thing to brighten your day, what would you wish for? Would it be a bunch of flowers, a game of chess, or perhaps a football shirt?
These are just some of the wishes of residents at a Colchester care home that have been granted by the local community, thanks to an initiative called the 'Wishing Washing Line'.
When asked what she'd wish for, 92-year-old Brenda Burton said she'd like a big bunch of fresh flowers. She told ITV Anglia she was "gobsmacked" when she actually received them.
"I never expected anything like this," Brenda, who lives at St Fillans Care Centre, said.
Ruby Hayes and Toni Johnstone, who live closeby, saw Brenda's request on the FaNs Network Essex Facebook page. The Network is behind the 'Wishing Washing Line'.
Asked how it felt when they gave Brenda the flowers, Ruby said she felt that she'd "done something good after quarantine".
"It was definitely worthwhile, to see a smile that big!", Toni said.
An idea born in Essex, the 'Wishing Washing Line' works to bring care home residents closer to people in their surrounding communities.
The project recognises the importance of making them feel part of the neighbourhood.
It's run by the Friends and Neighbours, or 'FaNs' Network Essex, who post the wishes on social media.
Charity 'My Home Life Essex Community Association' is behind FaNs, Tony Lee is the Networks Community Lead.
"We had people wanting to be zookeepers for the day, to fly light aircraft etcetera and we're very successful in being able to grant those wishes through members of the community", he said.
It's one of the first times in five months those granting the wishes on the washing line have been able to do so in person.
Keeping their social distance and sticking to St Fillans Care Centre safety measures, the wish granters were able to give residents their presents.
71-year-old David Hutchinson has been an Arsenal fan for decades. His wish was for a Gunners shirt.
A wish that was granted by Colchester resident James Elkin.
David was overwhelmed with the gift. "Brilliant, it's a beautiful shirt!", he exclaimed.
Proof that the gift of giving is, perhaps, the greatest gift of all.
FaNs Network Essex is run by charity My Home Life Essex Community Association. It works to improve the lives of care home residents in Essex by connecting them to people in their surrounding communities.
The residents of St Fillans Care Centre had their wishes granted as part of the Network's initiative the 'Wishing Washing Line'. The washing line is a list of wishes the Network gathers in Essex care homes. It then puts the wishes out to the local community and tries to find someone to grant them.
Before Covid-19 these included big things like being a zookeeper for the day. Since the pandemic wishes have been scaled back to simpler things like bunches of flowers and football shirts. But coronavirus has highlighted the importance of the work the washing line does.