Costume and theatre inspires winning image

Dotty, 84, enjoys knitting with a cup of tea and spending time with her close friend Marie. She is also quite fond of putting on a wig and squeezing into a theatrical costume as she proved at a special “Ten Years Younger activity held at the Abbeyfield Kent Society’s Woodgate home, where she and Marie are both residents.

Dotty is the star of a winning portrait in Community Care’s second Inspiring Images of Social Care competition. The photo was taken by Nicole Cook and will feature alongside 11 others in the 2015 charity calendar, which is sponsored by Caritas recruitment.

Nicole, marketing and communication officer for Abbeyfield, said: “We were delighted to be chosen as one of the winners as we believe we do a great job at providing our residents with a fulfilling lifestyle through various activities and it is lovely for this to be recognised.”

The Abbeyfield Kent Society is a registered charity and provides care and housing to over 500 older people at 14 locations across Kent. The activity morning had been organised by one of the home’s coordinators who has a background in theatre. She brought in a range of costumes, scarves, wigs, hats and capes for the residents to try on.

Nicole added: “Care homes get such a bad rep in the press so we just wanted to show that they are not all like that, we are doing some really great things and the residents are actually having a great time as well.”