A Dream Come True For Alf at Our Residential Care Home, Hitchin
At our residential care home in Hitchin, we love making our residents’ dreams come true. And amidst the chaos we’re all experiencing, it’s never been so important to spread positivity and joy wherever we can.
So, our dedicated team at Foxholes recently joined forces to make one of our residents’ dreams come true.
Alf’s Boyhood Dream
83-year-old Alf, one of our wonderful residents, told us of his boyhood dream to become a jockey – with his sport hero being Lester Piggott. When he was growing up, Alf regularly visited his uncle’s farm in Essex, where he would ride the horses to his heart’s content. From the age of 10, Alf fell in love with the sport – and it was this that inspired his dream to become a jockey.
Receiving a Special Message at Our Residential Care Home, Hitchin
So, as a special festive surprise for Alf, and as part of our new Wish Upon a Star campaign, we contacted Lester, who very kindly left a personalised message. Lester took the time to wish Alf a Merry Christmas, thanking him for his support over the years.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest flat racing jockeys of all time with 4,493 career wins, including nine Epsom Derby victories, 85-year-old Lester was often cheered on from the stands throughout the 1960s and 70s by Alf, a former British Army chef.
During that time, Alf attended the Epsom Derby for over ten years, where he backed Lester in all the big races – with the all-time great more often than not paying out in first place.
Our wonderful activities coordinator, Adele, has been the brainchild behind the campaign. She recently spoke to the press about Alf’s experience:“It’s important to make sure our residents are stimulated mentally, physically and socially – especially this year with the restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. We always try and go that extra mile to create special moments for our residents, and the Wish Upon a Star project has been a great way to continue putting those all-important smiles on our residents’ faces.
“Alf was delighted to receive a personalised message from his racing idol Lester, and we’re all thrilled to see how much it meant to him – he’s followed Lester’s career very closely and has had the fortune of being able to see him race in the flesh. Receiving the surprise message made Alf’s day, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Alf also received a special surprise in April last year, when our team recreated the thrills and spills of Aintree during the Virtual Grand National. You can read more about this here.
It has been super exciting to kick-start our Wish Upon a Star campaign, which looks to connect our residents with their lifelong idols, for a truly unforgettable experience. If you’d like to find out more about our residential care home in Hitchin, do take a few moments to browse our website.