Great-Great-Granddad Has A Wheelie Great Time!
Lifelong motorbike fan Ken had his dreams come true when Acer Court Care Home in Nuthall organised a huge surprise for him to relive his biker days. We gathered 100 bikers to join Ken on a special convoy to Matlock Bath on a Rover V8 trike, all kept secret until the last minute.
The event was born from our new scheme ‘You’re Never Too Old To Wish Upon A Star’. Our aim is to fulfil residents’ dreams and wishes, giving them the chance to do something they missed or that they had never done before. The scheme started this October and Ken’s name was the first to be chosen.
It was then up to Well-being & Activities Coordinator Beckie Gingle and maintenance man Stuart Perry to organise the surprise. The turnout for Ken’s surprise was incredible, with many from the local community coming together to make Ken’s wish a reality. Ilkeston Tesco kindly donated sausages and burgers for the hungry supporters before Ken zoomed off on his trike driven by ‘Big Dave’.
Four generations of Ken’s family came to cheer him on including his nine children and more than 30 of his grandchildren, great-grandchildren and even great-great-grandchildren. His eldest daughter, Janet Wheeldon, said “Riding motorbikes is what he always wanted to do. This is his dream come true”. Paula Tuckwood, another daughter, said “It was amazing when we found out they were doing this for him because he just loves motorbikes! We never imagined he would do anything like this when we took him to a care home, but they are brilliant here. He is a fantastic dad and very deserving of all this attention”.
Ken, a retired handyman from Bulwell, has owned many motorbikes in his time, once even driving the whole length of the country on one. However, he gave it all up to look after his family, not having ridden a motorbike in more than 40 years.
After his whirlwind ride, Ken said “I am very happy that this has happened. I do not know how they have organised it but it is great, I never expected anything like this! I like the speed of a motorbike…I would want to go riding when I’m 100!”.
A big thank you goes to all our team at Acer Court for organising this fantastic event, as well as the bikers and everyone who turned up. We’re excited to see the next wish!
See what else we regularly get up to by visiting our Acer Court Care Home Facebook page or check out some of our other stories, including when we supported Avery’s Beach Party success in raising over £5000 for the Care Workers Charity this year.
Across Avery we love to make a fuss about our residents and take a real interest in their hobbies and passions. Avonmere Care Home recently welcomed a 109 year old resident to their home with a very special performance from him, and Bourn View Care Home even interviewed their residents spoon-player extraordinaire!
