Stuart Halbert Elderberries Room Grand Opening
Words: The Alnwick Garden
A new drop-in centre for older people was officially opened here on 13th October, as we celebrated our 15th birthday.
The smart-looking £ 90,000 facility provides a warm and inviting environment, with a living room, fireplace, comfortable seating, games, puzzles and a flatscreen television, as well as a cooking area with homemade refreshments. The Stuart Halbert Drop-in Centre was funded by the Stuart Halbert Foundation, the Rank Foundation and Sir John and Lady Hall.
It is part of our Elderberries Programme, which aims to address loneliness, isolation and financial hardship among older people in Northumberland and delivers events and opportunities to socialise, promoting a healthy, fulfilled quality of life.
The centre was officially opened by Maureen Halbert, wife of the late Stuart Halbert. It is a place of sanctuary to build new friendships, play games or find someone to talk to. The free facility is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, 11am to 4pm, and caters for anyone aged over 55 and is manned by our volunteers, including Sue Simpson who manages the centre.
The Duchess of Northumberland was delighted to mark the 15 year milestone and unveil the centre. During the launch ceremony, she said: " This really is a special day for us. I have always said that anybody can build a garden, but the real challenge is in what you do with that garden. The
Alnwick Garden, like any other attraction, has been through its ups and downs, and at times it has been a bit of an obstacle race, but we have come through every time. Today is so important because this is what lies behind The Alnwick Garden. When I received criticism in the early years, I knew it was because nobody would understand what we were doing here, nobody would understand when we talked about older people or children or our enterprise programme- the three charitable programmes that we have here- until they saw them in operation. That is what kept me going. I kept thinking they will see it one day when we have a facility like the Stuart Halbert Drop-in Centre where older people can drop in and have somewhere to sit in the warmth, watch television, have a cup of tea and have someone to talk to, completely free of charge. We must be the only garden in the world that offers this sort of facility. What we are doing here with the local community makes me feel really proud."
The drop-in centre has certainly proved popular. Elderberries user Sylvia McLoud from Alnwick said the facility was very good, while volunteer Maureen Thompson, who is also from the town, said it was important and it was nice to see elderly people enjoying themselves. Louise Halbert, a director of the Stuart Halbert Foundation, described the Elderberries Programme as very unusual, but very necessary.
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