Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, Elizabeth House is delighted to have a social club for over 50’s so they can meet others, share a delicious lunch and participate in a range of activities such as gentle exercise, arts & craft, games, singing, workshops and more.
No need to book. Just come at 11 am for chair yoga or at 12pm for lunch.
Tech support also available. Bring along your phones, tablets and computers to learn new tips, troubleshoot problems and chat about tech.
Call us on 020 7690 1300 for more information or come on every Wednesday at 11 am (term times only) for a chat and/or gentle exercise, followed by a hot, healthy meal and various activities.
“Most places, there’s someone who’s not nice, but here everyone is. All the staff greet you when you come in. Everyone’s lovely. You don’t often get that when you’re older.” J
“It’s so relaxing!” B
“The fact that I can come to the chair exercise and meet local people for free makes me feel very happy and connected.” M
“I look forward to it” A
The Sun Never Says
Even
After
All this time
The sun never says to the earth
“You owe me”
Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the whole sky.
Hafiz
Funded by
Case Studies
74 year old widow Caroline (named was changed) is a retired charity shop worker, former cook and treasurer of Highbury Church. Her grandchildren used attend the after school club at Elizabeth House, and she remembers the staff always being lovely, and she still recommends the service to others. Caroline first started attending Blue House Club (after hearing about it from a friend) in early 2020 until services stopped due to COVID. She previously attended Sotheby Mews day centre but it became too far to travel after her stroke.
She loves the sessions, and after her first time back Caroline said, “It was so perfect for me, just what I needed. And the people are so friendly – the staff and the people doing the exercise.” She has been a consistent attendee since, mentioning that “Elizabeth House is an absolutely lovely place. The staff are excellent and the people that attend. They are all nice and speak to each other, not like other centres. I love it for the friendship.” She says that the exercise is great because it suits everyone and they don’t overdo it, “I feel it loosens my bones and you need to go somewhere to exercise, especially after the pandemic.” She thinks the lunch and bingo are lovely. She loves that you can take a second potion of food home, it’s particularly helpful if you live on your own and it’s difficult to cook. Caroline also likes the singing, ‘the man who plays the guitar’ is her favourite! Overall, Caroline appreciates what we are doing for the wider community, “It’s a lovely experience going in, I love being greeted by name and the ‘hello, how are you’ as sometimes older people are forgotten. We’re so lucky to have something like this which is local. You’re doing a wonderful job.”
Ms HL has been attending the Blue House Club at Elizabeth House Community centre for over 2 years. She participates in the physical exercise sessions and has lunch afterwards with other members.” She said, “I like being active and going out to meet my friends and this is a nice place to do that. It is good to go to your local community centre and meet other local people. I was one of the first members to join the club.”
Ms HL lives local to Elizabeth House and attends the Sotheby Day centre. She said, “I visited the centre to enquire what activities they had on offer. I joined the Blue House Club with my friends and made other friends too. I attend Yoga sessions which helps me stay extra fit. We have lunch together afterwards.” Ms HL likes the 2-course meal club members get and the welcoming atmosphere. She said, “the Yoga instructor and staff at Elizabeth House are very helpful, warm and with the right touch. My friend came to the club with her husband who has dementia and found the atmosphere very accepting of his condition. Sadly, my friend has now died. When this happened the club members were very sympathetic to the fact that we had all lost a lovely person and the staff and members all signed a sympathy card to send to the family.”
Ms HL has enjoyed being a member of Blue House club and was glad to be back after the lockdown. She found the first lockdown very difficult as she was living by herself and had lost some friends to covid. After the second lockdown she was in a bubble with people around her. She said, “being back after lock down was different but staff made us all feel safe. The room was ventilated.”
Big thank you to