Marshall and June absolutely love how they’ve landed on their feet at Anthony Wilding Retirement Village, very happy with new friends being made and their spacious townhouse that already feels like home.
They say Ryman Healthcare staff have helped them settle in well. They have a spacious townhouse, and say that keeping active and in touch with others is easy within the community.
Marshall says there have been some lovely food parcels during the period of COVID restrictions. “(During lockdown), every week we got a loaf of bread, two litres of milk and a packet of biscuits. The best thing is after lockdown started, they gave us a big box of groceries – there was a heck of a lot of stuff in it,” he says.
“It made us feel like we were with a family. They were providing for us, knowing it was hard, and it was a way of helping us all.” The pair are born and bred Cantabrians and spent most of their lives living in Leeston and Doyleston. June remembers she was 16 when they met at a local youth club. Marshall worked on the family farm then in the local garage and June worked as a telephonist for the Post Office for a good number of years.
They only moved into Anthony Wilding in January, with Marshall saying he had read about Ryman and June saying a girlfriend had recommended she take a look at the Aidanfield village. The settling in process did not take long.
“We both came in here and it was home, just like that,” June says.
“Right from the word go, people have been friendly and we soon learned their names, it’s pretty good here,” Marshall adds.
The couple have two married daughters, both living in Christchurch. They have kept in close contact despite the challenges thrown up by the COVID-19 virus and has enjoyed family time once the village visits opened up under a lower alert level status.
Ryman Healthcare’s response began in late January with restricted visits to villages for people who had travelled to affected areas overseas.
Ryman’s aim has been to keep the virus out, protect those residents in care who were most vulnerable to the virus, and create safe havens for our independent residents.
Staff helped rollout Zoom to more than 3,800 devices, so that residents and families have been able to make those important connections.
Residents have enjoyed keeping on the move with hallway exercise classes and activities like hallway bingo, as well as getting out for some fresh air. Anthony Wilding’s social facilities include atriums, a bar, a bowling green, dining room, a pool table, spa and indoor swimming pool and village centre.
The couple are looking forward to spending more time in the village swimming pool and becoming involved in the village’s Triple A (Ageless, Active and Aware) exercise activities.
The townhouse is also wonderful haven, June says of village living: “We love it, we absolutely love it.”
The move-in was helped with the fitout of their townhouse of a new kitchen. “It’s been done up right through, and we’ve been very fortunate,” June says. They also like the almost rural aspect with nearby fields and views to the Port Hills, she adds.
Sales Advisor Susie Alayne says now is a great time for prospective residents to come into the village to take a look at our available townhouses and some had already started. “It’s been fantastic the amount of interest that’s been around.”
Residents in the village have been saying how well they’ve been cared for: “I’m really rapt and proud to be working for a company that took such good care of residents during COVID-19.”
