Doris Pearson, a 92-year-old resident at The Heights nursing home in High Wycombe, enjoyed a surprise reunion with friends who used to volunteer with her at Wycombe Museum.

The surprise visit was arranged via The Fremantle Trust’s Wishes and Dreams initiative, which was set up to make residents’ individual aspirations come true.

As a former volunteer at Wycombe Museum in the 1990s, Doris has fond memories of her time there, so team members from The Heights set about arranging for her to attend one of the museum’s Memory Lane events, which invite local people to get together over coffee to chat and reminisce.

Upon arrival at the museum, Doris was reunited with familiar faces from that time in her life, and they shared memories of the plays that used to be performed in the grounds. They also recounted how James Corden was involved in a performance at Wycombe Museum when he was younger.

Since moving to The Heights Doris has been involved in a range of craft activities and also enjoys playing balloon volleyball. She is a very supportive person, brimming with ideas and feedback, and describes the sense of community at The Heights as being ‘like family’.

Commenting on the surprise reunion, Samantha Anns, activity co-ordinator at The Heights, said:

It was so lovely to see Doris’ face light up when she arrived at the Memory Lane event. It was a great opportunity for her to reconnect with friends and to reflect on her time as a volunteer at Wycombe Museum.

Madalyn Baskerville, learning manager from Wycombe Museum, added:

We were delighted to welcome Doris back to the museum for the Memory Lane event. It was lovely that so many of our long-standing and retired volunteers, who started at the museum at a similar time to Doris, also came along to join in the reminiscing too.

 

It was an opportunity to recognise the huge contribution to the museum made by volunteers. Memory Lane, a regular monthly event always provokes some lively discussion about the good old days and we certainly enjoyed hearing everyone’s contributions. The event is free and anyone is welcome to come and join in.