Malcolm’s story

At 69 years old, Malcolm has a busier social calendar than ever. He can be found at the local Hersham Sports and Social Club several times a week; “I go for music night on a Tuesday, Wednesday for bingo, and sometimes Friday for Blues Club”. Having moved into one of the 53 flats in Walton Charity’s Mayfield almshouse little over a year ago,

Malcolm found this social aspect to be the biggest draw in making the change to a new home. “I lost my wife Teresa three years ago, and was living in the family house for 2 years on my own. I didn’t have any friends at all really, because I didn’t need anyone else; me and my wife did everything together. I ended up feeling very lonely and isolated.”

Malcolm knew he wanted to make a change, but needed to find somewhere where he could be surrounded by friends. “It would have been”, he says, “pointless moving out of the house and into somewhere where I’m still isolated, and shut the curtains and turn the lights off when it gets dark.”

After a suggestion from his GP, he discovered our almshouses, and quickly applied online. Not long after that, he says, one of our Residential Officers “interviewed me and showed me this flat, and they offered it to me a week later”. Though he was eager to move into his flat, he felt slightly apprehensive on his first day at Mayfield.

His new neighbours quickly made him feel at home, however. “Everyone comes up to you and introduces themselves”, he remembers. The moving-in process itself was smooth, given that the flat was “spick and span” when he came to it: “I just popped my furniture in, and that was it”. His favourite thing about living at Mayfield? The garden. Malcolm’s flat looks out onto a patio and flowerbeds which he uses and maintains, which is part of the almshouse’s larger communal gardens.

“When I came here”, he remembers, “I was told, ‘that’s your little bit out there’.” In the summer, he’s now rarely inside; “if it’s dry and sunny all the time, I don’t come in. It’s an extension of your home.” While in the garden, his neighbours often pop by; “people come and have a chat with me, and sit down for a beer or a coffee”.

Does he have any advice for someone who may be considering an application to our almshouses? Just come and say hello! “Even if you want to come to the coffee mornings and meet people first, everybody’s friendly. There’s no cliques, and everybody includes you”. He has quickly become attached to his new surroundings, and speaks touchingly about becoming settled here. “It’s not somewhere you come to just socialise and sleep”, he reflects; “it’s your home”.