Residents at The Lawn, the Alton-based residential care home run by charity Friends of the Elderly, had a lovely surprise when TV gardening royalty and national treasure, Alan Titchmarsh, dropped in to say hello.
Alan was visiting The Lawn’s residents and care team in his official capacity as Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Hampshire to say thank you to everyone on behalf of the Hampshire Lieutenancy for all their hard work during the Covid pandemic and resulting lockdowns.
During his visit, Alan enjoyed a tour of the care home and made sure he had plenty of time to chat with residents. He is no stranger to The Lawn as he last visited three years ago and said that: “The Lawn is just as bright, cheery and welcoming as I remember it.”
For one Lawn resident, Kathie Baines, seeing Alan Titchmarsh during his visit was a reunion of sorts. She said: “Alan and I used to be neighbours – we lived next-door to each other on the beautiful Isle of Wight. I absolutely love gardening and always watched his TV programmes, so finding out he was my next-door neighbour was incredibly exciting. It was lovely seeing him again. He is extremely friendly, and it bought back many happy memories of my old home.
Another resident, Dorothy Cory added: “Mr Titchmarsh looked very smart in his official uniform. I do so enjoy gardening and it was a pleasure to meet him.”
Alina Gutu, the Care Home Manager at The Lawn said: “It was lovely to host Mr Titchmarsh during his visit. All the residents were so happy to meet him and were over the moon when he said how wonderful and well cared for the grounds – and especially the lawn – were. We did ask if he had any gardening tips for us and he graciously said ‘Keep on doing just what you’re doing,’ that was such a compliment.
“One bit of advice Mr Titchmarsh did give us was that it would be worth making sure there is something in flower every month of the year. That’s a great idea, so we are going to make sure we get everyone involved and decide which plants and flowers the residents would like to see more of or even introduced. It will be a fun, interactive exercise for everyone to enjoy and see the results when the flowers are in bloom. Hopefully when Mr Titchmarsh comes on another visit he’ll be impressed with our new additions and green fingers.”
