Bournemouth care home resident celebrates football dream come true

A lifelong Cherries fan at a Bournemouth care home experienced a dream come true when he played football with one of the First Team players from the football club.

John, who lives in Talbot View care home, on Ensbury Avenue in Bournemouth, was thrilled to meet AFC Bournemouth centre-back, James Hill, who visited to play some chair-based football with the residents. John has followed every match played by the Cherries for the past 60 years and is famous in the home for having an encyclopedic knowledge of football.

John and James teamed up with fellow Cherries fan, Maurice, to roll and kick footballs, giant dice and bean bags, aiming at targets on the floor. They were in a team against other residents and staff, who were assisted by AFC Bournemouth legend Steve ‘Fletch’ Fletcher. Talbot View care home, which is run by not-for-profit care provider, Care South, provides residential, respite and dementia care to residents.

The afternoon event was led by Steve Cuss and the team from AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust, who host weekly sessions across Care South’s Dorset-based care homes. Many of the home’s residents won an AFC Bournemouth scarf during the activity for them to keep as a memento from the day.

AFC Bournemouth star, James Hill, said: “I really enjoyed every moment of my visit to Talbot View. I think bringing everyone together to play some football games is such a special experience. Not only has John got fantastic knowledge of football, but he’s also got a heart of gold. He wished me luck and told me to carry on with what I’m doing on the pitch. Hopefully we can push on and achieve something nice for him and the other Talbot View residents to watch in the season ahead.”

The visit was arranged as part of Care South’s ongoing partnership with AFC Bournemouth. This enables care home residents, care at home clients, and staff to get involved in a range of activities including weekly seated football sessions, meeting players, coffee mornings, and tours of the stadium.

Talbot View resident John said: “I used to go to every home game and as many away games as I could get to. I’ve met ‘Fletch’ before so it was good to see him again and we talked about some of the matches he played over the years. It was brilliant to meet James Hill, who was very nice and down-to-earth. He’s a very good player and he’s a got a long throw, although he didn’t play so well at Talbot View, but I still enjoyed having a Cherries player on my team.”

Dawn Hand, Home Manager at Talbot View, said: “It was a truly special afternoon for our residents, but particularly for John, who has supported AFC Bournemouth for the past 60 years. Seeing his face light up when James Hill walked into the room and take part in the session was heart-warming. Activities like this bring so much joy and promote teamwork and positive engagement, giving our residents the chance to stay active and connected through something they truly enjoy.”

Care South is a leading provider of high-quality residential and home care services across the south of England, with care homes in Dorset, north Devon and Somerset, and care at home offices covering Dorset and Somerset.

For more information about the care services available at Care South, visit care-south.co.uk or call 01202 712410.

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