Cornwallis Court resident and student pen pal meet up for the first time

Above: Lucy Allum, a student from Culford school is delighted to meet her pen pal, resident Pat Herd, at Cornwallis Court, in Bury St Edmunds.

Care home resident Pat Herd (90 years old), who lives at Cornwallis Court, in Bury St Edmunds, was overjoyed when she finally got to meet her pen pal, Lucy Allum (18 years old), a local student from Culford School.

The beautiful pen pal friendship started during the pandemic when Lucy was 14 years old. She has now recently completed her A-levels. For over four years, Pat and Lucy exchanged letters, birthday cards and postcards from places that Lucy has travelled to including Spain and America.

Pat has really enjoyed reading about Lucy’s journey through school, completing her GCSE’s, and A-Levels, and her plans to continue her studies at university. Pat says:

I agreed to a pen pal, thinking that it wouldn’t last. This time was different and it has lasted to the great enjoyment of us both. Lucy is a lovely girl! She was everything I had hoped for, and I really enjoyed our chats.

Meeting Pat at Cornwallis Court for the first, Lucy mentions:

As soon as I saw Pat, she held out her arms and said “come here baby!” We instantly hit it off and chatted for over an hour. Pat has a great sense of humour so we had quite a few laughs.

Research has shown that intergenerational activities can have a positive impact on participants, for example, in reducing loneliness and exclusion for both older and younger people, improving mental health, increasing mutual understanding, and addressing important issues such as ageism, and care.

Emma Gibson, the Home’s Activities Coordinator, says:

I started working at Cornwallis Court during the first COVID lockdown, and I knew that our residents would not be able to meet up with their families and friends. I asked a friend who works at Culford School to see if any of the school children would like to be pen pals with the residents, so they would feel included and part of the community.

It is lovely that Pat and Lucy have kept writing to each other after all this time, and an initiative I am quite proud of!

she adds.

[Summary: Cornwallis Court resident Pat Herd, in Bury St Edmunds, was delighted to meet her pen pal, Lucy Allum, a local student from Culford School.]