Stoke Gifford Retirement Village
Stoke Gifford Retirement Village provides a new lease of life for over 55s in South Gloucestershire and Bristol.
Our philosophy at ExtraCare is that later life is a time for doing more, not less. At Stoke Gifford Retirement Village, you can keep your independence and get the most out of life.
This exciting new retirement village will let you lead an active and fulfilling life as part of a vibrant local community. You can pick up old pastimes and try new hobbies, safe in the knowledge that you are surrounded by friends and neighbours, as well as ExtraCare’s staff team.
Our Tree
Our tree is very much a symbol of the community spirit at Stoke Gifford Retirement Village. It has been an enjoyable collaborative project with residents very much working together over the duration of the last 12 months, meeting weekly whilst maintaining the necessary social distance whilst in lockdown…. then bringing all components together to present “Our Tree”. The many and varied decorations as individual as the makers, some of whom may have visual or physical impairments but contribute their own unique creativity working together with friends who make up our Village.
Our tree was constructed by a talented duo in our Hobby Room and comprises a base with circular layers, reducing in size, to create the fir tree shape. Other residents spent many hours knitting the layers of green, all distanced in our own homes yet working to a common goal. Yet more of us knitted and crocheted garlands and decorations … some of which are exquisitely made, others of which may be a bit ‘wonky’ but still contribute to the whole. There are elements of sparkle including the golden trim on the covering of the base.
Our world may feel somewhat ‘wonky’ too, but we can still add some sparkle and colour to each other’s lives and all the handmade elements of our tree have given us pleasure in the making, in the sharing and seeing our tree ‘grow’ to now share with others.
Our tree, being wooden, needs a strong base and our friends and staff at the Village have been our base and helped us stand as strong as possible in this vastly different year. We are normally a hive of busy-ness with our gym, library, craft groups and many activities to choose from but we hope you enjoy our tree as much as we have enjoyed creating it … it reminds us all that physical separation does not stop us working together, supporting each other and showing that we plant seeds of friendship and watch something grow. We have ‘grown’ our tree and topped it with a Star of Hope …………..
