On a wet winter morning, Andy and I joined four local residents to knock on doors in Broughton and Yeamans Houses with one simple question: “How do we bring our older residents together?” We heard brilliant ideas –games, book groups, crafts, skittles, bingo, music, outdoor spaces, shared food and conversation. But we also heard about real barriers: fear of coming out, mobility challenges, and the difficulty of walking into a room where you don’t know anyone. Connection is at the heart of our work. While much of our rightly community focus on activity for children and young people, nearly half (47%) of residents on the Redcliffe Estate live alone. That’s a lot of neighbours who can go days without meaningful conversation, leaving adults isolated and unseen. Through regular door knocking and personal invitations, we’re helping make those first steps easier. Our next community meeting is on Thursday 26th February at Faithspace at 12.30pm , where our discussion topic will be ‘What do we want for older people in Redcliffe?’ and we’ll begin trialling the ideas residents suggested. In partnership with Faithspace, we will then be hosting a weekly space every Thursday at 2.30pm to connect older people through activities, tea and conversation. Sometimes community starts with a knock on the door — and an invitation to belong. For more information on the community meeting, door knocking, or for tailored support accessing community activities contact Andy Carruthers at andy.carruthers@stmaryredcliffe.co.uk or on 07933 090198. David Cousins 20.02.2026 In the News: SMR Community Work Recognised We’re delighted that our work with asylum seekers living in Redcliffe has been featured by Rising Arts Agency. You can read their report here . St Mary Redcliffe’s community work also features in a national report produced by Churchworks exploring the role of heritage buildings on community wellbeing (you can find us on p.18!). It’s wonderful to see how SMR’s work is contributing to a wider national conversation.