Kingsley Care Homes to be filled with the happy sounds of Chatty Café

Twelve Kingsley Healthcare care homes are now hosting the National Chatty Café scheme, after Kingsley became the initiative's first national partner in the social care sector.

Buckingham Lodge, Downham Grange, Kings Court, Eversley Lodge, Olney Meadows, Eliza Palmer, Weymouth Manor, Branksome Heights, Timperley, Sharston House and Gower Gardens have all signed up to run Chatty Café sessions, joining Brackley Care Home, which has been piloting the scheme with the support of Chatty Café director Jon Haslam, who lives locally in Brackley.

Chatty Café brings people together around a “Chatty Table” in cafés and community venues across the country, aiming to reduce loneliness and build connections between generations.

Meeting Jon at Brackley latest Chatty Café session, in the cheerful surroundings of Brackley Care Home's Maypole Café, he explained how the scheme began.

“Our founder, Alex, came up with the idea when she was on maternity leave in 2016, sitting in a café feeling fed up and lonely,” he said. “She noticed an elderly lady at one table who looked equally fed up, and at another table a man with disabilities sitting with his carer. They were both just looking around the room.

“It struck her how they could have really helped each other through conversation if they had been sat at the same table.”

Alex set up a website and began posting on social media. The first venues offering a “Chatty Table” soon came forward, and by the start of this year more than 700 had signed up, helping around 30,000 people who would otherwise be isolated.

Retired insurance company manager Jon started Brackley's first Chatty Café at The Crown Hotel before reaching out to Brackley Care Home to host a further session.

“My mum was in a care home during the pandemic and she craved company,” he said. “I saw what this could mean, and how many lonely people like her there must be.

“The chance to create something in Brackley that could bring people together felt like one I had to take. It's grown from strength to strength. People struggle to come the first time, but once they make it through the door, they become part of a community.”

 The Maypole Café was packed for the occasion, full of lively chatter as residents mingled with former respite residents and members of the wider community, including former Brackley Mayor Bernie Tiller.

Regular attendee James Ogier has been coming to Brackley's Chatty Café since it began.

“Once I came, I kept coming back. It's incredibly rewarding,” he said. “I've made so many friends, including residents at the care home, and met so many people. It's been lovely, it's just a relaxing time.”

Brackley Care Home resident Richard described the scheme as a “brilliant idea”, saying it allowed people living at the home to stay in touch with their local community.

Urging the public to support Kingsley's new Chatty Cafés, Jon said: “The hardest part is taking that first step through the door, but you're welcomed with warmth and smiles. You go away thinking, why didn't I do this sooner?

“It's often only after people start attending that they realise how much friendship means to them, and what they'd perhaps been missing.”