Haschangedmylife
Bus days were behind him. Then the little girl he calls Lily Bobtail arrived.
He said: “I was a bit apprehensive at first. I didn’t know what was going to happen, I didn’t know the children. Then after the first day or two, the children had to choose one of the adults. I was fortunate enough to be chosen by Lily Bobtail and our relationship blossomed from there.
“She’s a wonderful child, very protective. We just got on well.”
The next 10 weeks were a great adventure for all involved, with the octogenarians enjoying communal meals and craft sessions just as much as the kids. Ken said: “Every day, every lesson was something different.
“We went on a steam train and on a shopping expedition. The children came into our homes to make sandwiches and cakes for the birthday party. We all went out to the maze and had a wonderful experience.
“They were so interested, so thrilled to see all these new things they’d not experienced before.”
The arrival of a flock of hens – and later in the series, a herd of goats – brings memories of Ken’s own childhood flooding back.
He said: “In my younger days, I spent weekends and holidays working on a farm. It brought those days back. I was able to add a few facts about the chickens and tell the children not to leave their shoes out near the goats because they will eat anything.”
As the new pals learned about incubation periods and figured out how to buy tram tickets together, both groups were measured to see what impact the activities were having on them. The oldies were assessed for their mood, mobility and memory while the experts monitored the children’s emotional and intellectual development. ould hanging out in the nursery and blowing up balloons really stave off the degenerative effects of ageing? Spoiler alert – yes they can.
By the end of the first episode, the OAPs are already chirpier and chattier. One lady, who has Parkinson’s, is so determined to join in a session on the grass that she gets out of her mobility scooter and uses a walking frame.
Ken was astounded by how much better he felt at the end of the 10 weeks. Since the death of his wife Barbie, he had withdrawn from the world. His tiny house, in a retirement village in Nottingham, had become his whole world. He said: “I suppose I took it very badly, although I didn’t realise at the time. When my wife was alive, we were very active across the village. We joined in the dances, my wife used to play the piano.
“Then after she was taken for me, I lost my singing voice, so I could no longer be in the choir. I was the only man who wanted to do any acting so the drama group fell through. I wasn’t conscious of the fact but I was grieving.
“Without me knowing it, I was more or less a hermit in my little bungalow.”
Making the show forced him to reconnect with other folk who stay in the 400-home community. And he still travels regularly to see his daughters.
But meeting Lily – and her parents Emma and Alex – was the game changer. And the 12 different tests, taken at the start of filming, in the middle and at the end, are the proof. Ken said: “In every single test, I improved. It forced me to extend my boundaries. I didn’t think I could run because I have two replacement knees.
“Then when we went to the sports day, we had to race. And instead of walking, I actually started trotting.
“I wouldn’t call it running but I trotted along that field. I realised that I had imposed limits on myself and I could exceed those limits quite easily and quite comfortably.”
Ken thinks everyone in the late years of life would benefit from having a friend like Lily Bobtail.
“I think the thing missing in modern day life is communication between different ages,” he said. “We have proved beyond any reasonable doubt that mixing elderly people with young people is beneficial to both sides.”
Old People’s Home for FourYear-Olds is on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm.
84-YEAR-OLD KEN PIDDOCK