Home is where the heart is for Joyce and that’s a luxurious apartment at Somerville

Joyce loves her life in a beautiful apartment at Somerville, a residential living complex for the over 60s inspired by the five-star glamour of top London hotels.

For a day and a half, 89-year-old Joyce Willars painstakingly inched to the phone to call for help after a fall at her home. The proudly independent pensioner had taken a tumble and went without food and water for 36 hours as she battled for help. Finally she managed to make a call and was taken to hospital, then into respite care. “But it wasn’t for me,” she said determinedly. “I didn’t like it at all!”

Knowing that Joyce could never go back to her own home, her family had to find somewhere they knew she would be cared for but gave her some of that independence she held so dear. And that’s when they found Somerville at Grosvenor Gate, north of Leicester, the only independent living complex of its type in the region with swift and easy access to neighbouring towns and cities including Nottingham and Derby. The former Tower Nurses’ Home has been transformed into a complex for the over 60s, with stylish Art Deco interiors, visits from healthcare professionals, hairdressers and even an on-site restaurant.

The restaurant has been lovingly restored to its former glory, and it is where delicious feasts of classic dishes from around the world are prepared by the talented in-house chef who has two Rosette stars and has worked at five star hotels and a leading British public school.

Joyce recalled: “I’ve been at Somerville for about a year now. I turned up with my bags - I looked like a bag lady! - and a couple stopped to talk to me. “They were the first ones to live here and asked if I had come to look around. They were so shocked when I said no, I’ve come here to live!”

Joyce is proud to have been the complex’s third resident and said as soon as she went into her brand new apartment it felt like home. “I recognised my own things,” she said. “My nephew and niece had organised everything for me and it was lovely to have things that reminded me of home. “I couldn’t bring everything, of course I couldn’t, because I was downsizing. But it was only things - people are what matter.”

Joyce had lived alone for 30 years following the death of her husband Albert, and had always enjoyed an active social life, singing in choirs, visiting Age UK and being a particular fan of the theatre. “On my first day here I woke up and said to myself, Joyce, things are going to be different,” she said. “I thought I would miss going out because I was very fond of going to The Curve for all the events there like the Plus 55s afternoons. “But even though I’m not as mobile any more and don’t go out to the theatre, we do have lots of entertainment here. “We have film nights, singing, quizzes - we’re always busy.”

Bubbly Joyce has had no problems making new friends at Somerville, and she said: “You have to think that life can change for you overnight without you realising, like it did for me. “But you have to find things that compensate for those changes and for me it’s other people. “When you live alone you can be a wee bit isolated without you realising. Having people around you is so important. I feel sorry for people who are shy - I just talk! I really enjoy everything about being here. There are so many pluses and no minuses at all.”

For more information, go to: www.somerville.life or call 0116 2766665