MHA CEO Lee Bloomfield, Chair of the Board Barrington Billings visited Fern House Care Home a new scheme for older people run by the Abbeyfield Society in Bingley. They were joined by Abdul Ravat, Deputy Chair of Manningham Housing Association and very keen cricket fan!
They all watched as residents were amongst the first to play Clock Cricket which has been developed to enhance the physical and mental wellbeing of older people living in care homes.
Abdul Ravat was the man responsible for bringing Clock Cricket to Abbeyfield The Dales’ Fern House . Abdul is The Abbeyfield Society’s Head of Development and Relationships and a player with the Mount Cricket Club, a Muslim team based in Batley, which hit the headlines in 2015 when they participated in a unique inter-faith fixture against the Vatican’s cricket team in Rome, and then back in Yorkshire the following year. Abdul said:
“Clock Cricket is a simple adaptation of a traditional game that is accessible for people with a variety of needs and abilities. It is also fun, competitive, engaging, and in a county like Yorkshire where cricket is virtually a religion, it helps evoke memories, whether of playing the game itself or being involved through loved ones as a spouse, parent or grandparent.
“As soon as I heard about Clock Cricket I knew we had to introduce it to both The Abbeyfield Society and to Yorkshire. I am thrilled that residents at Fern House were among the first to experience the joy of playing it, and I very much hope it will be rolled out not just to other care homes in the Abbeyfield family across the county, but the UK too, and potentially internationally in cricket loving countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand, where Abbeyfield Member Societies also have homes.
“The introduction of Clock Cricket at Abbeyfield was a hugely successful and fun event. The residents at Fern House really got into the spirit and had lots of fun. We now have a wonderful opportunity to form effective partnerships and incorporate Clock Cricket into the Abbeyfield family as part of our ethos of alleviating loneliness in older people and to enrich their lives.”