Care home resident credits local café for 50 years of joy

Jeff Coleman, a resident at St Mary’s Bupa Care Home, recently enjoyed a heartfelt trip to his favourite café, the Continental Café in Luton – a place he credits as a continued source of happiness throughout his life.

Jeff, aged 76, has been a loyal customer of the Continental Café for half a century. Thanks to his ‘regular customer’ status, Jeff has built a long-standing friendship with café owner, Leticia Testa. Before moving into St Mary’s in December 2020, Jeff lived in sheltered housing opposite the Continental Café where he continued to visit Leticia and the team on a daily basis.

Throughout the pandemic Jeff has missed his frequent visits to the café and expressed his wish to the St Mary’s team to reconnect with the place which has boosted his spirits so much over the last 50 years. With restrictions having lifted, Leticia was hoping to be reunited and invited Jeff and the St Mary’s team to the Continental Café for an Italian style lunch.

Jackie Crawley and Sandra Hart, activities co-ordinators at St Mary’s, were happy to facilitate Jeff’s wishes and organised a visit last month. Whilst at the café, Jeff was reunited with Leticia, as well as some of his friends Ivor and Fiorella who he used to live with when he resided in the area. Jeff had a brilliant time catching up with his friends and enjoyed an Italian lunch, featuring his favourites risotto, and lasagne.

Jeff commented: “I had a fantastic time – it brought back so many wonderful memories. I was extremely happy that the St Mary’s team managed to fulfil my dream of returning to the Continental Café. It meant so much to me and really made me smile to reconnect with a place and its people who have done so much to boost my wellbeing over the course of my life.”

When asked how it felt to be reunited after eighteen months, Leticia shared: “It was a very moving visit and I hope Jeff will come again and his visits can once more be a regular occurrence.”

Alongside his visits to the café, Jeff also has a passion for writing. Jeff is a self-published author, having written a book about his life and travels in 2018. At St Mary’s, Jeff enjoys playing dominos, bingo, reading, and writing.

Jackie Crawley and Sandra Hart, activities co-ordinators at St Mary’s, both accompanied Jeff on the ten-minute walk to the café and joined him in enjoying a meal of tuna pasta.

Jackie Crawley commented: “We are so pleased to have been able to grant Jeff’s wish and reunite him with his old friend and a visit to the café he loves. The café means so much more to Jeff than just being a place to grab a bite, it really is a haven of happiness for him. Here at St Mary’s, we always try and go the extra mile to promote our residents’ wellbeing, so it was brilliant to see how much the visit meant to Jeff.”