An ice surprise – 97-year-old Stansted care home resident returns to the rink with support from skating legends

A 97-year-old Stansted care home resident and former ice skater was thrilled when her wish to return to the rink was made a reality. 

Doreen Barber, who lives at Care UK’s Mountfitchet House, on Coltsfield, was a keen ice skater in her younger days, visiting her local ice rink twice a week. 

Having first given skating a go when she was 12 years old, Doreen skated regularly until the age of fourteen as part of a weekly club in London where she was often recognised as one of the top ten best performers for her skills. Doreen only gave up skating when the Second World War began.

When the war ended, Doreen was able to return to skating, and continued to visit the ice rink over the years and even teaching her children and husband to skate during weekly outings to their local ice rink.

Despite not having skated in a long time, Doreen has never lost her love for the sport, watching Dancing on Ice each year and regularly sharing fond memories with the team and other residents about her skating days.

When the team at Mountfitchet House learned that Doreen was keen to get back on the ice herself, they arranged for her to visit Riverside Leisure Centre in Chelmsford. Inspired by Doreen, several other residents also went along to skate for the first time – proving it’s never too late to take up a new hobby.

Reflecting on the day, Doreen said: “Imagine being my age and being on the ice – I never thought I’d see the day! It was so much fun and I had a wonderful time.”

The team also went one step further and reached out to the Dancing on Ice team to share Doreen’s story. Moved by her commitment to the sport and love of the show, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean sent Doreen a personal video message, sharing their admiration and well wishes.

The video was a complete surprise for Doreen, who said: “I’m touched that they would take the time to do this for me. I feel like a celebrity – people will have to pay to talk to me now!”

The visit formed part of Mountfitchet House’s Wishing Tree Initiative, which encourages residents to put wishes forward, allowing them to reconnect with a past hobby or try something completely new – from flying on a plane to enjoying a fish and chip supper, no wish is too big or small.

Joanna Duke, Home Manager at Mountfitchet House, added: “Doreen often talks fondly about when she used to ice skate, so when she expressed a desire to give it another go, we were thrilled to help make it happen.

“Our Wishing Tree initiative is a wonderful way for residents to share their ambitions and it’s hugely rewarding to be able to make these a reality. Doreen was clearly over the moon to be back on the ice, sharing stories from her younger days and wowing us all by telling us the tricks she used to do!

“Doreen had a lovely day, and the video from her skating idols really was the icing on the cake. I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone at Mountfitchet House, and the team over at Dancing on Ice, who helped to make her wish come true!”

Mountfitchet House is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, nursing, dementia and short-term respite care. The care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities and includes its own cinema, hair salon and café.

For more information on Mountfitchet House, please call Customer Relations Manager, Jade Rackham, on 01279 883849, or email jade.rackham@careuk.com

For more general information, please go to careuk.com/mountfitchet-house