The Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown and quarantine have been hard on a lot of people in various ways. Aside from the more horrible ones such as getting struck down by the virus or losing your job, other problems like boredom and anxiety have also crept up on us.
All these are especially troublesome for people in nursing and retirement homes. Not only are they in the highest risk groups but they are also often prohibited from seeing their friends and family due to the quarantine. Yet, the residents of the Sydmar Lodge Care Home nursing home in north London, UK have found ways to make the most out of a bad situation and have started recreating classic music album covers for fun – check out this glorious David Bowie cover, for example.
Robert Speker, tasked with keeping the nursing home residents’ spirits up, first came up with the ingenious idea by putting his own photography skills to use.
“As this situation is on-going it could be months before the situation changes for them and the need to keep them happy, entertained, and full of spirit has never been more crucial,” said the activities director at Sydmar Lodge Care in Edgware. “It’s been my job and privilege.”
Some of the other gems in the photoshoot included The Clash’s London Calling, Adele’s 21, Springsteen’s Born in the USA, Taylor Swift’s 1989, Michael Jackson’s Bad, and others.
The manager of the nursing home, Julia Davey, commented that Robert Speker is “well-known locally” for organizing activities that are “outside of the box”.
Naturally, Speker didn’t miss the opportunity to share the photoshoot on twitter after which it immediately went viral. He also started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds here and he’s gotten over 3,000 pounds so far.
The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive. One twitter user’s comment probably sums the whole photoshoot best:
“These are so moving. Reminds me of my 97 year old grandmother telling me that on the inside she was still 18.”, said JolieSumo.
Such fun, positive stories are definitely needed in times like these. Hopefully, Mr. Speker can keep providing us with hilarious photos and the folks at the Sydmar Lodge Care Home can keep having fun. Even more important, however, would be for us to get through this crisis as soon as possible so such nursing home residents can finally be able to meet their loved ones in person again.