Local Motorbiking Community Rallies Together for Parkstone Care Home Resident’s Special Wish

Dozens of local bikers united to surprise a Parkstone care home resident at his own motorbike rally.

Tony, who lives in Alexandra House in Parkstone, spoke to the care home team about his lifelong passion for motorbikes. He started off at school on bicycles, before progressing on to mopeds, scooters and then motorbikes, often travelling to scramble motorbike meetings in the West Country. In his working career, he became a bike mechanic before setting up his own shop, Seaview Motorcycles, in Poole.

After hearing Tony’s stories about his love for motorbikes, the activities team at Alexandra House, which is run by not-for-profit charity, Care South, put out a message to local bikers to put on a surprise rally for Tony in the home’s car park.

Bikers travelled from across Dorset and Wiltshire to be at the event, with many being members of the Bournemouth and Poole Bikers Forum. In total, 36 bikes were there for Tony to admire, as well as having the chance to chat to the riders about their shared interest. Tony was also joined at the event by his daughter, Sally, and her husband, Graham, who are keen bikers themselves, as well as some of Tony’s friends from the biking community.

Tony’s daughter, Sally, said: “Dad was very surprised when he saw it all. I knew there were going to be some motorbikes at the home, but I didn’t think there was going to be that many. It was great for the Alexandra House team to arrange this for him. They are so, so good at this home. To have something like this event was so nice, and the staff just go out of their way to make wishes come true for the residents.”

The special visit was arranged as part of Care South’s ‘Make a Wish’ initiative which encourages residents to share hobbies and passions they once enjoyed but are now unable to pursue without the home’s support. The care home team then works to bring the special wish to life.

Lana Wright, Home Manager at Alexandra House, said: “It was lovely to see the huge smile on Tony’s face as he saw our carpark filled with motorbikes, which was a lovely surprise for him. We are so grateful to every biker who turned out to make Tony’s special wish come true, with the look and smell of the bikes igniting happy memories for him. At Care South, we love to enable our residents to continue pursuing their own hobbies and interests, which they may not be able to do without our help.”