'The age gap is so beautiful': coronavirus creates

unlikely pen pals

Two neighbours, aged five and 93, swapping letters features in a roundup of heartwarming tales

Jessica Murray Tue 7 Apr 2020

A resident enjoys a makeshift ice-cream van at West Farm Care Centre in Newcastle.

We may be living in unsettling times but there’s still plenty of good in the world, with people young and old
continuing to go above and beyond for those in need – whether it’s in the form of a heartfelt letter or a simple
ice-cream.

Surprising lockdown pen pals

A five-year-old girl wrote a touching letter to her elderly neighbour to check he was OK and remind him he is
not alone during the coronavirus lockdown.

Kirah “from number 9” sent a drawing of a rainbow along with the letter, which read: “I have to stay at home
because of the coronavirus. I just wanted to check to see if you’re OK? I have drawn you a rainbow to remind
you that you are not alone. Please write back if you can.”

Ron “at number 24”, aged 93, said he was so pleased to receive the message, and had placed the drawing in
his window. “Like you I am in isolation so it was so nice to hear of your concern for me,” he wrote back.

“I was the first person to move into the crescent in 1955 and I have been here ever since. The situation with
coronavirus is very bad and we must all do our very best to overcome it and hopefully come out of it in good
health again.”

Louisa Smith, 23, posted the letter on Twitter and said her grandad Ron, who lives alone in Wolverhampton,
was self-isolating but in good health.

“He was just overwhelmed by it. I think he was quite shocked that they’d thought about him, and the fact
she’s only five,” said Smith. “But that’s what’s so beautiful about it, the age gap.”
Staff at a care home in Newcastle have gone the extra mile to cheer up residents during the lockdown,
helping them write messages to their loved ones and even creating their own in-house ice-cream van.

With the local ice-cream van no longer able to visit as it usually does, staff at West Farm Care Centre recreated
the experience with their own “Mrs Whippy” station, using an online ice-cream jingle.

The makeshift ice-cream van for care home residents.

“I hate taking things away, I absolutely hate it, so we’ve just had to think more creatively and out of the box,”
said Lucy Craig, owner of Craig Healthcare which runs the residence along with nearby Cramlington House. “It
helps create smiles, energy and the feeling that things are as normal as they possibly can.”

Across both care homes, workers have also been helping residents connect with their loved ones, who are no
longer able to visit, by taking pictures of them holding up messages, and arranging video calls.

“Coronavirus can do one,” read the sign of one resident, while another said: “I love you’s. Don’t worry, I’m
okay.”

Local families who live next to Cramlington House have also reached out to the residents with letters and
video calls, to help keep them company while they’re separated from family.

“It gives them a sense of reality beyond the front door, and tells them there’s a community out there that
genuinely care,” said Craig.
A video of NHS staff applauding an 84-year-old granddad as he leaves hospital after beating coronavirus has
gone viral on Twitter, with over 2m views.

Staff wearing face masks and aprons line the corridor at Manchester Royal Infirmary and applaud as Solomon
McFarlane is transported in his wheelchair towards the doors, after spending two weeks in hospital with the
virus.

“One of the nurses said it was a guard of honour. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful,” said McFarlane’s
daughter, Esther. “We called him in hospital and encouraged him, said: ‘You’ve got to fight this.’ And we all
prayed for him.”

“It just shows that this Covid can be beaten, it’s a video of hope,” she added.

Posting the video to Twitter, his granddaughter Rokaia, known as Sapph, said: “He had tested positive for
Covid-19 then ended up having pneumonia.

“The drs said he was ‘deteriorating’ and the next 24hrs are ‘critical’ but God! My Granddad is 84 years old and
has beaten Covid-19. Thank you NHS staff.”

McFarlane is now back home in Manchester with his wife and son.

Coronavirus medics put on a friendly face

Medical staff have been pinning pictures of themselves over the top of their protective gear to help patients
see the faces of those treating them.

A photo posted on Twitter shows three Israeli medics with pictures pinned over their hazmat suits. With their
face masks and hoods, patients can only see the eyes of those caring for them.

Over in California, Robertino Rodriguez took similar action by pinning a laminated photo of himself with his
name and job role over the top of his protective suit.

“Yesterday I felt bad for the patients in my ER when I would come in the room with my face covered in PPE,”
he said.

“A reassuring smile makes a big difference to a scared patient. So today I made a giant laminated badge for
my PPE so my patients can see a reassuring & comforting smile.”

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/apr/07/the-age-gap-is-so-beautiful-coronavirus-creates-unlikely-pen-pals