A BLOSSOMING friendship has brought light to the lives of elderly people from a Blackbird Leys care home and a local community group.

Residents at Longlands Care Home, Balfour Road, have been visiting a weekly get-together for the elderly, Friendleys, for the past six months at Blackbird Leys Community Centre.

It was set up about a year ago by local woman Liz Helliwell, 71, and attracts up to 20 visitors a week, including a group from Longlands.

The care home has developed a strong bond with the group, with one resident even writing to the Oxford Mail’s sister paper The Oxford Times to express her thanks.

Longlands activities co-ordinator Angela Lindsey, 37, said: “One of our ladies told us about a coffee morning and invited us to come.

“We were made really welcome. I was going to drop the residents off but they wanted me to stay. Now I am representative of Friendleys and on the committee.

“I have worked here since December 2013 and worked at a home in Didcot before that. I have never met such a lovely community, especially people like Liz who take their own time to organise groups like this.”

She added Longlands residents have developed firm friendships with Friendleys members and grown more independent: “Some people are reluctant to go out by themselves, so something like this encourages them.

“One lady has said ‘I’m not coming back with you’ and jumped on the bus with one of the others to go shopping.”

A range of other activities, like dance, massage and singalongs, are provided at Longlands, which accommodates up to 48 people.

One Friendleys devotee is Edna Hodge, 89, who last month penned a glowing letter to The Oxford Times saying the model should be used across Oxford.

She wrote: “What a wonderful way to get ‘we oldies’ together, particularly those of us who don’t find it as easy to get about as we used to and those who are maybe now living alone and finding it hard to cope with loneliness.

“It is such a simple idea but it would be great to see it copied all over Oxford.”

On Wednesday, Mrs Helliwell herself paid a special visit to the care home to drop off a birthday bouquet for one of the residents.

Edna Brown, who turned 83 that day, said: “I was delighted that Liz came to wish me a happy birthday, and I liked my roses. Friendleys is a wonderful group.”

Mrs Helliwell said: “From the point of view of Longlands they’re getting out and about, and from our point of view it’s given the others perspective.”

She added that the experience had been “insightful” and a good way to make friends.