Councillor Kathy Watkin attended a celebration of the Red Velvet Cinema, a unique social project for older people, at Devonport Guildhall.
The Deputy Lord Mayor shared the floor of the Devonport Guildhall with Hilary Williams – Britain’s oldest Hip Hop Granny – who was celebrating her 89th birthday and many of the Red Velvet Cinema regulars.
As the Deputy Lord Mayor explains it was a day to celebrate by being in the company of others:
“There was such a great buzz in the room as people talked and enjoyed their afternoon tea. And then, all of a sudden, I was taken by the hand and, with my heavy Deputy Lord Mayor chains rattling, twirled around the floor with an amazing dance partner. A few more sessions and I’ll be heading for strictly!”
Red Velvet Cinema was set up in 2017, not as a ‘cinema’, but to reduce loneliness and social isolation among older people. Their latest event was a chance to highlight just how successful the small community initiative, based in Devonport, has been and the profound difference it has made to the lives of those that come. It’s founder, Caroline Blackler said:
“There’s something very special about what we all do here at Red Velvet, It’s not about the film that we screen; nor the tea that we drink or the cakes that we eat – although naturally these things help! – it’s about a wonderful group of individuals who have come together looking for something to do and somewhere to belong, and, in doing so, have found each other.”
The camaraderie was very much evident in the Guildhall as the Red Velvet Cinema Golden Oldies sang along to the showstoppers from the 1940’s and 50’s performed by the Carlton Big Band. Geoffrey Sloggett says the fortnightly screenings are, for him, sacrosanct:
“It’s an excellent concept, an excellent way of bringing together a group of people – mainly of my age group – who can reminisce and recollect their youth and what is associated with some of the films and the fellowship. That’s the word: the ‘fellowship’ of those Wednesday morning’s is worth a lot of money to me.”
And many of the Red Velvet regulars regard it as so much more than a ‘cinema’. For many, like Star Baker, Patricia Wall who bakes three cakes and twenty sausage roll for everyone, once a fortnight, the films are incidental:
“When I go there, I don’t feel my age, I feel younger because we’re all there laughing and joking. We get up to things we’re not supposed to! But I never feel old when I’m there; it’s a lovely atmosphere. I don’t know what I’d do if there wasn’t a Red Velvet Cinema.”
It’s this sense of emptiness to their days that many older people describe as they try and find ways to fill their time. For Jean McCabe, 86 years of age, it’s a determination to drive away loneliness:
“It is difficult,” says Jean. “But I won’t give in. I want to fill my days and I have always been a joiner. I am a bit of a social animal, you know.”
The Red Velvet Cinema takes place every other Wednesday in the Mayor’s Parlour in Devonport Guildhall. Currently funded by the National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund it is hoped that in the future, as society seeks initiatives to reduce loneliness and social isolation, there might be an opportunity to replicate the project in other neighbourhoods and communities across the city. And that, in doing so, other individuals, particularly those living on their own, might find their own mix of fun, friendship and fellowship a little bit closer to home. As the Deputy Lord Mayor says:
“For anyone not sure where to go to meet new people, I would recommend you try ‘Red Velvet Cinema’. You will have fun and wonder why you hadn’t tried it before!”
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