Retired dance instructors Gordon and May can’t wait for Covid-19 restrictions to be lifted so that they can get their dancing shoes back on. Age is no barrier to the couple, who in normal times would be dancing three times a week and travelling the country to follow their passion. Their move to a brand new apartment at Churchill Retirement Living’s Weavers Lodge in Haverhill has coincided with the pandemic, but at least it has given them plenty of space to keep their array of snazzy outfits safe until they can get back to doing what they love.
“The walk-in wardrobe was one of the main selling points of our new apartment,” says Gordon. “We’ve never had one before, and since we can’t do any dancing for the moment it’s a good job we’ve got plenty of room to store all our outfits.”
Gordon and May got to know each other in the 1980s through their shared love of sequence dancing, a form of dance with many different styles from ballroom to line, square and circle dances. May and her husband joined Gordon’s “Dirty Dozen” dancing group – making it a “Fab Fourteen” – and they spent decades as good friends, travelling and dancing together with their respective partners. In more recent years both became widowed and their friendship turned into something more.
“We still keep in touch with our dancing friends all over the world,” says Gordon, who is well travelled and spent some 22 years as a dance instructor in Spain. “During the lockdown we’ve been keeping in touch with our friends via video calls, and we’ve been showing off our new apartment to them all.”
May adds: “Everything here is so warm and comfortable and we’ve had no problems at all. I’m really pleased with my new kitchen which is so clean and tidy with all brand new appliances. The people here are lovely and we’re looking forward to getting to know them all better when we can socialise again.”
For Gordon and May the chance to get back on the dancefloor can’t come soon enough. “It’s great fun and very sociable,” says Gordon. “The music is great and we’re always learning new dances. I may be nearly 90, but I’m looking forward to getting dressed up and going back to dancing regularly as soon as possible!”