Jan 2025
No man is an island at Avon Court
Les Johnson, home manager at Avon Court, explains what is so special about his household just for men.

No Man is an Island, by John Donne
“No man is an island,
Entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main”
I love spending time with my family. We go out for meals, we all go on holiday, we spend the weekends together as our little family unit; it is my happy place. Family is everything.
My second happy place is time with my mates, my male companions. This is a time for us to be ourselves, to connect, to put the world to rights, to watch football and chat about the things men like to converse about. For me, I really like a lively chat about music. (I literally know nothing about sport.)
At Avon Court we are very lucky to be in the unique position of having an entire household dedicated to, and catering for, men only.
Specifically, for men who are on their dementia journey. I try to spend as much time as I can on Wilton household, chatting with the gentlemen about the world, their careers, their challenges, their passions in life, and who they are, and it is tremendous fun.
One gentleman here comes from a farming background, and so do I. I always try to have a chat with him about our shared experiences. One gentleman here likes to talk about his army days, and I spent some time looking up the rifle he used so we could chat about this together.
The gentlemen here enjoy pool tournaments, movies nights, football and rugby tournaments, and a pint in our bar area. We try to make this a wholly unique experience.
We are holding upcoming “Gents Events” in which we are inviting gentlemen from the local community to meet our residents and join in with fun things like the upcoming 6 Nations, and beer tasting. Keep an eye on Avonbourne’s Facebook feed for more details.
If you or your loved one are living with dementia and want to explore the idea of living in a household dedicated to men only, and all the positives that this can bring, please get in touch with us at Avonbourne and arrange to come look around.
No man is an island, so why not enjoy some “me” time. No DIY or shopping required!
Until next time, Les.