Every LifeCare Residences’ retirement community boasts its own beautiful library, as the team fully recognise how important libraries are to the residents. They are essential not only for the vitality of a community but also for buffering against isolation and loneliness. They are hubs of information where a wealth of knowledge, facts and guidance can be accessed, and reading is a pleasant and effortless opportunity to stay mentally sharp. Whether it’s a new interest or one that’s already been mastered, there’s always unchartered territory to be explored! In addition to access to books, the LifeCare Residences libraries are comfortable and cosy places where residents can spend hours on end, curled up with a good book, or simply connecting with loved ones through social media or email. Moreover, they are peaceful places where residents can feel relaxed. The importance of creating a perfect library to cater to the needs of their residents can be seen with the most recent installation of a bespoke library at award-winning Battersea Place – the first luxury retirement community in London. For the library at Battersea Place, the LifeCare Residences team employed the services of Ultimate Library, who are a team of passionate book experts who curate book collections, deliberately tailored to the property’s location and client interests. For Battersea Place they curated a very eclectic collection of books, on a wide range of subjects, to cater for all residents. Main themes included history, travel, wellness, biographies, sport, art, gardening and economics, as well as the inclusion of a large section of literary classics and modern titles to entertain the residents. The library at Battersea Place is a beautiful and peaceful haven for book-loving residents to while away their time, with its wall-to-wall luxurious thick cream carpets, soft lighting, and tasteful pale green walls.

As well as boasting a library at every retirement community, every community boasts its own librarian – a role happily taken on by one of the residents! At Grove Place, this role is undertaken by Philip Gaussen; Philip and his wife Peggy, moved into Grove Place, a beautiful retirement community in Hampshire, to begin the next chapter in their lives, and have never looked back as they thoroughly embrace the buzz and sense of community there. As with all LifeCare Residences communities, Grove Place provides ample opportunity for residents to meet like-minded people and even get involved in a range of activities – including the role that Philip Gaussen has proudly taken on; that of librarian. Set in the heart of historic Dorchester in Dorset, Somerleigh Court also has its own library and resident librarian – Frances Riggs. The beautiful library at Battersea Place is manned by resident Sarah Anderson who has had a lifelong connection to books. She was the founder of The Travel Bookshop off the Portobello Road made famous by the Richard Curtis film. In fact, film enthusiasts across the world have travelled the streets of West London in search of the beloved travel bookshop that featured in the iconic film, Notting Hill. The quaint book shop, known in the film as The Travel Book Company, was owned by Hugh Grant’s character and was based on Sarah Anderson’s real Notting Hill book shop. Sarah recalls, “Every time I stepped out of the front door there were tourists taking photographs!” Sarah retired to her new home, a two-bedroom apartment at Battersea Place where her lifelong connection to books remains to this day. She continues, “The bookshop is something I’ll always be proud of. Someone was visiting and saw the plaque that I’ve kept from the shop, and she recognised it immediately. I do miss having all my books around me, but making the move was the right thing to do, and I don’t regret it for a minute.”