ELDERLY care home residents were made to feel like infamous gangsters Bonnie and Clyde after being taken for a rip-roaring spin in a rare classic car.
Thrill-seekers at Alderwood Care Home were transported back to the Jazz Age when a stunning 1932 Chevrolet pulled up outside the Essex Hall Road complex.
The Confederate Sedan, finished in green and black paint with cream leather interior, is thought be one of only a handful left in the country.
Unsurprisingly, the historic vehicle proved a huge hit with the home’s nostalgic residents, who quite literally took a trip down memory lane.
Resident Mary Wiggins, 94, particularly loved the experience of being driven around in the car and said it took her back to her youth.
“When I was young you didn’t often see a car, so the smell of this one brought back all those feelings of excitement from my childhood,” she said.
“I feel very fortunate that I could have a ride in it. People were smiling and waving as we went past – we felt like Bonnie and Clyde.”
Resident George Kirby, 85, also jumped at the chance to go for a spin in the filmset-worthy Chevrolet, although he did have a job squeezing inside.
He said: “I’ve always grabbed the opportunity to look at old cars when I get the chance and this car is in better condition than me, even though it is slightly older.
“I’ve never been in a car like this before, as back in those days it was only the very rich who owned cars.
“I struggled a bit with leg room - people must have been shorter back then.
“It was absolutely wonderful to go out in it. You could tell it has been very well loved and cared for.”
The vehicle was owned by the grandad of the Colchester facility’s quality and wellbeing manager Laura Birch.
She said: “I couldn’t let grandad part with the car without our residents getting the chance to see it, I knew they would love it.
“My dad brought it in and he spent ages chatting with everyone about the car.
“They talked about how it had been maintained, they found the handbook and its instructions of how to drive fascinating, and they loved the interior.
“It brought back wonderful memories for them.”
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