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Our People | John | Thornliebank
"My name is John and this is my story."

My name is John and this is my story.

I have lived in my current home since 2003 and McFarlane Trust have supported me since 2014. My keyworker Lorna makes sure that I am involved in making decisions about my house and any new items or decorations. At the moment, my house is getting a new kitchen. I picked out what worktop, flooring and handles I wanted. I pick what goes in my bedroom too. This makes it very personal to me and feel like my own space.

The staff are great and help me with a lot of things. I attended a day centre for many years and had minimal staff support at home. Usually, I would only have some assistance in the morning with getting organised to head out for the day. Afterwards I would have dinner with a member of staff. However, I now get lots more support, which I really benefit from.

During the pandemic, my day centre had to close and there was only a limited service available. This did not suit me as I am very independent and liked to do my own thing. Instead of joining the day centre’s outreach programme, I decided it was time to retire. Since then, I’ve had a full schedule and full support from staff and I am thriving.

I like to get involved and pitch in to help with housework or make food. I am enjoying spending more time with staff and learning new skills. Nowadays, I am doing a lot more things than I used to and I really enjoy it. I am out and about every day, which suits me better. I now choose my own schedule for the week and the activities and support I receive are very personalised to my wants and needs. My keyworker will offer me advice or opportunities to try new things, but the decision is up to me.

My week is filled with something different to do, although I do like to start off each day by going to pick myself up a newspaper!

On a Monday night, I have a music group that I attend led by Adam. I live on my own but there’s another house near me where my friends live. I join them there and Adam teaches us how to play instruments together. On Tuesdays I go swimming, which is something I really look forward to every week.

Wednesdays are my free day to do whatever I feel like doing. I used to do gardening on a Thursday but I’m thinking of doing this on a Wednesday now. I want to get started on creating my own garden over the next few months.

On a Thursday, I join my friends for an art group. Susan is our art teacher and she is brilliant! We have an exhibition every few months where our artwork is put on display for all to enjoy. We do mainly nature scenes so last week I painted a picture with butterflies and ladybirds. This week we are going to paint an abstract sunset scene using a lot of different textures.

Friday is usually the day where I go and get my shopping sorted for the next week.

On a Saturday I normally head into Glasgow to the cinema or I pop up to Newton Mearns. The last film I went to see in the cinema was Jurassic World Dominion. It was a little bit scary, but I enjoyed seeing the dinosaurs!

Sunday is a quiet day for me normally and I like to attend church.

I’m going on a weekend trip through to Edinburgh soon for an overnight stay at a hotel with one of my friends. We’re going to visit Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace and Camera Obscura. We’re going to go shopping and then get dressed up and go for a fancy dinner too. I’m really looking forward to it.

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