Lizzie and Geoff Fieldus have been firm friends with John and Gill Weeks for over 60 years, and they recently became neighbours at Churchill Living’s new Manns Lodge development in Cranleigh.
Geoff and John worked together as engineers at the nearby Dunsfold Aerodrome for many years, and Geoff was even Best Man at John and Gill’s wedding, so the two couples have always been close. Now they all live together in the same building and are part of the new community of friends coming together in the new block of over 60s apartments.
Former Nurse Lizzie was the driving force behind the move. She explains: “We had a lovely old 4 bedroom house near Guildford, where we had spent 60 very happy years, but it felt like the right time to downsize and declutter! Geoff is a bit of a hoarder, so we had 60 years of stuff to go through, it was a job we wanted to do ourselves so that our daughters wouldn’t have it all to deal with one day.”
Geoff adds: “Getting rid of so many old things was hard, but I’m glad to have done it, and we are very pleased to have made the move. We had plenty of help from Churchill, including their Home Exchange service which took away the hassle of selling our old house after it was delayed by a sale falling through. Now we’re in a wonderful location making lots of new friends, and our good friends John and Gill have become our neighbours – in fact they managed to move in before us!”
Gill, who used to work in advertising, had similar reasons for following her friends’ example. She says: “When Lizzie and Geoff made the decision to move here, we thought why not do the same? We were a little unsure at first, but now that we’re settled into our new apartment we’re very happy and glad we did it. We loved our old house, where we’d also been for nearly 60 years, but it had its challenges – including three flights of stairs. We decided it was time to leave it behind and make a fresh start.”
John adds: “Geoff and I go way back, so it’s great having him and Lizzie around. We’ve all shared a similar journey together throughout our lives and it’s good to see that continue. Our days of developing aeroplanes and travelling the world together may be behind us, but we have plenty to look forward to in the ease and comfort of our new apartments, and being in the heart of Cranleigh it’s the perfect place to enjoy many happy years ahead.”