Whatever age it’s important as a country as a whole we take this up, I’m 82 but it’s vital that children learn BSL from an early age. At this age learning and expanding on my skillset is valuable and helps keep my brain active. I made my graduation speech to my family, I wanted to prove to them that I wasn’t too old to do something new. We are never too old to learn.
Whatever age it’s important as a country as a whole we take this up, I’m 82 but it’s vital that children learn BSL from an early age. At this age learning and expanding on my skillset is valuable and helps keep my brain active. I made my graduation speech to my family, I wanted to prove to them that I wasn’t too old to do something new. We are never too old to learn.
Pam
Hughenden Gardens Village
Meet resident Pam Cole!
Here Pam discusses her experience filming the show Rose Ayling-Ellis: Old Hands, New Tricks and keeping the big secret from her friends and family until her graduation ceremony!
Have you had any personal experience with any hearing loss issues at all?
I haven’t got anyone in my family currently dealing with this but I have had had hearing tests as I’ve got older. I haven’t got a hearing aid. I wanted to take part in Rose Ayling-Ellis: Old Hands, New Tricks to see if I could be of help, if there was even one person who benefitted from me and others being able to sign I wanted to help the community. My eyes have been opened through this process with how deaf people can feel isolated.
How did you find your experience filming Old Hands, New Tricks?
Well everyone was in the same boat, we were a different group but we got on really well. I’ve taken away a real feeling of satisfaction that I’ve come so far, and that the group has. I felt so pleased I’d achieved something. I felt at one with the other people in the group, we were waking up in the middle of the night worrying about our speeches before graduation. So getting through that, it’s another skill I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to have learned. I’d never have got to know the other members of the group as well without this. One of our residents was 95 taking part!
What was your favourite day of filming?
My favourite day was Deaf Karaoke. I sang Sweet Caroline. We had to learn how to sign it, I shared the song with Tina my fellow classmate, Sweet Caroline was my partners favourite song. It always gets me and my family up and enjoying it, it felt like a great one to sign. Everyone was getting very boisterous and we rounded the evening off, I really enjoyed it.
What was your experience like filming with Rose and Marios?
Rose was a delight, understanding and helpful, our teacher Marios was an extrovert, he was very good. They put us at ease. We were all very nervous at first but it was so fun.
Did you face any challenges while filming?
I think finding the confidence needed to approach a deaf person and engage. The idea is to welcome people who might feel isolated. Rheumatics can also be quite hard at our age, but we figured it out.
What do your family/friends think of you being involved in this experience?
I kept my involvement a bit of a secret from my family, I never said a word. I had to keep making excuses as we were filming. I told my grandson ‘I had someone I wanted them to meet’. They assumed I had a secret boyfriend! This spread around the family! I then invited them for my graduation, and they realised what I’d been involved in! I didn’t tell anyone until the graduation, and I got up in front of them and signed my speech and the family were in tears.
My daughter works in a school with children who were deaf, so once she knew I had done it, she asked me about it and how we could support one another on this.
Why do you think it’s especially important to learn BSL in later life?
Whatever age it’s important that as a country as a whole we take this up, I’m 82 but it’s vital that children learn BSL from an early age. From my point of view at this age, learning and expanding on my skillset is valuable and helps keep my brain active.
What has this process personally brought to your life?
Personal satisfaction, I made my graduation speech to my family, I wanted to prove to them that I wasn’t too old to do something new, that we are never too old to learn.
Will you be continuing to apply your learnings going forward and if so in what ways?
We have continued learning weekly with resident Mark Jeffery tutoring the class. 12 of the original 17 of us have carried on.
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