IT was a case of rolling back the years as Lenadoon seniors let their hair down and danced away the afternoon.
Horn Drive Community Centre regularly team up with Age Friendly Belfast to produce senior citizen friendly events. In their latest event, Horn Drive hosted a Pensioners' Disco with throwback hits from Frank Sinatra, Elvis and Chuck Berry, to name a few.
Tommy O’Reilly from Belfast City Council is a key cog in the running of community functions such as Age Friendly Belfast. Tommy spoke about the reason behind the senior citizen friendly events, adding: “Covid was so hard on a lot of people, some people are terrified to leave the house. There are people here today who are socialising for the first time in three years.
“Events for older people are so vital for helping them get back out there, we have people from all over Belfast here – even Poland."
Polish Ladies from North and South Belfast getting their dancing shoes on
A group of Polish ladies from North and South Belfast made the trip to Lenadoon and said they were delighted to see these events being made available. Elizabeth Cwen said: “I signed up on Friday as soon as I saw it and got my friends to come with me”.
The ladies hopped on the Glider and made their way to the West for a boogie.
Gene MacFarlane is a volunteer at the centre and explained that she was there to “make people feel welcome” as they whirled their way onto the dance floor. Gene also explained her desire to get more male seniors involved.
“It’s mainly women, we need more men at these events," she said.
Anto Fox, event organiser, confirmed that there are plans in place for future events, as they plan to fill the hall after the success of the Pensioners' Disco.
Tommy O’Reilly added: “Gillian McEvoy, Anto Adams, Anto Fox are all massive in helping make sure these discos happen. I would like to thank them all for their contributions. Not forgetting of course Fiona who provides the best catering”.
Between Horn Drive and Glen Community centres, there are plans for many more future events to take place, and the best part – they are absolutely free.
The next event will see Horn Drive Community Centre offer an ‘Old School Movie Night’ on Wednesday March 1 between 1pm-3pm. To reserve your spot, make sure to call 028 9060 4860
