Classic Cars Take Over Chartwell House in Broadstairs

Chartwell House by Boutique Care Homes, situated in Broadstairs, Kent, welcomed residents, families and neighbours on Saturday 17 October for its third annual Classic Car Show, a morning of classic cars, music and family-friendly activities that has grown into a fixture of the local calendar.

The show ran from 10:00 to 13:00 and, as in previous Octobers, brought together Ramsgate Classic Car Club and Academy FM Radio. Residents and visitors looked over the cars and motorbikes side by side, reminisced and enjoyed some retro favourites together.

Reminiscence is the heart of it. A classic car can take someone straight back to a journey, a neighbour’s pride and joy or a model they once dreamed of owning, and one memory tends to lead to the next. For people living in a care home, sharing those stories brings social connection, shared enjoyment and a chance to be the one who remembers. For Jaye Hurst, Admissions Manager at Chartwell House, that is the purpose of the day. The show is “a wonderful opportunity to bring people together through shared memories and a love of classic motoring.”

What the day does for residents is the focus for Hollie Humphrey, Head of Lifestyle and Wellbeing at Boutique Care Homes. She puts it plainly: “For a few hours, residents get to be the person who remembers, doing something they love with music playing and conversation all around them.” That, she says, is “what wellbeing looks like: joy, conversation and being yourself.”

Holding it on a Saturday morning, and opening it to the wider community, also makes it easy for families to join in. Relatives can share the morning with the people they love, in a relaxed setting with music and activities for every generation.

The partners are central to that. Members of Ramsgate Classic Car Club spent the morning with residents, talking about the vehicles. Steve Lutz, the club’s Events Secretary, says they “always enjoy visiting Chartwell House and spending time talking to the residents about the classic cars, sharing stories and bringing back memories of their younger days.” Academy FM Radio joined as a community partner, adding to a day that belongs to the whole neighbourhood.

That matters in Thanet. The show celebrates local heritage, connects younger and older generations and brings the community through the gates of a care home. After three years, it has also earned local press interest and community support. Jaye adds that “events like this help us strengthen our community connections and create meaningful experiences for our residents.”

The welcome runs both ways. Steve says the club “were made to feel very welcome,” and that they “hope everyone enjoyed the day as much as we did.”

For the team at Chartwell House, the day sits alongside everything else they do. Clare Swan, Home Manager at Chartwell House, says the aim is never just care: “it is life, thriving.” A morning like this, she adds, shows what that looks like: “people doing what they love, with the doors open and the community here with them.”

The show will be back next summer, with a bumper number of cars, motorbikes and mopeds planned to attend, so there will be plenty more to talk about.

Behind the day sits a simple approach at Chartwell House: value relationships, take each person’s interests seriously and keep the home part of the community around it. When a car show turns into a morning of shared stories, the care speaks for itself.