No More Loneliness | Raising Awareness with Sunrise

We all know how awful it can be to feel lonely, yet it must be so much worse to feel lonely and either less mobile, or more isolated than us young'uns would be. So, I teamed up with Sunrise Senior Living to create a meal to raise awareness for the often crippling loneliness that elderly people feel. I invited my dearest grandmother to come along so that I could make her a meal, courtesy of Sunrise and the recipes they sent me, and play some games with her.
I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous. My grandma is basically the master chef of our entire family and I wanted to make something to finally prove that I'm basically an adult and totally capable of cooking things for myself. So, I went with a goat's cheese and roasted cherry tomato salad (one of my own recipes which you can find here) for a starter, and Sunrise's beef bourgignon recipe. I have to say, I was pretty impressed with myself. Despite the bottom of my pan looking a little cinder-y, the main itself was delicious, and I've definitely saved the handy recipe card it came on for future use.
When Sunrise first contacted me, I was given a choice of potential games that they could send for us to play. After we'd eaten our meal together I got my whole household (well, the three of us plus Grandma) together, so that we could all play some card games. I am so glad to say that grandma absolutely loved this - though maybe that was the wine from the meal talking?! The entire day gave us a chance to spend some quality time together, as well as for her to learn some new card games and finally get out of the house. As we lost my grandfather earlier this year, it's become even more important that as a family we spend time together, so Sunrise provided me with a perfect opportunity to do exactly that.
Finally, I challenge you to do what I did: spend some time with a neighbour, friend or relative who is elderly: cook them a meal of something they wouldn't eat everyday and take the opportunity to listen to their woes and joys this Autumn.