Jotting and jetting

The sky's the limit - Abbeyfield's wordsmith takes flight

We spoke with David Kennett, a resident at Abbeyfield House in Bishops Castle, who told us about his talents as a wordsmith, and another more unexpected passion.

David was discharged from the army in the 1950s after suffering a wound. What followed was an accomplished career as a veterinarian, during which he spent over 30 years living in Sicily.

“When I arrived in Italy, all I could say was good morning!

“I did some lecturing at the university there, and the students loved it because my Italian was so poor. I’m pleased to say it’s a lot better now, but my wife, Bobi, was always better than me. She had time to study, whereas I spent my time trying to keep Italian animals alive.”

A charged imagination

David has a real passion for writing, and he found his niche in penning children’s stories.

“I was always interested in writing, ever since I could hold a pencil. I would jot down whatever came into my head and the stories would flow from there. I first wrote for my school newspaper, and I would be writing in Korea where I was stationed, throughout my career and into my retirement, and now at Abbeyfield.

“I have quite a vivid imagination, which helps when you’re writing fiction, especially stories set in a fantasy world.

“I prefer writing children’s stories because I can incorporate dragons and all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures, magic, and so on – but I think they can be enjoyed by anyone, whether they’re ten or a hundred years old. It worked for Harry Potter, so why wouldn’t it work for me!

“Without exaggeration, I’ve probably written over a thousand stories to date, and I’m still always looking for my next flash of inspiration.”

Moving to Abbeyfield

Now 92, David has been living at Abbeyfield House for seven years and is its longest-serving resident.

“I was in another older people’s retirement home beforehand, but it was quite a considerable journey for my family to come and visit me, so I wanted to move to Bishops Castle or thereabouts to be closer to them.

“My son happened to be taking his dog for a walk one day and came across Abbeyfield House, which had a sign on the door promoting an open day. The manager came rushing out the door and said, ‘You look like you have an older parent’, which he confirmed he did. She offered him a tour, and immediately afterwards he called me and said, ‘I think I’ve found the answer to our problem’.

“I love it here, it’s like our own little community. I have a good catch up with the other residents when we eat together at mealtimes, and I can’t praise the staff highly enough. I moved in quite late by most people’s standards, at the age of 87, but if only I’d known about Abbeyfield, I would have been happy to move in years earlier.

“We have regular garden parties when the weather’s good, coffee mornings and raffles. We get a good number of visitors, but they tend to be mostly the same people – I’d like to see a few more strangers through our doors.

“My dream is to meet someone who speaks Italian, or who plays chess, which is something else I greatly enjoy – or preferably both!

“I think it’s great that there are so many Abbeyfield houses, homes and Societies dotted around. I enjoy finding out about what’s going on elsewhere through the Voice, and we also have a great house here in Bishops Castle, so it’s high time we got a mention!”

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