More than just a cook: Poplar Lodge's hidden talent
We are always excited to hear about the interesting lives of our residents, and have published many stories about their exploits, hobbies and talents over the years. However, the lives of our staff are often equally as interesting.
Dr Paul Severn has been working as a part-time assistant cook at Poplar Lodge sheltered housing scheme in Bembridge for around two years. His favourite thing to cook is pavlova.
“It’s very easy to do,” he says, “but the result looks very good and is usually met with ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the residents.” Paul also loves to bake scones, and his gluten-free flapjacks are particularly popular at the house.
“On the savoury side,” he adds, “my signature dish is paella, which the residents enjoy one Saturday in four, and a sausage casserole. It’s loosely based on a Hairy Bikers recipe, so we know it at Poplar Lodge as the Dave Myers memorial casserole!”
However, Paul leads something of a double life. Having started his career as a maths teacher, he has a passion for ecclesiastical history and now writes books about Catholic bishops. His Roman Catholic Bishops of Portsmouth is due to be published later this year and will be the third in a developing series, following two previous instalments, the first of which was entitled The Roman Catholic Bishops of Hexham and Newcastle.
Before coming to Poplar Lodge, Paul worked for a time at Boarbank Hall in Lancashire, which is home to a community of Augustinian nuns who also run a nursing home. Living in the convent guest house, he helped with the cleaning and in the kitchens while researching and writing The Roman Catholic Bishops of Lancaster. It was there that he also honed his skills in making sticky toffee pudding, which originated in the nearby village of Cartmel.
In 2026, Paul is hoping to go to an Abbeyfield in East Anglia, whose Catholic Diocese will celebrate its 50th anniversary, for a sixth month spell to conclude his research on the local bishops, which is already underway. He also hopes to write on the Catholic Bishops of Copenhagen (in Denmark) and perhaps even a diocese in New Zealand, where there are 14 Abbeyfield houses.
“But a balance must be struck,” Paul says, “because there are potatoes to be peeled, teas and coffees to be made and sandwiches to be prepared!”
Since cutting short his teaching career to care for his elderly mother, Paul has always wanted to be involved in the care of older people, and he has found considerable job satisfaction at Poplar Lodge.
“The balance I have is a healthy and life-affirming one, working and caring, but studying and writing too.”
Paul’s books can be ordered online, either directly from Sacristy Press:
or via Amazon Books:
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