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67. VE Day Special - Dulcie Matthews and Dorothy Hall - Hope, Resilience, and the Spirit of Coventry
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🎙 Episode 67: Dulcie Matthews and Dorothy Hall – Hope, Resilience, and the Spirit of Coventry
This very special VE Day episode of Wild Card – Whose Shoes? is a real treat. 🕊️
Join me, Gill Phillips, as I welcome two extraordinary women: Dorothy Hall, familiar to listeners from Episode 64, and her equally inspirational friend Dulcie Matthews, aged 88.
Dulcie grew up in wartime Coventry, and shares her moving memories of a city scarred by bombs but brimming with resilience. Her evocative memoir From Paradise to Eden brings the 1940s vividly to life — and today, she brings that world to us through her words, wit, and warmth. 🌸
In a beautifully candid conversation, Dulcie and Dorothy reflect on ageing, creativity, and retaining a sense of identity and purpose when society would often rather render older people invisible.
✨ From Dulcie’s lockdown poems and fairy tales for her great-granddaughter to their joyful adventures searching for "fairy doors," this episode is packed with wisdom, hope, and humour.
We talk about social prescribing, the healing power of music and nature, grief and resilience — and dreaming up a bold new vision for compassionate care in later life.
🍋💡🍋 Lemon lightbulbs
🍋 You are still you
Despite how society treats older people, identity, creativity, and inner fire do not fade with age
🍋 Stay curious and always say yes
Dulcie has stayed open to life’s opportunities, even through deep grief and loss
🍋 Creativity is an escape — and a lifeline
Nature, writing, fairy stories, and music offer not just escape, but deep healing.
🍋 Invisible no more
Calling out the way healthcare systems often marginalize older people — and fighting to be seen and heard.
🍋 Rediscover your roots
Dulcie rekindling her love for Coventry reminds us that reconnecting with our past can offer hope for the future
🍋 The world changes — and we adapt
From wartime Coventry to lockdown Britain, Dulcie’s reflections show resilience as a constant thread through life
🍋 Music unlocks memory, joy, and connection
The powerful role of music in both healthcare and daily life — lifting spirits and bridging generations
🍋 Imagination is ageless
Whether it's fairy tales or reimagining community care, creativity thrives at every age, so support people to use their skills and feel they can contribute
🍋 Challenge stereotypes by living fully
Wearing jeans, playing piano, creating stories — refusing to be boxed in by other people’s ideas of ‘old age.’
🍋 Reimagine care: people first, not conditions
A visionary idea: flexible, creative care communities inspired by the hospice model but open to all
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Dorothy's key message? "Be more imaginative about how care is offered "
Dulcie’s key message? "Stay curious. Always say yes!"
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This is a celebration of courage, creativity, and connection — the spirit that saw Coventry rise again after WWII, and the same spirit that Dulcie and Dorothy embody today ❤️
🌟 A heartfelt thank you to Dulcie and Dorothy for sharing their stories so openly. A perfect listen to inspire you this VE Day.
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Chapters
1. 00:00 – Welcome and Introduction - Gill sets the scene for a very special VE Day conversation with Dorothy and Dulcie (00:00:00)
2. Dorothy’s story continues from Episode 64: Reflections on ageing, purpose, and the long-term friendship between Dorothy and Dulcie (00:01:30)
3. Meet Dulcie Matthews Dulcie’s Coventry childhood, wartime memories, and her book 'From Paradise to Eden' (00:02:50)
4. Finding Purpose Through Creativity - Dulcie’s love of nature, writing, and how creativity became her escape (00:05:25)
5. Scraps of Paper and Snippets of Life - the joy and poignancy of Dulcie’s little collected thoughts and observations (00:08:00)
6. Wartime Memories Echo in Lockdown - Dulcie shares a moving poem comparing the Blitz to COVID-19 lockdown (00:10:30)
7. Invisible in the Healthcare System - powerful stories of age discrimination and fighting to stay seen and heard (00:14:00)
8. Rebuilding Life After Loss - Dulcie speaks honestly about grief, resilience, and trying to find new purpose (00:18:30)
9. The Fairy Nan and the Power of Escapism - the magical world of Fairy Nan – creating fairy stories to stay hopeful and connected (00:22:00)
10. The Importance of Saying Yes - Dulcie’s life philosophy: staying open to new opportunities, even after heartbreak (00:26:00)
11. Music, Memory, and Healing - how playing the piano – even with challenges – keeps Dulcie connected and joyful (00:30:00)
12. Creativity and Kindness in Healthcare - big dreams: how art, music, and imagination could transform hospitals and care homes (00:34:00)
13. The Singing Towns Initiative - Dorothy’s experiences with community choirs and the joy of singing for health (00:40:00)
14. Rediscovering Coventry - Dulcie’s love of her home city rekindled, and curiosity as a way to keep moving forward (00:44:00)
15. Building Better Care for Older People - a passionate discussion about reimagining care based on flexibility, kindness, and community (00:48:00)
16. Final Reflections – Stay Curious, Always Say Yes Gill, Dorothy, and Dulcie sum up their conversation with messages of hope and resilience. (00:53:00)
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