Retirement Home Chef Bakes Up Community Spirit at Sydney Grange

Ann Hamilton’s homemade cakes have become the sweetest thing to happen at Sydney Grange since the retirement development opened its doors in Failsworth this year.

The 71-year-old, who moved into McCarthy Stone’s brand-new Retirement Living complex in January, has quickly established herself as the development’s resident baker, bringing her culinary creations to regular coffee mornings in the homeowner lounge.

“I really enjoy cooking and baking so when we started up our regular coffee mornings in the homeowner lounge, I thought why not bring a few cakes down for everyone,” Hamilton said. “They went down a treat and we joked about the traybakes becoming a regular appearance for our catch-ups.”

Now she’s planning to launch a ‘Sunday Carvery Club’ to unite her new neighbors over hearty meals and lively conversation. The former family home owner made the move after struggling to maintain her three-bedroom house alone.

“I was living alone in my family 3-bedroom house, I just couldn’t deal with the upkeep anymore,” she explained. “After driving past the development being built, I booked an appointment and immediately decided to sell my house to my son and move into here.”

Sydney Grange offers one and two-bedroom retirement apartments exclusively for over-60s, featuring private patios or Juliet balconies, communal lounges, landscaped gardens, and on-site management. Hamilton purchased 75% of her new home, freeing up funds for her newfound passion project.

“It was definitely worth the wait - you have everything you need right on your doorstep and everyone has been so lovely,” she said. “It just opens so many more doors for me and allows me to have more money to spend elsewhere - like ingredients for all these cakes!”

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