Real Fix Magazine
  • Home
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Relationships
  • Bizarre
  • Crime
  • Health
  • Inspiration
  • Love This
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Relationships
  • Bizarre
  • Crime
  • Health
  • Inspiration
  • Love This
No Result
View All Result
Real Fix Magazine
No Result
View All Result

Woman celebrated her 103rd birthday with virtual walk close to the Cornish coast

RealFix by RealFix
April 25, 2022
in Cute, Editor's Picks, Health
0
Woman celebrated her 103rd birthday with virtual walk close to the Cornish coast
18
SHARES
18
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterWhatsapp

A woman given a virtual reality headset experience for her 103rd birthday so she could go anywhere chose a walk – along a local cliff path.

Joyce Penfold donned the headset and treadmill combination which can transport people around the world or universe.

But Joyce decided on her 103 birthday there was nothing she’d like more than a stroll along a cliff – just near her care home.

Joyce was given the opportunity with help from the University of Plymouth’s ‘Generating Older Active Lives Digitally’ program.

Asked where she wanted to go in the world she chose Maker Heights in Cornwall near her retirement home.

Joyce said it was a “lovely” experience.

She said: “I found it very strange and different at first, but I’m glad I did it – I very much enjoyed it.

“The young women from the University of Plymouth were excellent, they made me very comfortable.

“Usually the only time I go out is when my daughter takes me out, and the furthest we go is just a few miles, for a coffee perhaps and a good old chat.

“The trips on the walker made a nice change but I don’t have any desire to go abroad just yet.”

Joyce was previously given the chance to try the ROVR, choosing to take a virtual trip to the seaside in Godrevy, Hayle.

A woman celebrated her 103rd birthday with a virtual walk close to the Cornish coast.
A woman celebrated her 103rd birthday with a virtual walk close to the Cornish coast.

There she saw a lighthouse and had a paddle in the sea.

She liked the technology so much the GOALD team gave her another go at her 103rd birthday party at Tresillian House in Falmouth.

That time she opted for the cliff walk.

The team at the University of Plymouth is attempting to study the effects of technology on the health and wellbeing of older people.

The headset works with an omni-directional treadmill which allows the user to move in any direction.

This gives users the chance to move around freely in a virtual environment as if they were actually there.

Joyce’s daughter, Maria Blagden, said: “I wasn’t totally surprised because she does embrace everything that’s new.

“I think she was over 70 when she took her first aeroplane flight, so nothing puts her off.”

Dr. Hannah Bradwell, Digital Health Research Fellow for UoP’s GOALD project, has been working in partnership with staff at Tresillian House.

She said: “We’re really interested in the use of technology to support physical activity for older adults, and for us this technology has a lot of potential in that regard.

“As people walk on the treadmill, they get to explore the virtual worlds, and having a range of places to be explored creates a motivation to be active.”

Previous Post

95-year-old Brit became the world’s oldest – WING WALKER

Next Post

‘Tractor obsessed’ three-year-old is taking social media by storm with his farming skills

RealFix

RealFix

Real Fix is a completely free true-life magazine. Check out our Facebook page for more videos and clips, or download our New Real-Fix Podcast for astonishing interviews with some of the real people behind our amazing stories.

Next Post
‘Tractor obsessed’ three-year-old is taking social media by storm with his farming skills

‘Tractor obsessed’ three-year-old is taking social media by storm with his farming skills

You Must See

83-year-old woman completes THIRD Tough Mudder endurance race

83-year-old woman completes THIRD Tough Mudder endurance race

May 16, 2022
Mum with rare spine condition to undergo potentially life-saving surgery thanks to a stranger’s £130,000 donation

Mum with rare spine condition to undergo potentially life-saving surgery thanks to a stranger’s £130,000 donation

May 16, 2022
BBQ fan awarded the accolade of Britain’s best burger – says the secret is beer-flavoured cheese

BBQ fan awarded the accolade of Britain’s best burger – says the secret is beer-flavoured cheese

May 16, 2022
Volunteers transform 5,000-year-old oak tree into incredible 50-seater ‘table for the nation’

Volunteers transform 5,000-year-old oak tree into incredible 50-seater ‘table for the nation’

May 16, 2022
Terminally ill man set to marry childhood sweetheart after family & friends raise more than £5,000 for the couple

Terminally ill man set to marry childhood sweetheart after family & friends raise more than £5,000 for the couple

May 16, 2022
‘Fussy eater’, 10, raised money for hospital which cared for her sick brother – by eating foods she hates

‘Fussy eater’, 10, raised money for hospital which cared for her sick brother – by eating foods she hates

May 16, 2022
  • Home
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Relationships
  • Bizarre
  • Crime
  • Health
  • Inspiration
  • Love This

Real Fix is a trading style of South West News Service Limited.
Copyright © 2022 South West News Service Limited.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Relationships
  • Bizarre
  • Crime
  • Health
  • Inspiration
  • Love This

Real Fix is a trading style of South West News Service Limited.
Copyright © 2022 South West News Service Limited.