Tina's story

Tina gave up a successful sandwich business to start a new career as a housekeeper at Cote Lane. Her only regret is that she didn't do it sooner!

About me

Tina hails from Eccles in Manchester. She’s been married to her husband for forty-two years. They have three children - two boys and one girl - and eight grand-daughters. “We moved to Bristol over thirty years ago.” She laughs, “It’s a beautiful place, but Bristolians don’t always seem to appreciate it.”

Tina’s own mum lived with dementia. “I used to go back to Manchester every month and take her out. She used to say, “don’t take me back to the workhouse.”  For some reason she thought it was a workhouse. Mum used to sit in the car and hold onto things because she didn’t want to go back in.”

“When I think of the place my mum was in and then you look at the Russets… It’s just everybody that’s got dementia should be able to go to a place like that – it’s fabulous.”

Why I’m here

Before she joined St Monica, Tina ran a sandwich shop for ten years. “I had six staff working underneath me. I did the wages, the VAT, all the holiday rotas and it was a real big change when I left. My husband couldn’t believe it when I went home and said, “I’ll be cleaning toilets.” He was absolutely flabbergasted.”

But Tina had made the decision that she wanted to work with older people: “My mother-in-law was poorly and her husband was very disabled. She was paying people to come into her house to do jobs for her, but people were just taking the money and not doing a good job. It upset me so much to think that people were doing that.”

In 2006, Tina became a member of the housekeeping team at Monica Wills House, Bedminster. She’s now a house keeping supervisor at our Cote Lane Retirement Village. “I’m really keen that when people go to do people’s cleaning that they actually do a proper job. I don’t want anybody’s relative to come here and look round and think “what are they doing for my mum and dad?”

My Role

When Tina first saw the job advertisement, she admits that she didn’t know what a senior housekeeper did. “I start off at about ten to six over at head office and at about eight thirty I go and make sure everybody’s all right in Oatley House and the Court. I stand in when staff are on holiday and I also clean the flats when residents are on holiday.”

“I always say “treat me like a home help, whatever will help you, I will do it”.  Residents like you to clean their cupboards out and their glass cabinets. They’re not going to be giving up their independence.  They’re going to be independently living, but we’re here if they need any help. Everybody should end up somewhere like this. It’s fabulous, isn’t it?”

Working with St Monica Trust

Whenever Tina’s relatives come down from Manchester, she always knows just where to take them. But it’s not Bristol Zoo or the Clifton Suspension Bridge. She laughs, “they’re so surprised when I say, “do you want to come and see where I work?”, but I’m just so proud of it all. I think it’s wonderful. I also take them to Bedminster because I am so proud of Monica Wills House.”

So, does Tina have any regrets about giving up her sandwich business? “I can’t tell you how much I enjoy it.  Everyone’s so friendly and approachable. It’s just great - it really is.  I never get up in the morning and think, "oh no, I’ve got to go to work." I wish I’d come here years ago, I really do. I think I would have loved to have been a carer and maybe gone higher in the organisation, but it’s never too late.”

If you're interested in working for St Monica Trust, then take a look at our latest vacancies or register with us to be notified of future opportunities within the Trust.