Fresh from her 78th birthday celebrations with husband John, Doris Hogger tells Sebastian Murphy-Bates how she improves the social lives of the older generation

“I’ve been chairwoman of the Manor Club for over-50s at Ted Ball Memorial Hall for four years.

“I joined in 2011 because council clubs started closing.

“There were still a lot of council gyms but my friends and I didn’t want to spend our time in a gym.

“I’d heard the Manor Club was a good one so we went because we needed somewhere to play bowls.

“It turned out to be a really friendly club and, at the very least, it stops people sitting in and looking at the TV all day.

“The main thing is people get to socialise – some of our members can’t go out much so it makes a huge difference.

“If it wasn’t for this club, they might not socialise at all and they’d be stuck at home.

“I couldn’t stay at home all day and I’ve got a garden – some people haven’t even got a garden.

“We have bingo four times a week, darts on Tuesdays, and short mat bowls on Wednesdays and Fridays and we’re open weekdays from 10am to 3.30pm.

“It’s £2 a day for visitors but with a membership you get one free week then it’s £4 each week – just come and see us at the hall and we can sign you up.

“And we try to organise a trip each month – on June 17 we’re taking our annual trip to Broadstairs for the Dickens Festival, which will be £8 for members and £12 for non-members.”