Born and bred in Gisborne, Len owned a motor-body business, building trucks and fixing caravans until a stroke put him out of action. He’s been at Heritage ever since.

“It was an easy decision coming here, the staff are very friendly and they really care about your wellbeing. They just can’t do enough for you.”

One of the most important things for Len was keeping his independence and he feels you can do that here. In fact, they call him ‘Mr. Independence.’ “I take myself off for a walk around the gardens, the cat comes and sleeps in here and my daughter brings their new puppy in to visit.”

Does he have any favourite staff members? “No, they all treat me the same, better than family. You can have arguments with family, never with the team here, we just have a laugh, it’s a lot of fun.”

Len says he’s thought about what 'A Better Everyday’ means but all the days are good here. “Having people to talk to is a great thing.”