Slough's older residents enjoyed a day of bhangra, chair aerobics and yoga together last week - and they did not break a single Covid rule.

Thursday was International Day of Older Persons.

So four organisations - Slough Seniors, Apna Virsa, Men's Matters and the town's Asian Carers Group - got together to launch a day of online activities.

Elders were treated to a Bhangra session at 11am, seated chair aerobics/keep fit at 2pm and yoga at 5pm, all free of charge. And Slough Seniors Group hosted an additional class on Zoom for its members.

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Meanwhile, video addresses and personal stories were run on the Apna Virsa Facebook channel to cheer up seniors who had been shielding during the pandemic.

Pushpa Kharbanda, who is in her 80s and runs the Asian Carers Group, said: Ive known six people who have passed away during the pandemic for different reasons so you can imagine how difficult this year has been for the towns older population overall.

Therefore it was lovely to come together and share some happiness with friends online. I did a video message myself and it was an honour to pay tribute to friends and family whove supported me in the past months.

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Founder of Slough Seniors, Vijay Gupta, who turned 80 shortly before the lockdown began in March, said: It was of course disappointing that we couldnt hold the event at a physical location this year, but we had to take the health and safety of our members more seriously than usual."

The celebration came days before the launch of Apna Virsas walking campaign, 30 Minutes for 30 Days, which encourages seniors aged 50 and over to walk for five days a week for six weeks running. Seniors who have walked the most steps will win a prize. Follow Apna Virsa on Facebook for updates.

In addition, Slough Seniors is resuming its keep fit programme, with a seated aerobics zoom session on Thursdays from 11am to 12pm.

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Slough's older residents' day of bhangra, aerobics and yoga - Slough and Windsor Observer