When 63 year-old Mardi May made the move to Parkland Villas Ellenbrook, it was a change designed to give her time to do more of the things she always wanted to do.
As a keen poet and the author of seven books, Mardi wanted to dedicate more time to her next writing project – a self-published poetry book. But what she didn’t realise was how many new opportunities the move to the village would bring.
“My first book was published in 1995 but I’ve been writing for close to half a century now – it’s always been something I’ve enjoyed doing,” Mardi said.
“As a writer, I love hearing other people’s stories and that’s been one of the best things about the move to Parkland Villas Ellenbrook – there’s a huge wealth of stories just waiting to be uncovered.”
A writer of both social history and poetry books, Mardi has been a member of a local writing group, the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre, for the past 15 years, facilitating sessions on both poetry and social history.
She recently won the Ellenbrook Cultural Foundation short story competition.
“I’ve also written several books on the people of the Swan Valley. It’s an area I have a great interest in, so it only seemed logical that I spend my retirement years in the region,” Mardi said.
“Now, I’m hoping to start up a writing group for the village’s residents, to help them write their own stories.”
Mardi moved to Parkland Villas Ellenbrook with her husband Peter Letts after the couple sold their citrus orchard in an effort to downsize.
“Peter and I worked in the orchard and it was starting to become too much to handle, so we decided that it was time to move to something which required less maintenance,” Mardi said.
“We had a look around at the options available but many of the houses we looked at had a confined or temporary feeling to them. Parkland Villas Elllenbrook had a fantastic feeling about it – the houses were all new, the staff and residents were friendly and we loved the great facilities that were on offer.
“We were both a little surprised by how easily we have settled in. We love it and now we wouldn’t look back.”
Located to provide easy access to a myriad of Swan Valley attractions, Parkland Villas Ellenbrook offers residents a relaxed, independent lifestyle. Residents can make use of the outstanding variety of leisure and recreational facilities on-site including a purpose built theatrette, a resource centre, pool and spa, gym, café, consulting rooms and more.
“We love the fact that at Parkland Villas Ellenbrook we can do our own thing and enjoy our privacy but we also have the opportunity to be sociable and be a part of groups and activities,” Mardi said.
“The recreational facilities are great. Peter and I are both avid lawn bowlers so we’ve joined the bowling group and we are really looking forward to the inter-village competition.”
At Parkland Villas Ellenbrook residents have the options of spacious two bedroom and two bedroom plus study villas as well as luxurious two bedroom plus study, two bathroom apartments.
“Despite the fact that we were trying to downsize Peter and I decided on a two-storey villa. Our granddaughter is a border at school in Perth so this means there’s plenty of room for her to come and stay on the weekends,” Mardi said.
“It’s certainly a wonderful lifestyle. Peter recently broke four ribs and we were so grateful for the support we received from the staff and all of our friends in the village. To us, it feels like we’re surrounded by family.”
When 63 year-old Mardi May made the move to Parkland Villas Ellenbrook, it was a change designed to give her time to do more of the things she always wanted to do.
As a keen poet and the author of seven books, Mardi wanted to dedicate more time to her next writing project – a self-published poetry book. But what she didn’t realise was how many new opportunities the move to the village would bring.
“My first book was published in 1995 but I’ve been writing for close to half a century now – it’s always been something I’ve enjoyed doing,” Mardi said.
“As a writer, I love hearing other people’s stories and that’s been one of the best things about the move to Parkland Villas Ellenbrook – there’s a huge wealth of stories just waiting to be uncovered.”
A writer of both social history and poetry books, Mardi has been a member of a local writing group, the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre, for the past 15 years, facilitating sessions on both poetry and social history.
She recently won the Ellenbrook Cultural Foundation short story competition.
“I’ve also written several books on the people of the Swan Valley. It’s an area I have a great interest in, so it only seemed logical that I spend my retirement years in the region,” Mardi said.
“Now, I’m hoping to start up a writing group for the village’s residents, to help them write their own stories.”
Mardi moved to Parkland Villas Ellenbrook with her husband Peter Letts after the couple sold their citrus orchard in an effort to downsize.
“Peter and I worked in the orchard and it was starting to become too much to handle, so we decided that it was time to move to something which required less maintenance,” Mardi said.
“We had a look around at the options available but many of the houses we looked at had a confined or temporary feeling to them. Parkland Villas Elllenbrook had a fantastic feeling about it – the houses were all new, the staff and residents were friendly and we loved the great facilities that were on offer.
“We were both a little surprised by how easily we have settled in. We love it and now we wouldn’t look back.”
Located to provide easy access to a myriad of Swan Valley attractions, Parkland Villas Ellenbrook offers residents a relaxed, independent lifestyle. Residents can make use of the outstanding variety of leisure and recreational facilities on-site including a purpose built theatrette, a resource centre, pool and spa, gym, café, consulting rooms and more.
“We love the fact that at Parkland Villas Ellenbrook we can do our own thing and enjoy our privacy but we also have the opportunity to be sociable and be a part of groups and activities,” Mardi said.
“The recreational facilities are great. Peter and I are both avid lawn bowlers so we’ve joined the bowling group and we are really looking forward to the inter-village competition.”
At Parkland Villas Ellenbrook residents have the options of spacious two bedroom and two bedroom plus study villas as well as luxurious two bedroom plus study, two bathroom apartments.
“Despite the fact that we were trying to downsize Peter and I decided on a two-storey villa. Our granddaughter is a border at school in Perth so this means there’s plenty of room for her to come and stay on the weekends,” Mardi said.
“It’s certainly a wonderful lifestyle. Peter recently broke four ribs and we were so grateful for the support we received from the staff and all of our friends in the village. To us, it feels like we’re surrounded by family.”