By the time George Lambert moved into Aspira Harvest Crossing, he already felt like part of the furniture. For years he had been visiting a friend who lived there, turning up so often that people assumed he was already a resident. “Residents and staff would always call me George and ask if I lived here. It was just like living here,” he said. “Everybody knows me now, I thought, so I might as well move in.”

George’s adult life first took shape in the shipyards in England. He started as “a ship’s draftsman” at 15 and completed “a five-year apprenticeship for naval architecture.” After “about six or seven years,” a Montreal firm toured Britain to recruit workers. “I was offered the position to come to Canada and so I came over to work for Canadian Vickers from Montreal.”

Leaving England with just a job and a phone number
He landed at 23, knowing no one. “I didn’t know a soul here. But I had one phone number from a friend of mine in Liverpool. I called that one phone number and within probably about a month I was friendly with so many people…so I never looked back.” The company even paid his airfare and apartment for six months if he stayed two years. “So, I did, I stayed there for two years and one week,” he said with a cheeky smile.

Starting a family in Canada, hobbies, and travelling abroad
Outside of his working life, George followed his passions, started a family and traveled abroad extensively. Soon after arriving in Montreal, “I married my wife Patricia and we had two kids, Sharon in 1972 and Brian in 75 (pictured above),” he said. In his 20s, he threw himself into ballroom and Latin American dancing in England and took up long-distance cycling. Cycling became a lifelong passion and included a trip to Ireland where he “cycled across Ireland from one side to the other and back.”

Later in life George travelled widely through the Caribbean — “all the islands in the Caribbean… you name it, I’ve been to it numerous times.” He also made return trips to Ireland. Whether for business or pleasure, travel was ever-present: “I’ve been all over the world,” he added.

The decision to move into Harvest Crossing
In recent years, sadly George’s health has changed for the worse. “My mobility has gone down for sure. I’ve just got to be very careful now.” When it came time to think about retirement living, one thing was clear: “I wanted to try to stay in Tillsonburg if I could, because I like the place.” He considered another residence in Woodstock that became “probably my second choice,” but one thing held him back: “They didn’t have a wellness centre like Harvest Crossing.”

George, 81, was also keen to laud Harvest Crossing. “There’s so much to do. I mean, the activities here are fantastic, they have the regular stuff every week, but there’s always something new that’s being added,” he enthused. “The person that runs the activities here is absolutely fantastic. She’s got to be one of the most organized people that I’ve ever met.”

Dining, honesty and an attentive team
George describes himself as honest guy. “I speak my mind. I’m from England,” he said. “I like the food here and the servers are incredible, they put up with a lot.” Breakfast service was recently reworked after concerns that it wasn’t being served early enough. Residents’ requests were heard and “Richard (chef) changed the system… and it really changed things for the better.”

George is an early bird — “I am in the dining room at seven o’clock in the morning — and now, I was served breakfast, the actual breakfast, at seven ten, and I was back in bed to continue my sleep… at 7.30,” he said with a smile.

For those on the fence about retirement living
Asked what he would say to someone who is unsure about retirement living, George didn’t hesitate. “I consider this place (Harvest Crossing) to be like a great hotel on vacation. That’s what I think of it all. Every morning I go to breakfast, just like I would if I was on business in a great hotel.” The biggest difference, he said, is peace of mind. “As soon as you close that door, (to your suite) you don’t have to worry about all the groceries. You don’t have to worry about fixing your roof. You don’t have to worry about snow clearing, grass cutting, and all that.”

“I know it’s expensive to live here.” But he adds, “when you figure out everything that’s being provided to you, all of a sudden, that money doesn’t seem that much anymore.” This is what George tells others who are thinking about a move: “That’s what I emphasize… look at all the stuff that you no longer have to do.”