Care home calls on Pompey fans to donate memorabilia to 'transform' room of bed-bound supporter

David Sheppard, the owner of Bluewater Care Home, in Kingston Road, is planning to ‘transform’ Wally’s room and adorn it with Portsmouth FC keepsakes. One visitor, Lance, has already gifted the patient, 75, two shirts and a lot of programmes – which has seen Wally’s face light up with excitement.

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Mr Sheppard told The News: ‘We had Lance and his wife who came in and brought in a couple of shirts and programmes for Wally.

‘Wally is bedbound and what we want to do is adorn his whole room. He loves Portsmouth and is a Pompey fan through and through.

Mr Sheppard said Wally only has his son left in his immediate family, and wants to make the environment for him at the care home as comfortable as possible, adorning it with keepsakes, painting it in Pompey colours and displaying a Fratton Way road sign on the door.

He added: ‘His world is that room, so what we’re going to do is transform the room completely.’ Mr Sheppard said Wally has become so much more gregarious and happy since the shirts were given to him.

‘Wally is a different man today,’ Mr Sheppard added, ‘The carers have said he’s happy and jolly.

‘He lost his wife of several decades and has been struggling, losing the will to want to do things at times, but now he’s totally changed. We’re used to transformations but nothing on this scale.

‘He’s absolutely thrilled to bits with what we have organised already. He said to me “this is the first time I’ve seen people on the outside care”, and I said, “everybody cares”.

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‘If you saw him two days ago, you would not have known it was the same person.’ The care home owner added he would send the donor a picture of the item display in Wally’s room via email.

Anything flammable would be covered in a odourless and colourless flameproof spray. To make a donation, people can visit the care home, or call them on 023 9200 8855 to organise a collection.