At an event hosted by Lewis-Manning at Parkstone Yacht Club, former BBC war correspondent Kate Adie gave a talk to residents and staff from Alexandra House.

Kate had the audience entranced with tales of her youth, and her humble beginnings as a station assistant at BBC Radio Durham before rising to be one of the most established female war correspondents in the world.

Having covered many war-torn regions, Kate recounted some of her most watched broadcasts including the 1980 coverage of the siege of the Iranian embassy and the infamous reporting of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest.

Alexandra House resident Hazel said: “Kate is someone I have always idolised and someone I saw an alliance with as we both worked in male-dominated environments. She was fantastic. I will remember this forever.”

The audience had a chance to ask some questions and each individual received a signed copy of Kate’s book, The Kindness of Strangers.

Nicola Bleach, activities lead at Alexandra House, said: “This unique event was an extraordinary and eye-opening opportunity to hear firsthand the experiences of one of the UK’s most well-known journalists.”