From my point of view its a bit selfish. I’ve been retired seven years and I find it extremely hard to sit around doing nothing. So doing this gets me out and about.

My actual job is to drive the minibus. On a Tuesday morning we do a breakfast club and I go around collecting the people and bringing them into the centre, by which time I will have already put out the tables and chairs. We prepare the breakfast, serve, wash up and I take them back. There are usually about 35 people for breakfast, which is getting good again. We lost a few people due to COVID but we are steadily building back up.

Then I come back to Arthington Court and help with the dinners.

I love it. You build up relationships with people. I’ve been away for a couple of weeks and came back to be told that someone I knew here has died. That’s a blow, another relationship come and gone.

I take meals door to door, I take people shopping to Morrisons and I bring them to the centres. I’m a hands on person and I don’t want to sit around at home doing nothing. I read the newspaper and then I’m, right what do I do next. Though I must admit I need to paint the ceiling at home and I haven’t got around to that yet.