Festive cheer at Christmas coffee morning

It was jingle all the way as a prestigious hotel hosted a Christmas coffee morning for the volunteers and clients of local charity Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin.

Around 50 people enjoyed a hot drink, a mince pie, and plenty of chatting and laughter at the Telford Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort.

‘This was such a lovely and heart-warming experience for our fantastic volunteer befrienders and the wonderful people they befriend,’ said Heather Osborne, Chief Executive of Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin. ‘Our befriending volunteers do such an important, worthwhile job in providing life-enhancing companionship for older people who might otherwise be lonely or feeling isolated. It can make such a huge difference to people’s lives.’

‘A big thank-you goes out as well to the Telford Hotel, Spa and Golf Club at Sutton Hill, Telford, for hosting this event and for their amazing support for our charity.’

Among those enjoying the refreshments and good company were volunteer Christopher and one of his clients, Michael.

‘About 15 years ago, after retiring, I realised that I wanted to give something back and do something useful,’ said Christopher.

‘I found out about Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin and the befriending service they provide, and this really suited me. I really like meeting people, and some of the people I have befriended have been amazing.’

‘Many are real characters. There was one gentleman I befriended, and he had served in the war. So, of course, I asked him if he’d seen any action during the conflict. He told me he had been a parachutist in the army, so I imagined he’d been in all sorts of dangerous situations.’

‘But he said: no, not really. The first jump he made, they had dropped him into Germany on 5 May 1945, the last day of the war. In the morning the commanding officer said: “It’s all over, mate.”’

‘He was told that if he wanted to, he could go to Berlin and celebrate the end of the war. So, he did exactly that, and he said he was drunk for a week! And these are the sort of characters you meet when you become a volunteer befriender. It’s fascinating.’

Michael, one of the clients visited by Christopher, said: ‘It makes a huge difference, having someone to chat to. I really appreciate it.’

Michael, who has an engineering degree, had a variety of jobs during his working life, working for consumer goods company Unilever, Walls Ice Cream, and Waddingtons board games.

The father of four daughters met his wife while working at Walls Ice Cream at one of their factories in Gloucester. ‘We actually met at the Walls Christmas party,’ he said. Volunteer Christopher smiles and says: ‘I love that story about Michael meeting his wife at the Walls Ice Cream Christmas party!’

Interested in becoming a befriending volunteer? Find out more by calling Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin on 01743 233 123, emailing us at volunteering@ageukstw.org.uk or popping into our office at Bellstone, Shrewsbury, SY1 1HX.