Age Concern retirement party

The News, Portsmouth

19/08/2024

Transcript

00:00We should all sing, for she's a jolly good fellow, do you agree with that?

00:05Yes.

00:06And I've got a lovely singing voice, so will you all follow me?

00:11For she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow,

00:17for she's a jolly good fellow, and so say all of us.

00:23Your last day, you're retiring today, how do you feel?

00:28Sad, but it's time, you know, it's time to go on to pastures new, really.

00:37A little bit of excitement as well.

00:39Yeah, a bit of apprehension, and worried people weren't going to turn up, but yeah.

00:47So how long have you worked as an agent for the Borough Centre?

00:50For the Borough Centre, 17 years, 17 years last month.

00:55So you've been kind of managing it here, so I know obviously you age yourselves,

00:59you meet up every week here, so you've kind of been running that side of it,

01:01is that what your role's been?

01:03Yeah, so my role within the centre has been to, as the manager,

01:11but to get grants into, because we're a 95% self-funded centre,

01:20and obviously the service users, getting socially isolated older people back into the community, really.

01:29Looking back 17 years, what's going to be your standout moments, or what are you going to remember most?

01:35Do you know what, I don't know, there's been so many,

01:41but the fact is, you know, when I've had relatives come to talk to me,

01:49and then say what a difference we've made to their loved ones,

01:54that is a really good, makes you feel really, really good,

01:59so that they've, it's enabled them to live their life rather than existing in four walls, really.

02:09So it's given them a sense of purpose, and improved their wellbeing, and that, so that is really good.

02:16I mean, there's been countless funny times of things that have happened,

02:22that, you know, you wouldn't think, I mean, the car park normally is a nightmare,

02:30so, you know, with older drivers, and, you know, the things that are said on the news, and that,

02:38so yes, hence why there's lots of yellow poles around the office and that,

02:44because they do like to drive into it.

02:48Yeah, kind of what you were mentioning before there, for a prize, leads us, kind of,

02:53maybe just a little bit about the service that you are providing here,

02:57and how important you think it is for the society and the community itself.

03:00Well, we provide lunch clubs three times a week.

03:04We also have a befriending service aimed at getting socially isolated people

03:11that are living independently in their homes into the centre.

03:17It might not necessarily mean the centre, but anything that is going to promote independence again.

03:25We do computer lessons, we have a podiatry service four days a week as well,

03:32so it's all focused on older people really.

03:39Well, the centre is for the over 50s, but predominantly it's about, you know,

03:46older people who perhaps have lost mobility or their physical and their mental health has deteriorated,

03:58so it's a sense of achievement when you get somebody, maybe, who has got a bit of short-term memory loss,

04:05but they know that they come to lunch every Tuesday.

04:08Rewarding work then, what you've been doing for such a long time.

04:10Are you going to miss it, are you going to miss the people?

04:13I'm definitely going to miss all the volunteers, the service users.

04:17I'm not going to miss the stress sometimes, but yeah, I definitely am going to miss it.

04:23And probably when I've taken stock and had a little bit of a rest,

04:29then I will probably go and volunteer somewhere else.

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