Max’s
Sightline Story
I’m 95 and have been enjoying my weekly call with Claire since June last year. I live alone but my children and grandchildren visit when they can. I still do my own shopping, albeit at my own slower pace, but I enjoy that.
We speak about all sorts of things. I like to keep a check on what’s going on in the news and we always chat about things going on in the world. We always feel a bit more fortunate about our own situations after our conversations on that!
Football is always a talking point during our calls. We always have a bit of banter about how Claire’s team are performing in The Championship; it’s never that well so we never end up spending more than a couple of minutes on that at the start of our calls!
“My befriender went to a tribute act last week and I enjoyed hearing all about that – especially when she broke into song on the phone – that gave me a little chuckle.”
Holidays are always a good conversation point too. I travelled a lot when I was younger and Claire enjoys hearing about the places I have visited.
My granddaughter is taking me to stay with them on a little holiday soon, so I’ll enjoy spending time with her, her husband and of course my great grandchildren. They’ve asked me to help them plan some changes to their garden. I’ll be using the knowledge I gained when I had my allotment to help them with ideas. I’ll leave the excavating and digger work to my grand daughter’s husband mind you; that could be a little dangerous if I got behind the controls! I still enjoy gardening, so I’ll be just fine with my trowel and am looking forward to getting some spring bulbs planted with the girls.
Claire is a great listener; I spend the most time talking on our calls but she’s such a lovely lady and will chip in when she feels she wants to. Our calls have made me feel less lonely with living on my own. She’ll listen when I get a bit down about being in the winter of my life, but she always manages to lift my spirits.
I’m so glad I was referred into the Sightline service by another sight loss charity. I look forward to our calls every week and we both say we look forward to sharing our news the next time we speak.
(Names have been changed to protect identities).
If you would benefit from a telephone befriending relationship like Max, we are ready for your call.
Call 0800 587 2252 or email us at info@sightline.org.uk to find out more.
To find out more, please contact us:
(*0800 numbers are free to call from BT landlines and most mobile networks)
