Eleanor's Story

Eleanor started volunteering for Age UK Hertfordshire in her 70’s.  She joined our visiting scheme in North Herts and for fifteen years she visited older people in Royston “I met some lovely ladies through volunteering,” she says. “My last match was with a man, and that was really interesting.  Then when I decided to stop volunteering, my son suggested perhaps I should have a volunteer come and visit me - that way I could still enjoy being part of the scheme.”

Trudie Harrington, the Team Leader for the Visiting Scheme, matched Eleanor with Lizzie. “I was very surprised when Lizzie turned up, as she didn’t look like your usual volunteer,” says Eleanor. “But we get on wonderfully, she’s very entertaining and we often chat for hours.”

“I love chatting with Eleanor,” Lizzie agrees, “I’m always interested in hearing about her experiences and she has so many fascinating stories about her life, growing up on a farm in Dorset and working as a nurse in the 1940’s when the NHS was first established. We talk about all kinds of things and we laugh all the time.”

Eleanor has two children, and her son lives close by, so she does have support most days of the week, but says that the weekends can still sometimes be lonely. “I like my own company, but I also like knowing that I will have company again by Monday.”

Lizzie decided to be a volunteer for the Visiting Scheme after seeing a poster and realising that she would be able to put her love of people and ability to chat to anyone to good use.  “I used to visit my elderly neighbour and chat with him and I worked for the Post Office for most of my life, so I’m used to talking to people from all different walks of life.”

Eleanor also uses Age UK Hertfordshire’s Help in The Home service, and has a Home Helper who visits her once a week. “At first I didn’t think I needed anyone, but my Home Helper is a treasure - she’s so nice, and she helps me so much. Trudie also helped me to organise my Attendance Allowance as well, so really Age UK Hertfordshire have made a massive difference to me.”

Lizzie agrees: “It’s a wonderful scheme, it’s indispensable to some people.”