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“Christmas Day by myself isn’t much fun. I’d watch TV and have a bit of dinner. I get pretty lonely now that walking is tricky, and I can’t go out much anymore.”
At Marmalade Trust, we don’t want anyone to spend Christmas by themselves if they don’t want to, so we got in touch with Terry and invited him along to one of our Christmas Cheer events near where he lives. We matched him with volunteer Joss, who drove to his house to pick him up. Along with other guests, they spent the day laughing, sharing stories, eating Christmas dinner and getting to know each other.
Joss wanted to volunteer at Christmas because he loves making new friends and spending time with people from other generations. “The day is filled with fun and laughter and joy, and it’s a great thing to be a part of.” Joss even brought funny stick-on bowties and glasses to the venue which got everyone having a giggle and posing for photos. Joss and Terry bonded over their love for mountaineering - Terry told tales of climbing Kilimanjaro in 1964 and has promised to bring photos of him at the summit to show Joss next time they meet. Joss is a keen mountaineerer and is soon off on his next adventure to North Montenegro.
When Terry ordered a glass of rum, the pair got to talking about Bristol’s famous African-Caribbean festival called St. Pauls Carnival, which Terry used to go to, and Joss has been to more recently. They shared stories about how much Bristol has changed over the years. Since Christmas, Joss has invited Terry out for a pint at his local, hopefully joined by another Christmas Day guest called Gilbert.