Norfolk man praises Age UK campaign to tackle elderly loneliness this Christmas
Ted, from Norfolk has used the service since his wife Jessie passed away earlier this year
Last updated 20th Dec 2021
A man from Norfolk has praised Age UK for setting up a new campaign to combat loneliness amongst older people this Christmas.
Their telephone friendship campaign encourages us all to reach out to our elderly friends, after research found that nearly 1.5 million are expected to feel lonely this festive season.
Ted, from Norfolk and has been using the service since his wife passed away.
He told us how he first got involved in the scheme: "Some time ago Age UK phoned me and said would I like a telephone friend. I said yeah and it started off as just a five minute call. Then they gave me another one, Lisa and she is lovely. We speak once a week for as long as we like, and she's great because I can talk to her about my Jessie".
Ted went on to say that he's so grateful to have this support: "I can talk about anything to her and she's there for me all the time, so is Age UK really. If I want anything from them all I have to do is call. Honestly I think it's one of the best things to ever happen to me.
"The telephone calls with Lisa is great. Whenever I feel a bit down, I can pick up the phone and talk to her about my Jessie".
But he concluded by saying this Christmas just isn't going to be the same without his beloved Jessie: "I'm going to miss her terribly, especially this time of the year. We'd normally be putting the tree now and she loved doing it. But I've got to look at it now that from my Jessie's point of view, she's not suffering anymore".