I moved to South Queensferry in 2002, but I was still working at that time. I trained to become a Reiki practitioner in 2009 and. after I retired, I contacted The Haven to see if anyone would be interested.
By doing that I met Lorna, and she asked if would be interested in becoming a befriender . I started befriending in 2018. That's how it all started.
I have had three ladies that I've visited over the years. One of them was during Covid, and this has been my longest befriending relationship. I used to visit on a weekly basis and have a chat in the garden.
I used to go over and above with this person because she was on her own and struggled to do certain things. During Covid, I used to do a bit of shopping for her. Afterwards, I would accompany her to appointments.
The shortest time I visited a lady was just under one year. I remember that, on our last visit, we had a lovely walk on what was a sunny day. When we got back, we sat in her garden for a bit, and she said that she'd had a lovely day. That was our last visit before she passed away.
I am currently visiting another person who is so active and loves to walk. She actually puts me to shame. I found out that we share the same birthday, which is unusual because I've never met anyone with the same birthday as me before. I started visiting this lady in late 2025.
I've had a really good rapport with all the people I've visited.
There has been gaps between each person that I've visited, and I can't remember if it was during one of those gaps that Lorna asked if I would help with Supper club to cover holidays. I now do the third Thursday of each month, and more if there are holidays to cover. The Supper Club is such a nice crowd.
As a volunteer , I like getting to know people and hearing their stories.
It's just good forming relationships and being with like-minded people who want to support the community.
