As I may have mentioned before, once a week I venture out to meet up with my friend Sidney.
Sidney, which as you should know by now is not his real name, suffers from a mental health issue and I have been “linked” with him for more than five years now through a befriending charity.
He lives independently and although he receives some good support from members of his immediate family, he does spend most of the time on his own.
In my last missive about Sidney, in July 2020, I said he had been assigned a new CMHN (community mental health nurse), who I shall call Simon.
Both Sidney and I were hopeful that Simon would be a little more reliable with regular visits than the previous CMHN Sebastian.
Wrong. Simon saw Sidney at his home twice in a year. And he only made any contact (by phone) with Sidney when I, a volunteer, contact him with an issue that is worrying Sidney.
Anyway, Simon has now moved on too and Sidney has a new CMHN – I shall call her Penny.
Penny’s not been around very long but things seem to be going well – she has called Sidney several times and even been to see him more times in a couple of months than Simon did in a year.
I am so pleased that a vulnerable member of our society is at last getting the attention he deserves and long may it last.
Just two weeks after Boris announced the UK’s Freedom (from Covid restrictions) Day was to be July 19, SWMBO and I attended a wedding in Shropshire.
The betrothed couple had faced three postponements over the past 18 months and now, finally, family and friends were able to witness the nuptials and help them enjoy their day.
As with most weddings, it was a wonderful, boozy affair, with an interesting mix of the young and the old.
I know the title of this column is I don’t get out much but I’m really glad I did for those few days. I’d almost forgotten how to socialise and how to behave in public.
Sidney, which as you should know by now is not his real name, suffers from a mental health issue and I have been “linked” with him for more than five years now through a befriending charity.
He lives independently and although he receives some good support from members of his immediate family, he does spend most of the time on his own.
In my last missive about Sidney, in July 2020, I said he had been assigned a new CMHN (community mental health nurse), who I shall call Simon.
Both Sidney and I were hopeful that Simon would be a little more reliable with regular visits than the previous CMHN Sebastian.
Wrong. Simon saw Sidney at his home twice in a year. And he only made any contact (by phone) with Sidney when I, a volunteer, contact him with an issue that is worrying Sidney.
Anyway, Simon has now moved on too and Sidney has a new CMHN – I shall call her Penny.
Penny’s not been around very long but things seem to be going well – she has called Sidney several times and even been to see him more times in a couple of months than Simon did in a year.
I am so pleased that a vulnerable member of our society is at last getting the attention he deserves and long may it last.
Just two weeks after Boris announced the UK’s Freedom (from Covid restrictions) Day was to be July 19, SWMBO and I attended a wedding in Shropshire.
The betrothed couple had faced three postponements over the past 18 months and now, finally, family and friends were able to witness the nuptials and help them enjoy their day.
As with most weddings, it was a wonderful, boozy affair, with an interesting mix of the young and the old.
I know the title of this column is I don’t get out much but I’m really glad I did for those few days. I’d almost forgotten how to socialise and how to behave in public.
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