Birthday gesture breaks isolation sadness for Sheffield man, 93

Fran O’Callaghan, aged 48, from Wharncliffe Side, delivered a cake, a card and a jigsaw puzzle from a distance, having met birthday boy Jack as part of Sheffield Churches Council for Community Care’s good neighbour scheme.

Fran signed up to the charity’s flagship scheme earlier this year, and was paired with Jack for weekly friendly visits.

However, with visits postponed due to lockdown, she was desperate to do something to help Jack, who, SCCCC said, has not been out of the house since his wife passed away two years ago.

Fran said: “Towards the end of last year, there was a feature on the news about loneliness in older people.

“I saw on social media about SCCCC needing volunteers for friendly visiting and got in touch with them to see if I could help.

“I started visiting Jack once a week, at first for an hour, but we got on so well that sometimes three hours would pass. I love visiting him; we talk about everything from cooking, hobbies, gardening, fishing and animals. He’s usually so jolly and upbeat.

“When lockdown began, I started phoning him rather than visiting and he sounded so down – really not himself. I knew it was his birthday coming up, so I wanted to cheer him up. I had bought him a jigsaw puzzle and didn’t want to put it in the post in case it didn’t get there.

“I checked with the team at SCCCC and they said as long as I kept a safe distance and wore personal protective equipment, I could leave it on his doorstep. I phoned Jack and he was up for it – he knew I wouldn’t be able to go in the house.

“So off I went, I took him a food parcel with some buns in, and sung happy birthday from the bottom of the garden. It really cheered him up. I go over once a week now with a food parcel with homemade pie and pudding for him, all at a safe distance. We chat for 10 minutes or so, him on his doorstep, me at the end of his garden.”

For more information about SCCCC, or to donate, visit scccc.co.uk/donate