Taylor-made humanity

I understand that before you joined the Red Cross you were an engineer...

Yes, with the Northern Ireland Electricity Service.

How long were you doing that?

31 years!

So you retired...?

I retired from there, yes.

How did you end up taking another job if you'd retired? Were you not glad to have 'escaped'?

I got the opportunity of retiring with a pension at the time at 52, and I took it, and because I was a volunteer in first aid with the Red Cross a part-time job came up with the Red Cross which I took and that continued over the years until now.

But you're the manager here.

I am the manager.

How did that happen that a part-time job developed into you being in a whole new career?

(Laughs) Gradually! That's the word, gradually!

How did it work?

I came in part-time for Meals on Wheels and then a full-time co-ordinator post came up, which I went for and was lucky enough to get, and the co-ordinator runs the services, and then the manager's job came up. I had paid staff working for me and I have also got about 25 to 30 volunteers working here now too. So it becomes a manager's job when you have that number of people working with you. That job came up about five years ago now. I have been doing the same work basically from when I came in first.

Do you find it rewarding?

It's a cliche to say yes, but it is. When you go home at night you do realise that, because you have been part of an organisation. It is so important - we couldn't operate without the volunteers. The volunteers we have are just fantastic people; they are out every day despite the weather. When you are part of something like that when you go home at night you know that because of you, or partly because of you, people have got their lunch, people got whatever service they needed.

Of course...Red Cross does Meals on Wheels.

We do.

Is that heavily subscribed to by people, are there a lot of people using the service?

At the moment we are doing about 50.

Really?

Yes: 50 lunches every day during the week. That's been going in the City for 46 years.

That's for people who are homebound is it?

It's for people who maybe don't go far for whatever reason - be it medically or whatever - who can't really cook a meal for themselves, and usually it is people who are on their own or live on their own. It is not even the fact of the meal, it is the fact that they see somebody.

It's the person coming in to see them.

The latter is probably as important - that they see a face every day and our volunteers will deliver letters to them or for them, read letters to them or anything at all. Obviously they don't have a lot of time to spend because other people need the lunches as well, but they really do do what they can.

I suppose because the service is delivered by volunteers they are very dedicated to what they do and want to know how folk are and how they are doing.

The volunteers get very attached to people and it they go into hospital I know of volunteers will go and visit people who have been taken into hospital. Unfortunately, some of the clients pass away and our volunteers really do feel it, because it's like family. You start going to somebody on a regular basis, sometimes for years, and really, they do become like family, extended family. So it really does effect our volunteers.

What other things do you offer here? I know the Red Cross have a wheelchair service as well.

We do, we provide wheelchairs free of charge on short-term loan for eight to 10 weeks.

Hospitals don't provide things like that any more...

No they don't. We've provided a wheelchair for Altnagelvin to use in Altnagelvin. Strange but true. Again to be fair the WHSCT are very very good to us, really. We work very closely together and up to now we have been able to provide all the wheelchairs that people require.

How has the terrible weather effected staff?

Staff are pulling out all the stops to make sure people are okay. There are only two of us here at the moment, but the volunteers all turned in as well. A couple of them could not get in because of the weather, but the rest of them did. We got ourselves a 4x4 vehicle, a response vehicle from our Belfast office, and I brought it down here because we are suffering more than most, and it is on standby just in case we need it. It's just that volunteers may not get out some days to do the meals on wheels round some of the roads - especially at night because in the bad weather when the temperature drops the roads surface freezes and makes it difficult for them. So the 4x4 means I can get a vehicle out with a driver to help if volunteers cannot go in their own cars. It is only a standby but so far we have managed to keep going round everybody, but it's more so with the snow.

What would you say are the highlights in your time with the Red Cross - are there any notable things you feel proud of that the organisation has achieved?

First of all we got this premises two years ago. Previously we worked out of two wee offices in a hallway at the top of the hospital for six or seven years. This place lay vacant and we got some money to do it up. That was wonderful as it gave us more space and we can actually run first aid courses here because we now have the room to do it which we didn't have before. The other highlight was the Queen's Award two years ago, which we won for Meals on Wheels, which I don't think the Red Cross ever won before.

Right...

It was a good achievement and I was very proud of...Actually, the main thing I am proud of is getting round everybody to feed people. Awards are OK. They are very nice to get, but at the same time they don't compare with going to people on Christmas Day - and we did 22 meals this year on Christmas Day.

Really. Do people cook them and take them out from home?

No. The hospital kitchen cooks them and we take them out. It is a proper Christmas dinner with turkey and ham and sprouts, roast and creamed potatoes - the whole bit. When you take that in to somebody on Christmas Day their smile is just amazing - it is worth all the awards and more, to be honest. I think so, anyway.

I know from talking to you that you are toying with the idea of a second retirement next year.

If I live that long (laughs) Yeah, I think I have to stop some time I cannot go on forever! Luckily enough my health is very good and I am reasonably fit. I keep saying it to people and they keep saying 'No, you won't'. I'll see what happens next year.