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Six years ago, Cyril Aggett came home to an empty house after the death of his wife Shirley.

The now 86-year-old said he was immediately hit with loneliness when he shut his front door after her funeral.

For around 15 years, Cyril, who lives outside the gates of Coombe Dean Secondary School, had previously been attending the canteen during lunch with his wife, enjoying a warm home-cooked dinner amongst the schoolchildren.

For a month after Shirley's death he could not bring himself to leave the house, but after a call from the school to check he was OK, he returned for lunch.

Now, the granddad has been mingling with staff and pupils during lunch-time, four-times a week for the last 20 years.

(Image: Penny Cross / Plymouth Live)

Cyril has shared his experiences with loneliness as part of Plymouth Live's Be A Friend campaign.

"When I first came here I was down in the dumps," Cyril said.

"I get a cup of tea, my lunch and good service. Everybody talks to me, the office staff is brilliant and even when my wife was ill, they took dinners up to her.

"My wife was there one minute and then I couldn't talk to her because she was under sedation all the time."

Cyril said that in the past year, he had a spell of not wanting to get out of bed, but visiting the school has helped get his love for life back.

(Image: Penny Cross / Plymouth Live) (Image: Penny Cross / Plymouth Live)

He added: "A couple of months ago, I wasn't really getting up until about 2pm in the afternoon, it was lovely weather and I couldn't be bothered.

"I think Shirley must have said 'pull your socks up you know'.

"Coming down here has brought me out of my shell again."

The Coombe Dean lunch ladies will make Cyril extra batches of sausage rolls, pasties and apple crumble for during the school holidays, so he can freeze them.

"I don't think they should go on holiday actually" he joked.

Cyril, a retired bespoke shoe maker, said: "It can be very lonely [living alone]. Once you go inside that door.

"I come down here and see the children, a lot of them talk to me, there's one young man that comes up and makes sure he talks to me.

"I love the company and the noise. Once I go indoors and I close those doors down, there's nothing.

"It's mayhem really, it's good. I'd be lost if I didn't come down here."

(Image: Penny Cross / Plymouth Live)

Cyril said he tries to combat loneliness through music.

He said: "Luckily I've got a lot of music and I've just bought myself a new music centre, so I can play the records from the 20s up to the 70s.

"If I get fed up, I just put the music on and just sort of enjoy it. It's the music that I like, not the modern stuff."

Be A Friend - how to help Plymouth's lonely Age UK Plymouth’s aim is to enable older people to remain independent for as long as possible in their own homes and to enjoy a good quality of later life. Lynne Hodgson, fundraising and marketing manager, said: "Our mission is to care for and work with older people and their carers in and around the city of Plymouth to improve their quality of life through the promotion of choice, opportunity and independence. "Since 1942 Age UK Plymouth has sought to meet these needs in a way that recognises the individuality and dignity of everyone with whom we work. We make a valuable contribution to the quality of life of older people in the city of Plymouth providing a wide range of support and services from day care and dementia services to helping people in their own homes and providing social and creative activities." The charity continually develops its services to meet the changing needs and aspirations of older people and currently employs around 70 staff and works with around 45 volunteers, who contribute to providing a range of support services. But Age UK Plymouth needs your help. Lynne said: "We are appealing for people in the community who may be able to give up a small amount of their time to volunteer with Age UK Plymouth to help older people connect with others in their own neighbourhoods." There are many different volunteering opportunities available: Community Companions – to offer one to one befriending.

Community Enablers - to help people access activities in their own area.

Drivers - to take people to community venues/events.

Advisors - to signpost people to support services and activities.

Event coordinators - to organise local community events for older people.

Fundraisers - to raise funds to support community activities. You can find out more about volunteering, here. You can donate to the campaign, here.

What is 'Be A Friend'?

Be A Friend is Plymouth Live's Christmas campaign, focused around loneliness in the elderly.

Loneliness and isolation can have a devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of older people.

Plymouth Live is working closely with Age UK Plymouth as part of the campaign.

Be A Friend aims to raise money to provide a series of lunches in December, January and February to offer lonely and isolated people the opportunity to engage socially with others, make new friends and enjoy a meal together.

(Image: Penny Cross / Plymouth Live)

The campaign will see a number of people share their experiences with loneliness, as well as highlighting groups, events and organisations to visit to help widen your social circle.

If you have a story or suggestion that focuses around loneliness, or you are someone who is helping those who feel lonely, get in touch via email at katie.timms@reachplc.com or call us on 01752 293186.

How can you help?

(Image: Penny Cross / Plymouth Live)

There are a number of ways you can get involved with the Be A Friend campaign - the easiest way is to take an extra five minutes to talk to someone you know may feel lonely or isolated.

You can also help Age UK Plymouth in a number of ways, including becoming a community enabler.

This role helps Age UK Plymouth to organize events in the local community which are focused around including people who may need to grow their social networks.

Sometimes all it takes is transport to get around when they can’t travel independently.

Age UK Plymouth is getting its own car soon and needs volunteers to help with driving older people around.

You could also work at the centre in Mount Gould answering phones and giving advice or helping clients with their personal admin.

If you can’t volunteer, then any contribution toward the Lonely in Winter appeal will be most gratefully received.

If you know of someone who could use some assistance, Age UK are there to help and you can get in touch, here.

How do I share my story?

There are a number of people in the city carrying out good deeds to help others feel less isolated.

Whether it's visiting your elderly neighbour for a cup of tea, or you bring shopping to someone who is unable to leave the house, every act of kindness helps bring positivity to someone's day.

If you would like to share your experiences of loneliness, or you know of an individual, group or organisation which is taking steps to combat loneliness, get in touch.