Mrs B, a bright, intelligent, interesting 92 year old, greeted me warmly, as I arrived to clean the windows of her bungalow. Freesias were blooming along the front of her property, and it was clear that she took great pride in looking after her home of 30 years.

As a result of mobility issues, Mrs B is now unable to access or clean her windows, and was becoming anxious about the list of jobs she is unable to do. Her mood was suffering, as she is also housebound.

It was the perfect weather to be outside, and I suggested Mrs B sit at her front door, so that we could continue our chat...when I arrived, she had been watching sports on TV, and she was interested to hear a bit about my cycling exploits... Mrs B told me about her motorbike adventures, with her husband - to Scotland, The Lake District, and Southern England. Once their children were born, they added a sidecar 😁

The time flew by, and before we knew it two hours had passed! The windows and frames were clean, and Mrs B was delighted with the result.

Before I left, however, there was one extra, small task that I had offered to do.

Mrs B had been talking of her loneliness, especially during lockdown. During that time, her son had brought her a small, cuddly toy cat...

'Dusty' immediately became a valued and much loved companion...so loved, in fact, that he started to show signs of wear and tear. A small hole had appeared, and some stuffing was pulled out...Mrs B was quite distressed, and as a temporary measure, put on a sticking plaster to halt further deterioration. It was clear that she was extremely anxious about losing Dusty, aka 'old soldier', who, along with his younger fellow cat, 'Tiger', kept her company throughout her long days and nights.

I'm not too bad with a needle and thread 😁 so asked if I may have a go at repairing Dusty...it was a short, delicate, painless procedure, but one that had a huge impact.

Mrs B's look of delight, and relief was a joy to see...she said that it was the most important thing that I had done for her.

I am constantly amazed by, and in awe of, the resilience shown by the people that I meet through GG missions...and thankful for the opportunity I have to make even a small positive difference.