Friends on the River​

Why Friends on the River?

 

Loneliness is the curse of the Modern World.​

 

There is no substitute for real world interaction with real people. Conversations, group activities, meetings and visits to people’s homes or an interesting trip out to see and do things such as visit a museum, a painting or craft class or other opportunities for friendship and socialising. The value of these activities cannot be overstated.

 

I lost my parents at a reasonably young age but they instilled in me the values of hard work and service to the community which they were so proud of. My Mother trained as a Deaconess but was required to leave the order when she married. She later became Chief Officer at Age Concern in Yorkshire for many years, until she was, ironically, forced to retire due to her age. My Father saw military service in Africa during the second World War then, later worked with under privileged children in London’s East end in the 1950s

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I am now happily married and my wife and I decided we wanted to address some of the problems of loneliness we see in our local area and beyond. We decided to engage with and help people suffering from loneliness by investing in a canal boat and have it fitted out to accommodate visitors to join us for meals, social activities and trips along the Rivers and Canals.

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Having researched the idea, we found it was very well received and we now have a clear vision of the project.

 

The boat will incorporate a kitchen and a homely dining area to provide meals for our guests, we have access to people with various skills who are keen to give their time to teach others in subjects such as painting, craft work and other skills.

 

All the meals and activities on the boat will be provided without charge and will support our primary purpose, which is to engage with people suffering from loneliness. All guests will have access to the same opportunities for interaction with others, all of the various activities and of course the friendships we hope will develop between those participating with us.

 

As a result, we hope they will create connections with each other and friendships which will exist outside of our project and ultimately change lives and loneliness on a permanent basis.

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In addition, we've had expressions of interest from organisations and individuals to provide help and advice for people who need it, with access to careers information, grant funding for various projects and free legal advice to help resolve any issues they may have.

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