My mother is so lonely, how can I help her?

[susie100]

I am hoping for some ideas.... My mother is fab, loves going out, loves 'young people' and is always the life and soul etc. My father is the complete opposite and now they are both retired my mother is finding life very difficult indeed to cope with.

She really needs to be busy. My father is great but not much of a companion as he goes be bed at 830pm and is quite solitary.

I meet up with her at least twice a week of which once a week is an evening excursion but I desperate to get her involved and engaged in something. She is so bored and lethargic and I think she is bordering on depression. I strongly believe humans have a need for activity and to feel busy to avoid depression (which does run in my family). She does not have many friends as they have moved away/abroad.

Does anyone have any ideas? She lives in Wimbledon if that helps and I would love to help her get involved in something before she slips further into herself.

Does she have any book-keeping skills? Many local small charities really struggle to find someone to act as treasurer.

My Mum joined a local gym with swimming pool and goes there 2 or 3 times a week, more for the socialising than the exersize, although both do her good. She has met a lot of new friends there, she said recently that the gym would fold without the Granny Brigade.

She also goes to Line Dancing, has gone to German lessons, if fact she did her Higher German exam a couple of years ago.

She did a DIY course for a while (in B&Q) but admitted that she was not really suited for it when she could not hammer the nail into the wall with an electric screwdriver.

I can hardly get her on the phone now that she has retired, she is out gallivanting all day

My mum is a widow and I think the key thing is that she's followed her interests.
She does conservation work for the national trust (she loves birdwatching)
she's in choirs and a folk band
she got a dog
she does do bits of paid work sometimes
she does embrodiery at home
All of this is since my dad died 10 yrs ago
she's made mistakes - she hated working for the c.a.b and the university of the third age didn't go well!
you are so lovely for caring so much

Join the ramblers - did wonders for my mum and now she's so busy (and very fit) she has no time for me!

Nice way to keep fit. I went along a few times and the people seemed friendly without being nosey.

This is a really good local charity to get involved in: www.wimbledonguild.co.uk/

There is also a good local group called the John Innes society based around Merton Park that I know a lor of older folk socialise through:www.johninnessociety.org.uk/

HTH