DOING your bit to bring festive cheer to lonely older people in Oxfordshire is as easy as sending a text...or pulling a cracker.

Six guests of honour were invited to the Oxford Mail’s Osney Mead offices last Thursday for the newspaper’s annual Christmas lunch.

Among them was Hazel Plested, 91, from Headington, who has a weekly phone call from a volunteer ‘Phone Friend’ at charity Age UK Oxfordshire.

We are aiming to raise thousands of pounds for the vital service by the end of the countdown to Christmas.

Mrs Plested featured in a story for the campaign talking about loneliness since the loss of her husband John in 2012. She sat next to reporter Michael Race at lunch.

She said: “I thought it was wonderful. Michael was so kind and helpful. We were chatting away about my little bird, and cricket, and he told me about his nan.

“It was a job to hear him because of everyone else – there was so much going on. There was such a happy atmosphere and if I was younger I would like to have worked there.”

Apart from joining us for the lunch, Mrs Plested and fellow campaign participant Jesmi Peiris, with four visitors from Longlands Care Home, Blackbird Leys, were shown around the press hall where thousands of copies of the Oxford Mail and other papers are produced everu day.

She added: “It was very interesting. The rolls of paper must weigh a ton. We read the Oxford Mail but it wasn’t until I came down I realised how big the place was.”

Reporter Sophie Mogridge, who sat beside Mrs Peiris, said: “I hope our campaign has inspired people to reach out to people like Jesmi, who is a fantastic lady with interesting tales and an amazing sense of humour.

“It was great to show her around the offices and our printing press – she seemed to really enjoy it. I look forward to staying in touch with her and to going round for tea.”

Luciano Thomas of the Orders of St John Care Trust, which runs Longlands, said: “I’m grateful that residents were invited to the Christmas lunch.

“One said during the tour that he used to work in a newsroom, and remembered what he used to do. From a cognitively-stimulating point of view, especially for residents who have dementia or memory loss, it was fantastic.”

The Lonely this Christmas campaign has so far raised more than £1,370 for Age UK’s Phone Friends.

The service gives hundreds of lonely older people in the county something to look forward to each week, and offers a safety net for those who have no one else to turn to with problems.

Oxford Mail managing editor Sara Taylor said: “It was a privilege to share the annual Christmas lunch with a few of our city’s older residents.

“Christmas is a time to reach out to neighbours and loved ones. But it’s easy to forget that thousands of older people face the festive season alone, and just a phone call – or an hour in the company of others – could make all the difference.

“I ask readers to donate to the Lonely this Christmas campaign to help us brighten up winter for isolated people in need.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP
* Donate to the Lonely this Christmas appeal, which is aiming to raise £5,400 by Christmas to support Age UK Oxfordshire and its Phone Friends service. Text AUKO52 £3 to 70070 to give £3 or visit campaign.justgiving.com/charity/ageukoxfordshire/endloneliness to pledge an amount of your choice.

* Volunteer with Age UK Oxfordshire. Ten new recruits are being sought over the Christmas period to work from the charity’s headquarters in Banbury. There is no set minimum age and Phone Friends can volunteer from just two hours per week. To find out more, email volunteering@ageukoxfordshire.org.uk. 

* If you’re organising a Christmas lunch for neighbours and older people who may not have anyone to share the day with, register it at communitychristmas.org.uk