1. CRB check approved!

    Hooray! My CRB check came back in super-quick time. So I’m officially not a risk to potentially vulnerable adults or children, whoop! I’ll let Age UK know on Monday so they can start the matching process.

  2. Speaking of cute, my friend Marc won a prize for this photo taken in Bognor. Well done Marc @exmonkey

    Speaking of cute, my friend Marc won a prize for this photo taken in Bognor. Well done Marc @exmonkey

  3. CRB check next week

    I’ve finally got a date for my CRB check so I’ll be digging out all my paperwork and heading down to Age UK Islington next Tuesday. Hope I get seen quick so I’m not too late into work! They’ve agreed that I can take a couple of hours to get this done which is great.

    It can take up to 6-8 weeks to get things processed but I’m hoping it’ll be quicker. Either way, I’m one step closer to being matched with my oldie!

    I saw a two teenagers with old ladies on the Tube last weekend. They looked like they were volunteering too. One looked really bored and it made me think, you don’t realise how interesting older people are when you’re young. The ladies looked excited to be on a day out though. Cute.

  4. More about volunteering in Islington with Age UK →

  5. Help the aged. Cause one day you’ll be older too. You might need someone who can pull you through.

    — Pulp, 1997

  6. Off to Age UK for my induction

    Spent an hour with the lovely Ruth from Age UK learning the ins and outs of volunteering. The role I’m going for is an Enabler. Not surprisingly, this term isn’t understood all that well - by either volunteers or the older people who are being “enabled” - so they’re considering changing it.

    My interpretation is that an enabler is cross between a befriender and an advocate. (Although I guess neither of those terms are exactly “street”.)

    Ruth takes us through the process of being matched with an older person. The idea is that each placement is for about 8 weeks, although many people choose to carry on. Ruth makes it clear that the support from Age UK officially only lasts 8 weeks, so if you do want to continue the friendship they can’t facilitate. I have to make certain decisions such as which areas of Islington I will consider. I say as close to home as possible; 1-3 hours a week; weekends or evenings (as I work full time); and a female oldie to start with please!

    I’m looking forward to starting but there’s still the CRB check to go. This happens during office hours so I’ll need to take time off work.

    When I get home Dan (boyf) says he thinks I might be taking too much on. What with this, and running club and book club, etc etc! I tell him it’s just going to be a few hours on a Saturday (hopefully) which I think is do-able. I’m excited about starting, I feel it’s already taken a while to get to this stage and the CRB will extend it further. Don’t want to lose momentum!