The Geranium Trust
Dear John,
I read with great interest your article “Old and Alone, Try reaching out”. It started me thinking back to Saturday 11th February, 2017, the day that my lifelong partner Geoff died. We were together for 42 years having met at a party in 1975.
The day after Geoff died I went out into the garden at our home in Somerset, the garden that Geoff loved so much, and just screamed and whaled non stop….What on earth was I going to do now that I was all alone in the world.
In those first few months, after loosing Geoff, I would go into town and walk the streets. I’d go into every charity shop and start tidying the shelves and talking to the customers, just as I did in the department store that Geoff and I ran together for many years. I was SO LONELY!
One day I walking out in the 2 acre field that his bedroom looked out onto. Suddenly, without any hesitation, I decided that I’d turn that field into a nature reserve and plant lots of trees and wildflowers and call it Geoff’s Meadow. I also decided that as there must be many people just like me who needed friendship and support I would set up a charity to make use of our lovely old house and it’s 26 acres of land. I would call it the Geranium Trust after Geoff’s favorite wildflower, Herb Robert, the wild British Geranium.
The Geranium Trust supports ANYONE who needs a friend. We hold a monthly tea party for the old folk in the village and a monthly Sunday Roast Dinner for Gay and Bi guys. We also allow other groups, including the local hospice and NHS, to use the converted Barn and other facilities for coffee mornings and training sessions etc. The 26 acres of garden and farmland is slowly becoming a small Wildlife Haven where young people with learning differences come several days each week to do gardening and nature studies.
I love sharing our home with others who maybe alone, or have not been quite so lucky in life, and I know that my dear Geoff would be so happy if he could see how much fun I’m having supporting others just like me.
People say to me, “Paul, it’s fantastic what you are doing for others” I always reply by saying “I DON’T DO IT FOR THEM….I DO IT FOR ME!” And I do, and now I’m no longer lonely!!!
Paul
www.geraniumtrust.org
Court House, Stoford, Yeovil, BA22 9UA U.K.
Phone: 01935 - 429096 Email: geraniumtrust@gmail.com
Please Help us! Your Donations, however small, will help us to continue our work for the vulnerable in our society. Please send whatever you can afford, care of me, at the above address. Cheques should be made out to the Geranium Trust - ONLY You can also donate via Paypal
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DIARY OF EVENTS My sincere thanks, Terence 'Paul' Palfrey Founder - Chairman
Please Donate to help us to continue our work supporting those who are living with loneliness, bereavement and Isolation. Geranium Trust at NatWest Bank, Yeovil Sort Code 60-24-37 Account No. 22436898