Portsmouth Good Companions celebrate another year of friendship

Members and volunteers at Brendoncare’s Good Companion Pub Club celebrated another year of friendship, reminiscing about everything they have done over the nine years they have been together and making plans for the future.

Club members have been meeting every Monday morning at the Good Companion pub in Eastern Road, Southsea since January 2014. Pauline Piper, one of the volunteers leading the club joined on the very first day it opened.

She explains why she joined and what made her stay.

“Initially, I came along as a member with a view to volunteering but after the first week, I realised I had to volunteer, not waited upon, as I knew I could make a difference.

“It has made such a difference to my life and I look forward to seeing everyone each week. I get as much out of the club as I put into it. I’d like to think I make the members smile and we have good times at the club.”

Pauline add: “Sometimes for many of the members, it’s their only outing during the week. They all look forward to coming and always leave with a smile on their face. I never thought I would be here nine years later but that’s how much it means to me.”

To mark the occasion, members enjoyed a celebratory birthday cake. Such is the success of the club, a second group, the Good Companion pub quiz has just started on Wednesday mornings, the staff and pub owner Greene King allowing the clubs to use their facilities free of charge.

The clubs are run by Brendoncare, the Winchester based charity that provides community services and care homes for older people.

There are over 70 clubs in Hampshire and Dorset with 24 of them in Portsmouth, Gosport, Fareham, Havant and Emsworth.

To find out more about becoming a Brendoncare club member, please call 01962 857099, email: clubs@brendoncare.org.uk or visit the website: https://www.brendoncare.org.uk/community-clubs