Report transcript in: Collin's story-resettling, illness, volunteering, friends and living

Please Report the Errrors?

So Colleen,

thank you so much for You're welcome.

Doing this today,

really appreciate it.

So,

um,

so sort of what I'd like to ask you first is sort of where,

where are you from originally?

Are you from Stockport?

No,

I'm from Liverpool originally,

born a miles south of Anfield,

which is the football ground.

And then moved

Stockport when I was 16 because of my dad got a promotion.

He was a customs officer in the docks in

Liverpool and he got a promotion to Manchester Airport.

Then I went to university,

went to London,

cos that's where all the jobs were when I finished university,

and then got a chance to move back up north,

uh,

and did.

So been here ever since.

So when did you move back?

Um,

when I was about 30,

because

in London,

I had a girlfriend,

now wife,

oh no.

Um,

and we were trying to look at trying to buy somewhere in London

and um it's in mid 80s,

and you know,

you go to an estate agent and say,

well,

we've got 30,000 pounds,

and they just laugh and throw you up on the street in London.

In Manchester,

they go,

OK,

how many bedrooms do you like,

and how big do you like your garden to be?

It's like,

well I'm going back and north then

so I've been here ever since,

yeah.

Yeah,

so um.

So I'm,

I'm sort of wondering,

I'm just sort of trying

to find out from people basically and from you,

what life is like at the moment for you.

Right,

um,

I've only lived

in Briddington where we are now for 18 months.

And when I moved here,

I had just broken my neck,

which wasn't a very good idea.

Um,

and then I found out I had prostate cancer,

which wasn't very good either,

although that's,

that's gone thanks to the wonderful

Christie's Hospital.

And then

a few months ago I broke my back as well.

I haven't

been that mobile.

Um,

but I actually think

certainly where I live,

which is just,

you know,

5 minutes down the road,

is a lovely little place.

I mean,

it's a,

it's like a retirement close cul-de-sac.

So everyone lives there is either elderly or vulnerable or disabled or whatever.

But the community generally,

um,

I know it's not the same everywhere in Brynnington,

um,

are really good people,

you know,

they're friendly,

helpful,

you know,

look after each other.

I love,

I love coming to I think it's amazing.

Yeah,

I'm,

you know,

people

ask me say,

well,

you going to Bruton.

Only choice actually because

all my various mobility issues.

And after a while I went

this is fine.

I go to the churches,

I go to the gym,

I go to the library

and you know,

it's great.

Transport's great.

buses are every 10 minutes,

so,

Doctors is 2 minutes hobble.

Yeah.

Yeah,

yeah,

it's great.

So very happy.

Good.

Is there anything,

uh,

you're sort of hoping for the future?

Have you got any hopes for the future?

Um,

I'm,

I'm quite happy.

I've only been here 18 months,

and

you know I've got a lovely little bungalow,

um,

a nice little cult.

So I just want to

stay there,

carry on

keeping busy,

whether it's going to church,

or going to the gym or or whatever,

get involved with community groups like Marie's group and um

then.

You know,

I'm retired,

I'm in no rush to do anything different.

I just like to live here,

carry on being happy.

I seem to be surprisingly busy

because when I retired.

The thing that frightened me most was I'd be bored

sitting on the couch watching the telly all day,

couldn't be more different,

it's like,

well I could do this.

Oh,

tomorrow I'm doing that.

Oh,

and then,

oh,

it's Sunday,

oh it's church.

OK,

Brian,

and life's just great.

But yeah.

So you're involved in quite a,

quite a bit.

Yeah,

I volunteer for.

Well,

not everything,

but

a lot of things,

if I think I can help somebody,

whether it's cancer or whether it's alcohol or whether it's

whatever,

like these guys here,

then I,

I'll try and help people.

And why is that is that

I don't want to put words in your mouth or is

this because they have helped you or have you had help

in the past.

The reason I first got involved with this stuff is

because I don't know Bridlington at all.

When I first moved here

and once my neck had healed a bit so I could,

you know,

become more mobile,

I just went around looking around for

different groups or different things to do,

and I found um.

There's a bereavement group run by Delphine,

and sadly I lost one of my sons

and had a miscarriage,

or my wife had a miscarriage,

so I thought,

well I can help with this

because it's a very difficult area both to,

you know,

to be on the receiving end of and

you know,

to,

to help with,

so I can do that

and uh I did that with Delphine

and same here um with Marie.

was in the library and there's a poster on the notice board

saying,

you know,

alcohol,

drug

problem,

go and um come and see Marie and Les who who's next door.

And um

so I said OK.

So I went to the library reception and said,

you can tell me what,

where this is?

I said,

yeah,

they're over there sitting in the corner,

which was Marie and Les.

So I just went over and introduced myself,

hello.

And um

I go there both to help

because I can

and

be help,

so it gives me

both ways,

you know,

I'm meeting these guys

who you you've been talking to.

I've helped Andy in particular,

no,

not me personally,

but

you know,

to see him grow from

a very nervous,

shy,

worried guy that came in

to where he is now,

because he's

basically running a place with Les,

is very rewarding,

so yeah,

I like to,

you know,

I get something out of it,

they get something out of it,

so it's a win

win.

Oh,

that's amazing.

So what else are you involved in?

Any other groups or?

Delphine's Breedament Group,

um.

Marie's group for drug and alcohol

and all the church stuff

tends to be not a regular thing,

but they'll have um

like when it came to Easter,

we um

got Chris and they asked for

members of the community to

talk to local school kids from Saint Paul's

about Easter.

So I said well I can do that.

Um,

one of the experiences that was

about 30,

uh,

they break them up to smaller groups,

about 6 or 7 at a time,

and they move around the different stations of the cross.

And I,

me and Pat,

um,

you know,

around one group,

I did most of the talking.

With a,

you know,

it was a crucifix,

big,

big one,

and a,

a crown of thorns

and talk to these kids who were like,

can I put that,

can I put that crown on?

No,

it's like,

it's thorns,

you can't,

no.

I said I'm not sure what help it was,

but it was great fun,

and the kids seemed to enjoy it,

so the teachers were

really what yeah they had a great time cos

they weren't doing anything apart from taking photographs and.

And um

you know they're laughing their heads off

while we tried to control these kids like,

no,

don't do that.

No,

no,

exactly right.

Oh,

that's great.

It sounds like you get a lot of your uh.

Energy and

A positive outlook actually by

volunteering and doing things for other people.

Yeah,

um,

yeah,

because now I'm retired,

so I,

I like being busy

because it just keeps me occupied whether,

you know,

whatever it is coming here or

you know going out and about and just helping out with stuff.

So yeah,

I do get a lot of it,

especially helping people

because

it's rewarding for me

to help people,

um.

So they get something out of it hopefully,

and so do I.

Yeah,

yeah.

Is there anybody that stands out that you would say has been

influential in your life?

I mean,

do you mind?

My whole life

I've still got friends from university,

which surprises a few people.

Um,

because that's 40 years ago,

and they said,

well,

and they live all over the the world.

One lives in Australia,

one lives in Valencia in Spain,

and ends in London and Bristol,

but we still keep in touch,

which is obviously easier now you've got the internet and

that sort of stuff,

but um,

yeah,

friends

really is uh

you know,

the best

sort of help cos they'll.

Tell you the truth whether you like it or not.

It's like,

right,

OK,

um,

but I and Pete said last time he came up,

uh,

from London,

he said,

we're only telling you this because we love you,

Carl.

She's like,

oh no

just

doesn't mean I have to like it though,

does it?

But it's actually,

I think it's so important,

isn't it?

It's like good friends.

Yeah,

good friends who

who do Dead straight with you.

Yeah,

absolutely.

Because they care.

Yeah,

they care.

So is there anything

you would like to do,

you feel like,

uh,

there's barriers or is there any fears for the future you have?

Not really.

When I found out I had a prostate cancer,

I thought I was going to be dead in 6 months.

So I,

you know,

did my funeral plan,

wrote my will,

did all my pension things,

everything like that,

and,

and then.

Thanks to

Claire Barron Alice,

who I should bring up every opportunity with

the radiographers who treated me at Christie's,

you know,

I came home one day and went,

oh,

I might be alive for a few years yet.

What am I gonna do?

And so I did,

um,

you know,

start doing this sort of stuff just to

keep myself busy,

um,

which also

stops me drinking as much

cos if if you're bored sitting at home watching telly,

you know,

it's easy to just,

I'll have a can of beer or whatever.

um,

and then

just,

it is rewarding to go out,

you know,

it's enjoyable to meet people like you and the guys next door,

and um.

Yeah,

so yeah,

that's,

I'm happy doing that for as long as I can.

Oh,

no,

that's amazing.

Thank you so much.

That's really.

OK,

you're welcome.

Yeah.

All right.

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Author

Inge

Post date

12/03/2025