Friends group helps bereaved ward off loneliness

A friendship group which has helped many older people avoid loneliness and isolation has urged others to strengthen friendship and social bonds before winter sets in.

Heart of the West Oddfellows runs regular social events, activities and meet-ups across Torquay and Newton Abbot in Devon.

September is Friendship Month, and the group said that "as winter approaches, and the evenings become darker and shorter, many people have fewer social plans and can start to feel isolated".

Events organiser Sam Wyton said members helped "provide easy routes for older folk to get to know each other, and that the friendships formed have a real and lasting effect on wellbeing throughout the year".

An estimated 7% of adults reported that they felt lonely often or always, according to government figures for 2024-25.

Heart of the West Oddfellows is one of 91 branches of the Oddfellows organisation in the UK.

It has about 350 local members in the Newton Abbot and Torquay area.

Across the country, it has nearly 40,000 members.

Ninety-year-old Dave Dryden, of Newton Abbot, joined gatherings after his wife died, and said he would feel more lonely if it were not for the group.

Dryden said: "You try to fill your time up with gardening and a lot of television watching, but that gets boring.

"It's the friendship of it all that I like"

Jackie Campbell is another who attends the social meetings and events.

She also suffered a bereavement and had to give up driving because of eyesight problems, so she found that she was feeling "a bit lost".

However, Campbell said the interaction had given her "an extra boost of confidence".

She said: "[I've] met so many new people, who've all become friends."

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