Inspiring Radio Broadcast – Written & Read by Bob Lowe for BBC Radio 5 regarding Lonliness

Bob Lowe, from Hampshire, is a volunteer for Silver Line, a helpline founded by Esther Rantzen for the elderly suffering from loneliness. He is appealing for more people to join the helpline saying volunteers range from teenagers of 18 to pensioners of 97. The 93-year-old widower who contacted a helpline set up by TV presenter Esther Rantzen following the death of his wife from Alzheimers, is now helping other pensioners beat the problem of chronic loneliness.

Here we can listen to Bob Lowe, from Hampshire, read a moving poem he wrote on BBC Radio 5 Live on Monday. The poem is an ode to his wife, Kath, who died three years ago after they shared more than six decades of married life together.

“I am known as a community champion for Silver Lining. I go round and give talks, would you believe to lonely old people,” he told The Telegraph, adding that he reads the poem out during his talks to inspire pensioners to overcome loneliness

“My wife died 3 months ago after 65 years of marriage but more to the point 72 years since we first kissed…and she waited throughout the war for me and I for her… loneliness tell me about it.”
Mr Lowe added: “I do cry quite a lot of despair, behind the word lonely is despair and grief”.

An increasing number of men are facing loneliness and isolation in their old age. The charity Independent Age and the International Longevity Centre have said the number of older men living on their own is expected to increase by 65 per cent in the next 16 years.

Esther Rantzen CBE Founder and President of The Silver Line said: “The truth about older people is that many of them have led long and fascinating lives but often feel that nobody is interested in their experiences.

“So they are reluctant to talk about it and more than half of callers to The Silver Line callers tell us they have no one to speak to at all apart from The Silver Line. Becoming a Silver Line Friend is an immensely rewarding and enjoyable thing to do, and our volunteers tell us they get as much out of the conversations as the older people they chat to”.

Ode to Kath – by Bob Lowe
I am alone, now I know it’s true
There was a time when we were two
Those were the days when we would chat
Doing little jobs of this and that
We’d go to the shops and select our meals
But now I’m one I know how it feels
To try and cook or have meals on wheels
The rooms are empty there’s not a sound
Sometimes I’m lost and wander round
To look for jobs that I can do
To bring back the days when we were two
When darkness falls and curtains drawn
That’s when I feel most forlorn
But I must be honest and tell the truth
I’m not quite alone and here’s the proof
Because beside me in her chair
She quietly waits our time to share
Kath said to me some time ago
Darling when the time comes for us to go
Let’s mix our ashes and be together
So we can snuggle up for ever and ever.