The good neighbour who made a memory book to beat loneliness

Tim Moran, 54, from Meersbrook, Sheffield, penned the digest for nonagenarian Mike Skipp, who is helped by Sheffield Churches Council for Community Care’s (SCCCC) Good Neighbour Scheme.

Tim hopes the book, which chart’s Mr Skipp’s life with a mixture of photographs, timelines and achievements, will help to trigger his memories and keep dementia at bay.

“I started volunteering for SCCCC last summer, following my mum’s death in 2017. I missed seeing her and keeping her spirits up and wanted to do the same for someone in Sheffield,” says Tim. “Before lockdown, I visited Mike once a week. We talk about current affairs, sport – he was a keen rugby player and referee – and his family. He also likes to hear about my many and varied jobs and the silly things I do in my free time.

“I told Mike I’d completed a memory book for my mum, and when I showed it to him he thought it was marvellous. So I offered to do something similar for him.

“It took a few months – sorting through his many photo albums, letters, press cuttings, certificates, diaries and other documents. With help from his son, Howard, we spent a lot of time at his home piecing together the chronology of his life. I also spent some time researching his past schools, employers and places he had lived. The book takes in the whole of Mr Skipp’s life, from his parents, right through to his grandchildren and great grandchild. It covers family, work, career, travel, interests and also includes some fun questions about his likes and dislikes.

“The book celebrates his life. He lost both his wife and daughter in the past two years and I wanted the book to remember and celebrate the larger family that, until quite recently, he had enjoyed.

“As well as information on Mike’s life I also compiled a summary of key events over the course of his life and dotted these throughout the book. I hoped that this would help trigger memories for him and immerse him in that particular time period. Thankfully, the ‘official’ handover ceremony took place about a week before the lockdown. Mike said that the book will be something he gains great pleasure from looking at.”

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