"I want to thank GoodGym for all the love and warmth you give"

Emily is visited by Anna from Tower Hamlets every week. They speak about local history, their families and friends. Anna tells Emily about her work and things she's done and seen.

Anna says their relationship is different because she's not there to sort out any problems, she's just there for a chat. Emily told the GoodGym central team how much the visits meant to her and we got in touch to find out more. She had the following message for everyone involved in GoodGym:

I really look forward to her. That comes from my heart. She's my guardian angel. Sometimes she comes and I'm very down and by the times she's done I'm back up. I feel more close even to her children.

From my experience, if Anna didn't come, I'd see no-one. When she comes it brightens up the day. I'm thankful that these people do do that. Sometimes we wouldn't be seeing many people to help us. I always look forward to Anna's visits on Wednesdays, when she's away she gives me a ring and that's very nice. To have someone like her, for a lot of pensioners it's something to look forward to, you know that someone cares.

I've got two sons but they are not nearby. When she comes it's lovely and I know that I have something to look forward to.

Sometimes I talk about the old days and she says 'I didn't know that'. Old people like to have someone who will listen and we'll talk about the old days and talking about it makes our brains work. We remember things, if we didn't have people visiting our brains would stand still and we wouldn't keep remembering.

My neighbours say she's my daughter, that's what I feel, and no-one can take that away. I'm very lucky.

If she didn't come I wouldn't have a friend, and she's my only friend you know, I see neighbours but she's the only one I can talk to about how I feel. I want to thank GoodGym for all the love and warmth you give."

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