“I feel like I belong to something. I get back more than I give. It’s so rewarding.”

"I needed to keep busy in my retirement. I’m not ready to just sit down and watch daytime TV."

Mountbatten hospice is just up the road for Anne, who lives in West End.

"I looked after many patients over the years who received excellent care from Mountbatten. And it’s close to where I live, so I decided to volunteer.”

Green-fingered Anne supports the gardening group of inpatients and outpatients who meet at the hospice building on a Monday.

"It’s so social, we have a coffee and a chat, then potter around in the garden doing the weeding and looking after the vegetables and the plants.

“The patients love it. One gentleman has been coming in quite a lot because his wife died in January, and he finds it very therapeutic. He’s made friends with the other men in the group.”

As well as keeping busy, it is important to Anne to continue caring for people, as she did when she was a nurse. She also volunteers as a Mountbatten neighbour, visiting an isolated person once a week for a coffee and a chat.

"After nursing for 50 years, suddenly, you retire, and you’re a nobody. You become a nobody. You miss your colleagues and interaction with people.

"But when you join an organisation like this, you feel wanted and needed, and it gives you a good feeling.

"I feel like I belong to something. I get back more than I give. It’s so rewarding."

We're looking for a gardener and many other roles to join our team of volunteers. Apply below, call 02382 548852 or email us to find out more.