Interviewer

Okay. So could I ask you your name please?

 

Louise Stockwell

My name is Louise Stockwell.

 

Interviewer

Nice to meet you, Louise. And what friends group are we talking about today?

 

Louise Stockwell

Ealing Hospital League of Friends and the cafe.

 

Interviewer

Thank you. And could I ask how old you are?

 

Louise Stockwell

57.

 

Interviewer

Thank you. It’s nice to meet you today. So what first got you involved with the friends group?

 

Louise Stockwell

I’d lost my job due to COVID in October, 2020, and at the time, however, my Dad was in hospital, so I relocated to Gloucestershire, my home, our original home, and lived in my dad’s house for six months, looking after him while he was in the hospital, you know, ferrying clothes, and washing, and all of that. And then sadly, I then came back to London and didn’t have any work, needed to get work, and keep myself busy, and get back my confidence, because I’d really, really lost my confidence, and felt very isolated. And I was put in touch with an employability agency called Twining Enterprise. They alerted me to the volunteering website, clicked on it, found Anne’s contact details, and submitted a application. And I thought it was good, because I just really wanted to get back out again, and hopefully meet people again.

Interviewer

And did you have any preconceptions about what you might potentially be getting involved in?

 

Louise Stockwell

No. I applied for till operator, which was a position advertised on the website and I thought, well, I like maths. I like adding up, I can do change. Maybe that would suit me. And I said that I was available in the mornings for the week, and that was where it all started.

 

Interviewer

And how’s it developed?

 

Louise Stockwell

Well, unbelievably, I took to the till, learned it quite quick. Then I asked Anne if there was a chance to do changes and updates, to make it easier to use, and she’d show me how to do that. So then I started learning on my own, how to configure the till and change prices, enter barcodes, consolidate stock, make it easier, put in new pop-up menus, colours, and consolidate things. And it’s just sort of blossomed from there. So now I feel confident in supporting the till. So it’s sort of like my old, old job as a technical support consultant, or subject matter expert, you learn something and then you help others to learn, and you make improvements. So it’s been amazing.

 

Interviewer

So is it just the till stuff you do, because it sounds like you’ve put in a real contribution there. Yes. What else have you got involved in?

 

Louise Stockwell

So I have done cooking before through Scouts, so I used to volunteer through Scouts. We used to do camps and I used to help weekend camps, week camps and, and knew that I’d had that experience. So Gifti trained me to cook the breakfast and the lunches, the food that we prepare. And I learned all the hygiene rules, or refreshed all the hygiene rules. And I come in two days a week on the 8:00 a.m. shift, and I prepare all the food for opening up at nine o’clock. So I do that as well. And so that’s been amazing to do.

 

Interviewer

It sounds like it’s been a really positive experience.

 

Louise Stockwell

Definitely really positive, because I’ve I feel like I’m giving back to the community. I meet lovely people. You don’t know who you’re going to meet from one day to the next. You do meet the regulars. Like we have one regular David who I say hello to on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and know his order off by heart now. And so it’s brilliant. You, see nurses, doctors, members of the public, people that are waiting for appointments or just come out of an appointment. Yes, so it’s, it’s lovely to meet people and see have contact each day. So that’s been good.

 

Interviewer

And it’s interesting because what you’ve described, you didn’t have a background in healthcare particularly. No, but you’ve had lots of transferable skills which you’ve applied?

 

Louise Stockwell

Exactly. Yes. So that’s been brought to my attention through Twining Enterprise because the lady there who was a job consultant, she just said to me, “Be confident. You’ve got all these skills on your CV, many 33 years of experience, they’re all transferable. Just be confident and just get out there and know that you can you’re methodical and you can transfer into anything.” And she just showed me how to do that. So she coached me throughout. Once I’d applied here, she continued on coaching me and and that she I’ve been signed off now as part of the project that I joined. But she said, she said to me, “well done you”. She was positive, which made me positive, and gave me back my confidence. But yes, definitely very transferable into retail.

 

Interviewer

Well, the confidence definitely comes across.

 

Louise Stockwell

Yes.

 

Interviewer

And a real warmth of personality. I have to say.

 

Louise Stockwell

Yes, I was sad because I’d lost that through isolation, and lockdown and I’d felt really different. Really sad, really low. But coming here has just been amazing. It brought me, brought me back to my normal self. Definitely.

Interviewer

And, and my sense is just listening to everybody and, and from what I’ve seen, it’s as much, not as much about what you do, but who you’re doing it with, as well. There’s something about the team which feels quite special here.

 

Louise Stockwell

Exactly. I mean, Ann was amazing from day one. She was, she encouraged me. She could see I was nervous, she could see that I was lacking in confidence, but she just, you know, was patient and, open to anything, suggestions and that, so she was very encouraging. Gifti is very positive. So she helped me through, she spotted that I was wanting to do more, and willing to do more. So she, she coached me as well. Everybody that comes in to volunteer as, as been welcoming. So yes, I couldn’t have asked for more really.

 

Interviewer

It sounds great. So is there anything else that you want to tell me?

 

Louise Stockwell

Well, I just hope that I can stay here for longer, you know it’s… Yes,I just want to carry on at the moment. It’s it’s it’s good because I walk here. That’s another big bonus is that I walk here from my house 30 minute walk each day, which is amazing. That’s good for self-confidence and good for your, your mind. And then I can walk home as well. So it’s perfect.

 

Interviewer

And, and I think if we, it happens to be that in, in the future, there are people listening all around the country to this, there are Leagues of Friends in every town, all around the country. Yes. So, you know, hope if anybody wants a volunteering opportunity, they can walk to, there probably is one near them.

 

Louise Stockwell

Yes, I would definitely look, you know, look on Google or find some agency that can help you, but hopefully there’s a website you can go on, and I would encourage anybody to look for that opportunity, because sitting at home wondering what you can do, or whatever it is you may be doing. If you’ve got spare time, giving it to volunteering, Leagues of Friends especially, I would recommend it, it’s so warm and welcoming.

 

Interviewer

Brilliant. That’s great. Okay. Thank you.