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of the W.V.S. who organise the entertainment every Friday, and
were able to enlist the help of the police cadets who act as
escorts on the coaches. Here we have three organisations working
smoothly side by side, happy in the knowledge that thanks to
their united efforts 32 old people may look forward each Friday
to an enjoyable afternoon among friends.
TELEVISION FOR THE HOMEBOUND
Providing TV sets for homebound old people continues to be
a great problem. There is a real need for them and we are unable
to find enough sponsors. We have contacts with two firms who
provide TV sets at reduced rentals, where the old people pay the
licence and rental themselves but for many even this outlay is
impossible on a very restricted budget and we would welcome offers
from firms to present sets in genuine cases of need. This has
been done on a large scale in other boroughs and we are sure
that firms in Southwark are not less generous than elsewhere; we
have had such a fine response to our appeals for funds in general
that we venture to make this special appeal for old people who
have no other possible form of entertainment; to those unable to
go out, rarely visited by friends or relatives, TV can make all
the difference and turn a bleak existence into cheerful living.
THE VISITING COMMITTEE
This committee, which began as a small nucleus of members
representing a few of the voluntary bodies who organise visiting
in their districts, has expanded during the year to include a
large number of organisations,meeting every two months to supply
lists of old people and information which has been useful to
establish a central record. With the merging of the three
boroughs in view,and the resultant difficulties of the transition
period to overcome,it was decided to change the function of this
committee and make it a forum of all interested in the welfare
of the elderly, where they could talk over problems and obtain
advice. To this end a panel of expert advisers has been invited
to sit as co-opted members.
While the statutory organisations will be able to offer
useful adv ice they will be in a position to appreciate the
difficulties of those working in the closest contact with the
old people of the borough, and it is hoped that these informal
talks will thus be of reciprocal value.
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