. At the time I chose to quit my fast-paced job and move back up North, near Huddersfield. I didn’t have a job when I was looking for volunteering opportunities – I had no money but plenty of time to give.

After moving I started visiting a local bookstore and I found that within a few minutes of being there, the owner had shared his whole life with me. I thought he was possibly quite lonely and maybe didn’t have the support he might need; that touched me, so I visited more and more.

That experience triggered a feeling that I wanted to give something back, so I started looking at volunteer opportunities.

I came across an advert for a Companion and while I didn’t know much about Marie Curie, I did some research and spoke to my parents about it. It just so happened that many years ago my grandfather had help from a charity, which meant my grandma, who was caring for him, had some time to do things for herself. He died when my dad was 18, but he remembers it clearly. Their story struck a chord with me about the positive impact volunteering could have on struggling families and that made me want to apply.

I currently visit two people, both living in different situations and with different needs. One is an older gentleman who lives with cancer, and I visit him once a week. He had been a full-time carer for his wife who died recently, so alongside managing his grief, his life as he knew it had turned upside down.

On my first visit I discovered that he loves gardening and used to be very outdoorsy, going on hikes and tending his garden. I don’t have my own garden, but I’ve got a lot of house plants – so we bonded over that.

I have a new job now, and amazingly I’m allowed one day a month off to volunteer, so I decided to take advantage of that and accompany him to various garden centres for coffee and cake or some shopping. Being able to tend to house plants gives a lovely sense of gardening without being outside doing physically strenuous work. His plants are flourishing and he’s taught me quite a bit as well!