Last week I had a message that started something like, "I am looking after my grandmother and wonder if you could help", which is a very normal text for me but then it turned out that the grandmother was in hospital and they needed help looking after the cat. In the interests of client confidentiality, this photo is not the client, it is my cat who is at least ten years younger and very much dafter and once had a phase where she only wanted to sit in this plastic bowl, until she grew out of it.

The Client Cat was also slightly eccentric with a tendency to violence if approached incorrectly. The granddaughter asked warily, "Do you know about cats?". Oh yes, I certainly do. By following the instructions we got along very well. The humans left a 5 star review and so did the cat because after a few days of me announcing that dinner was served and asking if he wanted any contact, and getting a resounding "No", on the last day he came over to me for some head rubs.

That was one job with many happy customers.

Look who I met today! I was supporting a client at one of the retirement flats in Hook and I met a gentleman taking his tortoise for a walk. The tortoise was having lunch outside and enjoying a bit of a stroll and a sunbathe. I stopped to say hello and found out that he is 56 years old. His owner had inherited him from his mum who had owned him from when he was little. The owner didn't seem much older than his tortoise.

I love tortoises. I feel grateful today for the sunshine and my new tortoise friend.

Hook Home Help is a small team of women helping people in and around Hook, Odiham and Hartley Wintney and Rotherwick. Home help can involve anything that isn't personal or medical care. It might be folding the washing, changing the sheets, helping with admin, cleaning, shopping, anything that makes life easier

Happy Easter to everyone who follows Hook Home Help. Today our hearts are warmed by the client who gave her helper an Easter egg for her little boy - who she has never met but just heard about! How sweet is this?!

They have only known each other for a month and they aleady have a special little friendship.

Hook Home Help is all about finding the right helper to look after the right person so that friendships can form and trust can be built. We are there to do the small jobs at first and then as the relationship builds we are there to listen when sad things happen and we are there to help when things get tough.

This week one of our other helpers went in to do some basic jobs and found that the gentleman had fallen that morning and was a bit shaken up. She was there to make tea and lunch and we told his daughter so that she could pop in later on.

Often in life the small things are the big things and we are there to help with both.

Hook Home Help is a small team of women helping people in and around Hook, Odiham and Hartley Wintney and Rotherwick. Contact me if you would like to know about what we do

This is just one of the loveliest things to happen to me lately. One of our clients’ daughters contacted me early one Monday morning to say that her dad needed an emergency dentist appointment and she didn’t have time to sort it out so could I take over and get the appointment and get him there, so I did.

Hook Home Help is helping people in different ways. Last week one of our helpers, Amy, was asked to help sort out an airing cupboard. She said she worked on it with the client and they were really laughing together about how to sort out the chaos, and the question we always ask ourselves - how to fold a fitted sheet? 

Do you know what a Deep Vein Thrombosis is? I think we all have a vague idea that it is a blood clot that you can get from not moving. We might know this is why people wear compression socks on long flights but I, for one, certainly didn’t know anything else until recently. 

In the past couple of months I have had two clients suffer from a DVT. I thought a blood clot would be a small thing that you couldn’t really see and would kill you instantly - this is not the case. Both clients had one leg swell up to twice the size of the other one! The leg was hot and painful and the skin was flaky. It hurt to move and they had to use crutches all the time.

One of my ladies has really suffered with this and it hurt my heart to see her in so much pain. It helps if you can keep moving, but it hurts to move. Someone who had been so independent and so active was suddenly completely unable to move. 

March is DVT awareness month and I thought it would be useful to share this information.

Part of my vision for Hook Home Help is to be able to support older people who need some practical assistance, but also to provide flexible part time work which is rewarding and where people feel valued and appreciated for what they do. We always give our clients the whole hour, and often more. We are forming firm friendships and valuable relationships. One of my clients said quietly today, “Wednesday is my favourite day of the week, I don’t know what I would do without you”.

This week I will be giving a talk about mindfulness to the residents of The Signals in Hook. Mindfulness can help us feel better mentally and physically and sleep better. Small changes can make a big different in how we think and feel which is what Hook Home Help is all about. Sometimes we are giving lifts, making tea and changing sheets. This week we were trying to help people to feel happier in other ways.

Hook Home Help is a small team of ladies helping people in Hook, Odiham, Rotherwick, Greywell and Hartley Wintney

Mindfulness can help to decrease anxiety, depression and stress and will also improve sleep and general enjoyment of life. This can be particularly useful to older people who are often worried about their own health issues and those of family and friends. 

Mindfulness can help to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s, improve memory and focus and help us to deal with the strong emotions that come with the changes of aging and with bereavement. It can help us to allow ourselves to rest, to find some calm and feel happier. 

Today is World Hearing Day. Our ability to hear is so important for both our mental and physical health. One in six people in the UK live with hearing loss - it is the most common sort of sensory loss. But how many older people do we know who do not want to admit that they can’t hear you?! How many times do you talk to your older relative and realise that they are pretending to be able to hear you and are mainly guessing at what you might be saying? This can lead to some confusing conversations!

“Wonderful, kind and understanding. So incredibly responsive to changing and fluctuating needs and respectful of clients wishes. An amazing team of lovely people. Thank you so much.”

Sometimes we pop in every week and just help to keep everything ticking over. Every client is different and we go as often as they need and do whatever needs doing around the home. Often this is a bit of cleaning and a bit of help around the home. The odd trip out to the hairdressers or opticians. A bit of company and support with walking and exercises and helping people to keep on top of things. There are many regular clients seeing their regular helpers with no news, no drama and no photos. So far this year we have also covered a few emergency situations. 

We have taken people to visit their partner in hospital, and supported them while they were home alone, unused to the solitude. We have informed relatives about increased confusion and people needing extra support. We have supported them while they make the difficult decisions that come with this. 

“I recommend Penny’s company for their quick response to my inquiry, for their friendliness, understanding and flexibility. They worked around my dad and his resistance to help but I can instantly notice when someone has been in. The house is clean and there are little things that make a difference, like cushions being plumped.”

This is from the daughter of a lovely older gentleman who is over 90 and gently, but firmly independent! We have been helping him for a few months on a fortnightly basis. He manages everything himself and we had no contact with any other members of his family so my heart leapt when I had a message to call his daughter who had tracked us down! He had had a fall but luckily the damage wasn’t too bad. 

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“Penny and her team are fantastic, it has given us such peace of mind knowing that our relative has someone regularly checking in and helping where needed. Can’t recommend highly enough.”

We have been visiting this lovely family for a few months and have been with them through some ups and downs and good health and bad. Happily both are now doing really well despite being pretty much 90. Every week we pop in and do whatever is needed.

"We do exactly what you would do for your parents if you lived closer." From changing sheets and making the perfect cup of tea to being a listening ear during tough times, Hook Home Help provides the peace of mind families need. Discover how we turn small acts of kindness into life-changing support for your loved ones.

"We step up in times of crisis and step down as soon as the client feels stronger." Read how Hook Home Help went from fortnightly cleaning to daily emergency care for a 92-year-old gentleman after a fall, ensuring he had the support he needed to get back on his feet.

Blue Monday is supposed to be the most miserable day of the year. Really, there is no science behind this, but we all know that January can be a time when it is cold and dark and all the fun of Christmas and New year feels a long way away. Most of us have less money and less energy to be visiting friends and family. Some older people, and people of all ages, can be feeling a bit down and a bit lonely.

It can be useful just to reflect on the fact that this can be a difficult time for everyone. It might be a good day to pop in on an older family member or neighbour, or just give them a ring. It can be a good time to remember to look after ourselves and each other.