Poet brings people back together for a blether in Annan

Stuart Paterson is encouraging people to share stories, memories and opinions at Annan Day Centre

Poet and writer Stuart Paterson is a man who enjoys having a bit of a blether.

In recent weeks, at the Annan Day Centre in southern Scotland, he has been helping people share their memories and thoughts and put them down paper.

It is a project backed by the Scottish government's Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund.

It follows up work he did with a similar scheme for Autumn Voices with the over-90s earlier this year.

He said that, post-Covid lockdowns, part of the idea behind it was about helping people "get back into society" and return to meeting one another face-to-face.

Annie Dickie said it was important to get people speaking to one another again

It covers "writing, storytelling, blethering, telling jokes, catching up, having a laugh - all that - and remembering".

"Lots of them talk about what's in the news today, what's happening, what it means to them," he said.

They also discuss how the pandemic has affected them - perhaps being stuck on their own or not getting the support they needed.

"We do sometimes go around particular themes and then they bring a lot of themes themselves to the group," he said.

"That's the most important thing - it is what they want to talk about and how they want me to help them write it down or talk about it or express it.

"It doesn't matter what age somebody is, if they're five, 55 or 95 - it is what they say and how they say it and how I can support them to say that and the different forms they want to do that.

"It doesn't have to be a poem, it doesn't have to be a story, it could be anything."

John Ramage has worked at the day centre for several years and said the initiative had worked well

One of the participants, Enola Dickie, said it had been a "lot of fun".

"We've had a lot of nonsense and fun, and it recalls things that you thought you'd forgot about," she said.

Another, Annie Dickie, who is visually impaired, echoed how much she had enjoyed it.

"We've just been chatting about our lives, our opinions on certain things, and that's about it," he said.

"I don't have a lot to input because I can't write, I can only talk.

"It gets people talking, I think that's the most important bit, getting people to connect with one another.

"The first week I think we discussed male strippers - so there's a shock for a start for 80-year-olds."

Enola Dickie said they had had a "lot of nonsense and fun"

John Ramage has worked at the day centre for several years and said the experience had been a beneficial one.

"Stuart has come in and he's got a band of people up here and discussed various things and he gets a good following," he said.

"You know there's a few people come up and have a bit chat and enjoy that."

He said that was something which was invaluable after some difficult times during lockdowns.

"I think that's what people need - especially people that's living alone," he said.

"They're sitting in all day every day and they need somebody to talk to, you know, share their worries, share their concerns and look for advice.

"We sit down at the tea trolley and we talk about years ago."