Video transcript
It can be quite lonely
Jenny: 'I think he still thinks it might get better, I don’t think he could see the pattern to start with. He just said to me a couple of nights ago: "Is this forever?" And I said "Well, I think so, yeah."
I asked Don to take me to the Young Conservatives Barbecue. Here we are, fifty years later!
Like most farmers, Don was always the practical problem solver, could turn his hand to anything. Then suddenly, he couldn't. He's got Lewy Body Dementia. He sleeps a lot. It can be quite lonely, really.
There's not a road map, you don’t know where you’re going or how long for. Farmers aren’t very good at developing hobbies because they’re so busy. They do miss the farming. Don't you?'
Don: 'Yes, very much so. But I knew when I eventually retired it would be like cutting my hands off. You can’t do what you had spent all your life doing.'
Keeping the wheels turning
Jenny: 'This is the reality. If you’re not proactive you soon lose the ability to be active. With the Farming Memories Group, people with farming backgrounds can get together and share some farming activities and just enjoy each other’s company.'