The welcome words, Good Morning...

The cold has left a lot of elderly people stranded in their homes, and volunteers with the Positive Age programme at Castlemanor Nursing Home phone 280 of them every day; shockingly, only two of those have left their houses since December 16. This statistic was revealed by programme co-ordinator Margaret Basmajian last week when The Anglo-Celt went out to meet one of those people. We set off with two community gardaí from Cavan - Sergeant Devlin and David Conlon - for Tierlahood near Stradone, where we met the Casey family and the affable Terence Brady. Positive Age makes daily morning calls at a time suitable to the recipients, and if there is no answer, they will speak to a nominated contact to check on that person's wellbeing. Terence hasn't been out of the house since the freezing weather set in, apart from a visit to hospital. "I would love to get out but I'd be afraid of falling on the street," he said. Terence said his next-door-neighbours Michael and Siobhán Casey and their family had been good to him. "I would dearly miss them all if they weren't around," he put it. He wasn't feeling well over Christmas and while in hospital for a check-up enjoyed his Christmas dinner. He normally goes to Kenny Sexton's for Christmas dinner and to Siobhan and Michael Casey's house on St. Stephen's Day. Terence thanked all his neighbours for their kindness. He hasn't witnessed a prolonged freeze like this since the 1960s. He let all the talk about the Celtic Tiger in one ear and out the other, he said, because it never made much difference to his life. He enjoys the calls from Positive Age volunteers and likes to give something back when he hears the magical words, 'good morning Positive Age calling'. "The chats make my day and I sing a song for them and make their day as well," he said cheerfully. The Casey family enjoy calling to their sprightly neighbour, as Siobhán pointed out, Terence loves music. "He's always singing and has his tapes on. He loves company and having a chat too." Terence loves to get out of the house in the normal weather and regularly visits his neighbours on foot. Michael Casey agrees that it is always a joy to visit Terence because he loves the craic and the bit of music. "He also has a wee drink for you and he loves his social outings," said Michael. Terence loves to exchange news and he'll sing a bar of a song while having a drink. "He is a good, happy soul," said Michael. He has a community alert alarm, which rings in Casey's home so they can check on him immediately. He said he gets up at 7am if there are outings or if he is getting the rural lift bus into town. Siobhán is a committed neighbour and advises that if home helps can't get to the elderly people, neighbours should drop in or ring to find out if they have enough food for the day. We phoned another lady living on her own in Cavan town. Ruth did not want to be photographed but said she had two great neighbours who take her whatever she needs. She thinks the Positive Age volunteers deserve great credit. "I was at the Christmas dinner in the Castlemanor and we all had a wonderful time," she added, saying that children from Killygarry school came in with cards for the senior citizens. Policing role Sergeant Shane Devlin said the Community Policing Unit in Cavan town, established last year, also caters for outlying areas and has aligned with Positive Age. "Along the way we were introduced to several elderly people living on their own, whom Positive Age had been in contact with on a regular basis," said Sgt. Devlin. There is an emphasis on gardaí getting out in the community, akin to former days, making time to visit elderly people. He urged people to check on their neighbours. "If you don't see an elderly person for a few days, drop in on them or phone someone else in a position to call." If that is not possible, make contact with the gardaí, he suggested. Sgt. Devlin also urged people to make a note of strange vehicles at the homes of elderly people. Note the registration numbers and call the gardaí, who will give the matter priority. Garda David Conlon enjoyed calling to Terence last Thursday. He said there are now four gardaí in the community unit. "We're going out into the community and left to our own devices in order to get to know people," he said. "Margaret has put me in touch with lots of people in the area. I can now see the importance a simple phone call or a visit can make to elderly people." Garda Conlon complimented Margaret and all her volunteers on their excellent work. "They are absolute stars," he said. Good Morning Margaret Basmajian explained that the Good Morning Positive Age Programme relies on the generosity of the Cavan Lions Club, the Cavan Singers and the businesses for funding. The gardaí sponsored its Christmas party, raising funding with a 12-hour cycle at the Dunnes Stores car park and by donating portions of their salaries - €1,600 was raised. "We were able to have a lovely party and purchase hats, gloves and scarves," said Margaret. "The Lions Club have circulated hampers to people with little finance too," she added. The 24 Positive Age volunteers take turns to ring the people on the list daily. "We never leave the office at Castlemanor until we contact all the people on the list," she said. "I'm grateful to the volunteers and everybody involved. The people of Cavan are extremely kind and all you have to do is ask. It's through the support of the people in the town that we continue to operate," she said. Pacelli Lynch in Eason's supplies cards for different occasions, which are pre-printed specially for the Good Morning Programme. And as we were leaving Stradone Terence insisted that he give us a few bars of The Boys from the County Armagh.