The hub beating loneliness where 'everyone's happy'
BBCWhen Tomasina Crowe lost her husband of 65 years, her family became worried about how she would cope on her own.
That was until she was introduced to a local community hub in Rugby, which used to be a centre for people with disabilities and now focuses on helping to combat loneliness.
Crowe has nothing but praise for The Hoskyn Centre on Bilton Road which offers a hot meal and a number of activities and games to those who turn up each Monday when it opens.
She was determined to "tell the world" about it, using her recent 100th birthday celebration at the centre to talk about the place where "everybody's happy and we have fun."
Explaining how she found the hub, Crowe said: "The lady next door had a booklet and she said, why don't you go there? So I did come, and I've been ever since. I've loved it all the time. When you go home you're happy. I am anyway."
Her son-in-law Bob Croxsedge said the family was very grateful that a place like the Hoskyn Centre exists.
He said: "When her husband died 16 years ago it could have been a very black time for her. They'd been married for a very long time, since they were young, but she found the Hoskyn Centre and that gave her a whole new lease of life."
The Hoskyn Centre used to be open three days a week before the pandemic but currently only opens on a Monday due to funding.
Chair of the trustees Alun Williams said the issue of loneliness in the over 60s is a huge problem.
He said: "We want to get lots of people in Rugby to come and use this space. But the core thing behind all of this, we want to deal with loneliness.
"Loneliness is a bit of a hidden crisis, so I think there's relatively good provision and signposted provision if you have a particular issue or ailment when you're older. But if you're just lonely and happen to be older, there's not much around.
"People just come along, they have a hot lunch, they're with friends, they chatter and natter non-stop. It's not particularly structured but it's a bit like being in their own home.
"So you know when at Christmas you're with family and you're not really doing anything but you're just really happy. Someone's doing a jigsaw, someone's watching the TV, someone's reading the paper. But you're with people you know and it's just comfortable, that's what this place is like."
Williams said there are plans to open the Hoskyn Centre on a Wednesday and is currently looking for volunteers.
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