The Edinburgh charity Vintage Vibes will celebrate its first decade on International Older People’s Day with its striking new campaign Ten Years Bold.
This is the charity which helps older people to make real lasting friendships in their later years with volunteers aged from 17 to 93. The friendships are based on mutual interests – from a love of Love Island to learning computer games together.
The charity hopes the new series of photographs will help to challenge the stigma of ageing as well as help to raise vital funds for the charity which tackles loneliness among older people.
Ten Years Bold star Sheila, 85, who got her first tattoo aged 70, said Vintage Vibes proved to be life changing. She said: “I like to be different, but I became very depressed when I was alone. I just absolutely love Vintage Vibes. I’ve never looked back. It gave me my life back.” About the Ten Years Bold campaign shoot, Sheila said: “It was amazing, I had no idea it was going to be like that. I love my jacket, I love this colour. I started to blossom again when I got involved in Vintage Vibes.”
The campaign spotlights six remarkable residents Sheila, Robin, George, Pat, Fay and Norma whose lives have been transformed by their involvement with Vintage Vibes for friendship and advocacy. Each one of the residents is in their 80s or 90s and their photos will be used to spread a message of resilience, joy, individuality and confidence.
Georgia Artus, Director of Vintage Vibes, said: “This isn’t just a celebration. It’s a bold call for change. To change perceptions of older people and celebrate them as unique and fantastic individuals. To change our Vintage Vibes community by widening our reach as we see more and more older people in Edinburgh facing chronic isolation. To change the story of a small local charity to one that is even bolder, braver and more inclusive in the years ahead.”
More than 12,000 people in Edinburgh have TV as their main source of company, with referrers to the charity saying they have around 2,000 older people in immediate need of friendship services.
Since launching in 2015 in response to research identifying Edinburgh as ‘the loneliest city in the UK for older people’ Vintage Vibes has delivered 40,000 hours of friendship, with some matches lasting every week for up to 7, 8 and even 9 years.
Fashion stylist and Vintage Vibes friendship volunteer Michelle Oberg, who styles the photoshoot using preloved clothing, said:
“My philosophy is that fashion is for everyone, and everyone deserves to feel bold and beautiful. This experience livened my spirit and seeing everyone’s gigantic smiles looking at themselves in the mirror and how the day shifted their energies is all the more reason to see how something seemingly small can make such a huge impact, and how important this charity is. No one was lonely that day – myself included.”
Michelle, BonnieBags, and her dog Cinnamon meet with Vintage Vibes VIP Bill to go on adventures across the city, with Cinnamon often catching a ride in Bill’s mobility scooter basket.
Vintage Vibes’ campaign hopes to show real, local isolated older people in a way they are rarely depicted, a far cry from the traditional campaigns surrounding ageing. Vintage Vibes aims to demonstrate the incredible potential of each of us, no matter our age, and what can happen when lives are transformed through friendship.
To support the Vintage Vibes ‘Ten Years Bold’ Campaign and help end local loneliness in Edinburgh go to https://vintagevibes.org.uk/support/
FAY, 89, South Edinburgh
Fay, originally from Dunfermline, has always been interested in clothes, loves ‘a good who dunnit’, history and is a real foodie. She’s a retired teacher with a cat who is now 17 years old! She has lived a varied and adventurous life, including being a companion to a Saudi Arabian Princess for 6 weeks when she was 40 “I didn’t enjoy it, but got some interesting food.”
Through Vintage Vibes, Fay has rediscovered her bold side. “Old age is not for wimps” says Fay “[Through Vintage Vibes] I’ve made a lovely friend. I see her every week, she’s a retired teacher, we occasionally go out for a meal or a coffee together.” Fay talks about how she is at the stage where she doesn’t think of her volunteer as part of Vintage Vibes, they are true friends, “Lynda is so lovely”.
What does bold mean to Fay? Pushing yourself “I really wasn’t feeling well today and I though ‘hmmmm’ and I’m so glad I came!”
GEORGE, 82 “and 11 months”, Silverknowes
George, born in Leith, is a member of Vintage Vibes Vocal Vibes Singing Group, which he joined shortly after his wife died. It has given him a great sense of community, friendship and confidence since.
“Singing is a great thing because it gave me confidence. As a boy I was uncomfortably shy, as I grow older I’ve become more confidence. Vocal Vibes always seem to be happy to see me, so that makes me feel good. It’s community and friendship”.
NORMA, 89, (“Actually 23”), Craiglockhart
Norma is in a Vintage Vibes friendship and a member of the Vintage Vibes Film Group and an active member of Armchair Adventures, a digital Vintage Vibes group to help those who are temporarily or permanently housebound to explore Edinburgh through regular Zoom tours of Edinburgh sites.
She previously was a teacher, and taught at the old Victoria Primary, now Heart of Newhaven where Vintage Vibes is based.
Her confidence has increased so much as part of being in Vintage Vibes that alongside having a friendship volunteer she is now also a volunteer herself and phones someone every week.
Norma’s Friendship volunteer Sarah said Sarah said “Norma is just wonderful; I’m so enjoying her company.”
PAT, North Edinburgh
Pat has been involved with Vintage Vibes since 2022, when she was matched with her Vintage Vibes friend Karen. When they met Pat was very low and lacking in confidence. She had previously had an active life but experienced a significant injury and the loss of four friends in quick succession and does not have any family nearby. When she joined Vintage Vibes she was “stuck indoors” a lot and felt “locked in”, and Vintage Vibes has been an “absolute lifesaver”.
Pat talks regularly about the opportunities Vintage Vibes has brought her, both as part of her friendship with Karen and also part of the Film Group, Theatre Group and VIP Voices – where she recently met with the First Minister of Scotland John Swinney.
“I now have a social life – Everything sort of crashed down and became very insular. With Karen and Vintage Vibes coming along it’s wonderful. Wonderful. – I consider Karen a second daughter”
Initially Karen would send a wee text to arrange going round and they would sit and chat, occasionally outside, and then one day Karen suggested going out in the car so they went out to Lauriston Castle and then also out to Saughton Gardens. Both heavily those trips heavily featured ice cream! Now they adventure everywhere, and Pat has increased in confidence enough to explore independently as well.
Karen, Volunteer says, “Really what I value most is that I’ve got a new friend, which is what Pat is. We don’t just chat for one hour a week, we keep in touch at other times too, send each other pictures etc. I really enjoy getting to know Pat and hearing about her life and spending time together. It’s really great to just relax and get to chat. It’s been a great opportunity that I wouldn’t have had any other way. Thank you Vintage Vibes.”
Pat concludes: “Life radically changed. I was no longer completely alone. I had contact with Karen, had contact with the groups when I wanted to go. During the Festival we did things as well. It’s opened a lot of doors. My favourite group is the one where I can talk a lot, which is VIP Voices”
ROBIN, 94, South Edinburgh
Robin has been part of friendship matches with Vintage Vibes and is an active member of our VIP Voices Committee – having been involved since it’s inception at the Scottish Parliament.
As part of VIP Voices Robin has advocated for the needs of older people within Edinburgh including meeting with the Minister for Equalities and representatives of local organisations – their next meeting is to discuss over 60s experiences with Lothian Buses.
SHEILA, 86, Fountainbridge
Shelia describes her life as “I had a pretty tough life but I’m very proud of myself – it was hard, but I did it. I’m a strong, independent woman, but I can be quite soft too. Then I remember when I retired, and I was walking along Princes St, and I felt quite invisible, for quite a long while. I became very depressed. Then I started to blossom again when I got involved in Vintage Vibes.”
“Vintage Vibes is a fabulous charity, it really is. It’s very difficult to adjust as you age and that’s why we need places like Vintage Vibes, to help adjust. It’s an amazing charity, it really can’t say enough about it.”
“I absolutely love my volunteer Kat, she’s a singer and she’s in a band – and I’ve been to see her and her husband play. They are lovely, and it’s just so nice, and we chat and chat. We have a good old blether, we get on so well.”
“I am so different to how I used to be. Vintage Vibes have empowered me, just to do things and I just love it. That’s my interpretation of being bold – I now put myself forward for anything they are doing.”
“Every day was depressing for me before Vintage Vibes, with nothing to look forward to, and nothing to look after. It was like there was nothing. I didn’t have much in my life at all, you feel ‘is that me just going to sit in my chair now for the rest of my days, let the world go by, watch the TV. Now waking up looking forward to things, I love getting ready, going to things. Now I don’t feel my age at all, I’m 86 and I don’t feel my age. I fractured my back, I use my walker, but I just don’t feel old anymore, because I’ve got purpose and I’ve got a voice with Vintage Vibes. I can speak up – I love it, I do love it so much. I wish I’d been younger when I joined Vintage Vibes, but I joined at the time when I needed it. I’ve got energy now.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
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