Wokingham

A well-loved handyman who has carried out work in the homes of thousands of older residents in Berkshire has been formally recognised by Wokingham District Council.

Each month, council chairman Councillor Iain Brown presents an engraved plaque and a gift to a person, group or organisation that has given good service to the community.

October's award went to Jim Brown from Age Concern Berkshire at a surprise presentation attended by many of his family, friends and colleagues.

Jim has been employed by Age Concern Berkshire as a part-time handyman for the last four and a half years and provides a service on behalf of Wokingham District Council, carrying out ‘odd jobs’ in the homes of older residents.

These jobs range from fitting grab rails and putting on door treads to hanging curtains and fitting smoke alarms.

Although these are small jobs, they often make a huge difference to the lives of many older people as it can help them to stay in their own homes or return to their homes following a stay in hospital.

Jim is often highly praised by the older people for having a “kind and warm attitude” and for taking the time to listen to them to find out what their needs are.

Jim, who has now completed almost 3,000 odd jobs for the council, was the first handyman in Berkshire to provide a service of this kind to older people and since the service commenced, a number of other handyman services have been established in other areas across Berkshire.

It was after retiring from his job as an engineer in 2000, that Jim decided to join Age Concern Berkshire. Having already spent many years carrying out odd jobs in his spare time in the local area, Jim had built up a reputation as a handyman and was already well known by many local Wokingham residents.

Jim said: “It was a great honour to be recognised in this way and to receive a visit from Councillor Iain Brown. The presentation was also a lovely surprise and it was great to see my friends and family there.

“I don’t see my job as hard as I get a great amount of satisfaction from it and am just glad to be able to help some of the district’s older people.”

Councillor Brown said: “I am very glad to be able to thank Jim for the vital service that he provides. It is a great asset to our older people to have someone like Jim, whom they can trust, to do work in their houses.

"They also enjoy Jim’s company and enjoy talking to him. And what is extra special about Jim is that he always does that bit extra, making the handyman service one that we can be proud of."

Publisher: Jon Land ~ 24 dash.com ~ 2005-11-02