A Rainbow on the Road! Colourful Knitted Bus Tours the UK to Bring Friendship to Those Who Need it
- The People’s Friend’s colourful yarn-bombed bus has hit the streets to let the UK’s older generations know that the nation is behind them during coronavirus pandemic
- The bus, donated by Stagecoach, will deliver cheer and drop off magazines and knitted bunting to care homes and residential streets, as the clamp down on visitors and socialising tightens
- The travelling spectacle is adorned with hundreds of donations from knitters across the UK, sending a warm message of friendship to those shielding or feeling lonely due to the pandemic
- The activity is in partnership with loneliness charity Re-engage to raise funds for a telephone befriending service
We've clapped for our carers, we’ve cheered children with rainbows and now knitters from across the UK are sending a message of friendship to our older generations – with a yarn bombed bus hitting the road to deliver a colourful pick-me-up to anyone experiencing loneliness due to the pandemic.
The People’s Friend, in partnership with friendship charity, Re-engage, and the UK’s biggest bus and coach operator, Stagecoach, has launched a colourful knitted bus to tour the length of the country to show older generations that the nation is behind them - as many continue to shield or feel the effects of the pandemic on their social lives. Loneliness is at a high amongst this demographic, and the visit from the bus coincides with new restrictions placed on care home visitors.
The nation’s knitters have sent in hundreds of hand-made bunting triangles to adorn the bus, which will deliver magazines and knitting to care homes, as well as collect funds for Re-engage’s new telephone befriending service ‘Call Companions’. The service was launched in response to Covid-19 to offer free, friendly, and regular calls to ensure that those most vulnerable to isolation remain connected to the outside world.
Alongside the donated bunting, the bus embraces the trend of yarn bombing and is adorned with friendly crocheted faces, including The People’s Friend mascot Marmalade the Cat, delightful pom poms and brightly coloured squares which cover the length of the 40ft single decker bus.
Angela Gilchrist, Editorial Director of The People’s Friend, said: “Smiles have been in short supply for all of us this year, but especially so for those who live alone or who have been missing close contact with family and loved ones. We know that life is better when shared with a friend, so we decided to enlist the help of our hundreds of knitters across the UK to cheer up everyone who may be feeling lonely or downhearted right now.
“Our colourful bus is sure to brighten the day of anyone who sees it. And I believe it sends a message of hope, too, that even when times are tough, we can all share moments of joy.”
Re-engage CEO, Meryl Davies, said: “The Covid-19 crisis has intensified feelings of loneliness for many older people who have really struggled without regular social contact. We hope that older people who see The People’s Friend Yarn-Bombed bus will be reminded that they are not alone, and will get in touch with us to be matched with a volunteer with similar interests for regular, free calls.”
Martin Griffiths, Chief Executive of Stagecoach, said: “We have been proudly connecting communities up and down the country for 40 years, and our buses have continued to provide a lifeline for people during the pandemic.
“We are all delighted to be working with The People’s Friend and Re-Engage on this special bus tour and we would like to thank all the knitters for their valuable contributions. We hope that the colourful Yarn-Bombed bus will bring a smile to people’s faces as it travels across the UK.”
The People’s Friend Yarn-Bombed Bus started its tour in Torquay, followed by Barnsley (22nd September), then Cumbria (24th September) with its final stop on Saturday 26th September in Dundee - the home of The People’s Friend for the last 150 years.
To donate to Re-engage, please visit www.reengage.org.uk/donate.
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ENDS
Distributed by WIRE on behalf of The People’s Friend
For more information, please contact bethan@wearewire.co / 07842 770311
Notes to Editors:
Images are available to download here: https://bit.ly/3cfKTgL
The People’s Friend is the world’s longest-running women’s weekly magazine, first published on 13th January 1869. In 2019 it marked its 150 years of continuous publishing, an achievement recognised with the presentation of a Guinness World Records certificate. Carrying around 600 short stories each year across the weekly magazine, the three weekly specials and the annual, The People’s Friend is the biggest publisher of magazine fiction in the UK. Each issue is packed with short stories, serial instalments, cookery, craft, puzzles, gardening, travel and health.
Re-engage
Re-engage (formerly Contact the Elderly) is a charity that is positive about older age and committed to fighting loneliness so that people can have social lives and friendship groups however old they are. We inspire and enable meaningful connections and shared experiences within communities across the UK for people over 75 facing loneliness and social isolation.
Our volunteers work together to create better communities and help to enrich the lives of our members by giving them something to look forward to.
Older people who may have felt very alone, now feel valued as individuals, continue to form friendships, and have groups that give support. We make sure that people know they are important well into old age. Respectful, determined, warm, pioneering, and local: we are Re-engage and we are bringing generations together.
Stagecoach
- Stagecoach is one of Britain's leading public transport businesses, helping connect communities for 40 years.
- Our team of 24,000 people and our 8,300 buses, coaches and trams are part of the fabric of daily life in England, Scotland, and Wales.
- We connect people with jobs, skills, and training, bring customers to our high streets, connect tourists with visitor attractions, and draw families, friends, and communities together.
- Stagecoach is Britain's biggest bus and coach operator. We run megabus, the market-leading value coach operator, and Scottish Citylink, which connects 200 locations across Scotland. In Sheffield, we also operate the Supertram light rail network.