Fishermen's Stories
A New Start for Tony
“His house had been trashed with much of his furniture and possessions damaged beyond repair. We helped practically with replacing the essentials and this provided a platform for Tony to begin his recovery – both emotionally and physically.”
Tony loves fishing. He has a huge collection of fishing memorabilia and has even decorated his house with wallpaper featuring fishing boats and lobster pots!
His life at sea meant the world to him – from boy to man bringing home the catch. Amanda Wisher, Fishermen’s Mission Area Officer for East Anglia comments:
“He remembers learning the ways of the sea from older fishermen as a 15-year-old and collects pictures of the boats he fished on and remembers seeing in the docks. More recently he went on a tour of a working fishing vessel and ended up conducting the tour as he knew more than the tour guide!”
However, since retiring from fishing, life has been tough for Tony. He has a degenerative eye disorder, and his hearing is failing him. Tony also suffers trauma from previous troubled relationships. It was hard for Tony to ask for help but an ex-crewmate urged him to contact the Fishermen’s Mission. Amanda takes up the story:
“When Tony came to us, he was trying to rebuild his life after those he thought he loved and trusted had ruined it. The place he knew as home had been left in an awful state. We helped practically with replacing the essentials and this provided a platform for Tony to begin his recovery – both emotionally and physically.”
Tony is now a regular at the Lowestoft Fishermen’s Mission Coffee Morning and as Amanda tells us, is busy making new friends:
“Getting Tony along to the Coffee Morning has been brilliant. Tony has formed a friendship with another retired fishermen who was also living alone. They now meet up regularly and no doubt try to outdo each other with their tales of life on the high seas!”
