Torbay Methodist Churches,
Devon, UK
Paignton - Torquay - Brixham
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Click here to read about the Langley House Trust - The Torbay Project
Newsletter of the Gone fishing! Hostel residents discover the therapeutic value of angling IZAAC Walton, the father of angling, advised: "Study to be Quiet - Learn to Fish". There are different types of quiet but having cast a line or two myself I like to think he meant the quiet of the soul, peace of mind, and having time to reflect. Reflecting in the waters of Torbay in recent weeks have been faces from the Torbay Project. The fishing bug has spread among the residents and now a group go off regularly to marks around the coast. The man with some local knowledge is Simon (all names in this article have been changed to ensure anonymity) who for 20 years worked on the trawlers out of Brixham. Originally from Teignmouth, his dad died young and for many years he's struggled with alcohol addiction. "I don't think about drinking when I'm fishing. It takes you over." Skip's loves bass and he often heads for Teignmouth's back beach in the summer. Another member of the fishing party is Daniel. Life dealt him a difficult hand when his father was murdered and at the age of six and he was adopted. Raised on the North Prospect estate of Plymouth, he fell into drug use as a teenager. To fund his habit he turned to crime and has been in and out of prison ever since. But chat to Daniel, now 29, and he talks about some happy childhood memories with his adopted parents on the Isles of Scilly and days fishing for mackerel off St Mary's. Fishing gives him companionship and a chance to connect with happier times. "You sit there chatting to a mate and watch the power of the sea. You don't worry about catching something, you sit there thinking and talking." Daniel cannot bury himself in a book because he cannot read but he can absorb himself in his fishing. His battle against drugs is on-going. He boasted to me of having two clean drug tests in recent weeks. He knows he's lucky to be alive. He's overdosed five times and had many friends die from drug taking. The third member of the fishing party is Darren, who came walking through the hostel with some new fishing tackle he'd bought that day. "You can get 330 metres of line on this reel," he enthused. He'd been brought up on the Isle of Wight where his dad had a boat and he used to go with him hunting for skate and cod. Then came the drugs. Addiction divides family but sometimes a shared interest can bring people back together. Sometimes hobbies can help people create new friendships and counter the scourge of social isolation which dogs so many rough sleepers. Mike has been a heroin addict for 20 years, although he has had "clean" periods - the longest lasting three years. During this period he'd met a woman and settled down, becoming step father to her children. But the relationship with them was never easy and there was a crisis. In his despair he returned to an old escape from the realities of life - an injection of heroin. Now he's re-joined the a struggle to kick the habit again and with the support of staff at the hostel and specialist health services based at Shrublands, is taking prescribed methadone rather than illegal heroin. Mike describes many years of anguish but even during the worst days Mike kept on fishing: " When I was rough sleeping I had my fishing gear. I used to go after carp in the lakes at Newton Abbot - now it's the mackerel off Princess Pier. "Watching the waves helps me get my head together, boredom is a huge enemy." The final and newest recruit to the fishing party is Brian, a 58-year-old, heavily bearded man with a wide smile and large braces. He has had a lifelong struggle with alcohol and never managed to settle. For him rough sleeping has become a way of life. Early morning is the worst he says, when you wake up at 6am and an empty day stretches ahead. Life has few joys if you have an addiction which wrecks what the rest of us might hold dear - family, friends, work, financial security, a place in society. Brian has learned to enjoy simple pleasures. Six weeks ago he bought some fishing gear and these days you might find him down at Goodrington casting from the prom. Brian said: "People say it's boring, well some would say walking is boring. But I like walking, especially along the coastline." Along with the other men, Brian is trying to rebuild his life from the security and encouragement of the Torbay Project. Izaak Walton, author of the Complete Angler also had a rough life. He married in 1626, but by 1640 his wife and seven children had died leaving him utterly alone. Happily for us, he found solace in his angling (what he called a contemplative recreation), wrote a great book and lived until he was 90. Who knows what potential these residents have and what contribution to society they can yet make. By Nick Pannell, Chairman of ‘Friends of Factory Row’ and taken from an edition of the Factory Row Gazette Factory Row If all goes to plan, the existing Factory Row buildings will be demolished and then work will begin on a new purpose-built hostel. Planning permission was obtained and alternative accommodation for the people who live in Factory Row secured. The new premises will house 24 residents and include training rooms, doctors’ surgery and offices. The rebuilding of the hostel was planned by Torbay Churches Homeless Trust some years ago but is only now coming to fruition under the Langley House Trust. Money from the original ‘Move On Up’ appeal will be going towards it and the ‘Friends of Factory Row’ will be raising more to furnish the lounge. God has been faithful to the original vision of a community inspired homeless project. He has delivered! The Torbay Churches Homeless Trust merged with the Langley House Trust in October, 2005, ensuring the future of the hostel and its Christian ethos. Langley was founded in the 1950s by John Dodd, a survivor of a Japanese PoW camp. Your donations of food that can be stored, toiletries and other consumables essential to daily life are always appreciated at the hostel. These can be brought to church on Sundays or at any other time the church is open. Taken from an edition of the Factory Row Gazette. -ooOOOoo-
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