‘I JUST CAN’T LEAVE THEM’ – GRAN’S MISSION TO HELP OTHERS
THIS is the kindly grandmother who wanders the streets of a Welsh city at night just to check young drinkers are safe. Every weekend, you will find Rosemary searching bus shelters, side streets and shop doorways around Newport city centre while revellers pour in and out of the clubs.
The 74-year-old is there from midnight on both Saturday and Sunday morning, patrolling the streets until almost all of the drinkers have gone home. She is usually there until 6am and has barely missed a weekend in more than three years.
The grandmother-of-two is mainly on the lookout for young people who might have got themselves into trouble, whether by drinking too much or not dressing appropriately, or finding themselves distressed, upset and unable to get home safely.
Rosemary always offers a sympathetic ear and a kind word, sometimes helping people into a taxi, contacting friends or family, or on rare occasions seeking emergency service assistance when she feels it is needed.
Her exploits have made Rosemary a popular face around Newport.
Club owners, bouncers, police officers, homeless people and partygoers all stop to wave hello, have a chat and make sure she’s keeping herself safe.
Rosemary, who asked for her surname to be withheld, begins her nighttime rounds at about 12.30am, usually starting outside the busiest Newport clubs in Cambrian Road, High Street and Market Street.
She is on her feet for almost the entire six hours she’s out walking the same circuit of clubs, takeaway shops and taxi ranks.
A lot of her time is spent picking up rubbish, mainly bottles and glasses left by people throughout the night.
Rosemary says she’s concerned by how often she sees young women walking barefoot around the town, and wants to reduce the risk of them cutting themselves on broken glass.
She checks bus shelters and shop doorways, and speaks to anyone she thinks might need help.
“They are very vulnerable at that time in the morning,” Rosemary said.
“They have come out of the pub or wherever they have been, and their friends might have left perhaps because they have had a bit too much to drink or been ill, and I try to help them. As a grandmother, I feel that someone should be there to help them. Their mum and dad or their grandparents don’t know the state they are in.
“The thought of them not getting home to their loved ones – I just feel I couldn’t walk by and leave them.”
Rosemary left school at 14, working as a clerical secretary for the majority of her career before she became a claims assessor for an insurance company.
Her son Darren is now 42 and has two daughters aged 10 and 13, but Rosemary separated from her husband many years ago and has lived alone since.
She began volunteer work at a Oxfam, a free bookshop and AgeCymru a few years ago as a way of keeping herself busy and meeting new people. One day, she realised she was struggling to get up the stairs and decided she needed more exercise.
She started walking into the city centre and it was there she began to become concerned about the number of vulnerable young people she would find.
“I was lonely on my own, staring at four walls, and I was losing the art of conversation,” Rosemary said.
“I also noticed I couldn’t get up the stairs, so I started walking to build my strength up. I used to walk into town, walk around and then come home.
“It was while I was doing that I noticed every now and again I would meet a young lady who was crying or wanted to talk to me because I was an older person.
“I felt useful, if you know what I mean, and I suppose little by little I noticed that there was a need for someone to be around.
“The street pastors are there but they finish at three. The young people are out until six.”
Rosemary is happiest after a quiet night without coming across anyone who needs her help.
But very often she finds herself at the frontline when a young person is in a vulnerable position.
Last year, Rosemary spotted an underage girl barely conscious with three older boys near a bus stop. Fearing the worst, she approached.
“They were genuine, the boys, they were trying to get her a taxi,” Rosemary said. “I said, ‘You stay with her and I’ll try and get help’.”
Rosemary sought help from her friend, Newport nightclub manager Iftekhar Harris, who came over and used the young girl’s phone to call her mother. Then Iftekhar and Rosemary decided to take the girl home themselves.
“Goodness knows what would have happened to that young girl if we hadn’t have been there,” Rosemary said. “A few months ago that young girl came up to me, put her arms around me, and thanked me.
“It’s just things like that warm your heart. It’s nothing brave or heroic – it is just being there and helping out.”
Although Rosemary wishes young people would take better care of themselves, she has never suggested that young people should stay at home or behave differently.
She has become firm friends with many pub and club regulars. One has even started affectionately referring to her as “nan”.
“Let’s be honest, I grew up in a whole different world,” Rosemary said. “If I went out I had to be home by half past 10, town was shut anyway.
“Today, the poor kids, they don’t know their neighbours and their life is in their phone. Even though they have such a lot, they don’t have the same quality as I had when I was young.
“Let’s be honest, there isn’t a lot for them to look forward to. Everyone is saying we’re killing the planet... they’re trying to build a life for themselves.
“The whole world is a frightening place for them, can you blame them for drinking and enjoying themselves?”