SINCE spotting a note appealing for help weeding the floral displays in Newent, 82-year old Rex Debenham has had little time to rock around the clock to his favourite tunes of the 1950s.

When Rex moved to the historic market town after his wife died he faced the double challenge of getting to know a new community from scratch, and living on his own.

It could have been the start of a very lonely period had he not discovered the weekly coffee morning organised by Fair Shares at the town’s Chill Out Zone community café.

Fair Shares is a time bank scheme part funded by Gloucestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl to help bring communities together.

The principle is simple. Someone gives their time to one project and someone else returns the favour later depending on need. It is an approach that recognises everyone has something to offer with volunteers gaining time credits for the work they do through Fair Shares.

Thanks to Fair Shares - and since getting stuck into the weeding – Elvis Presley fan Rex has become a vital committee member and treasurer of the award-winning Newent in Bloom community group, treasurer for the local Royal British Legion and a volunteer at the nearby Sheppard House day centre.

“When my wife died, I decided not to stay at our home in Bromyard as it just wasn’t the same", said Rex.

“I moved to Newent, but I admit, I was a bit worried about living on my own, and was fearful of becoming a bit lonely. So when I discovered the Fair Shares coffee morning, it became the ideal way of meeting new people.

“Everyone has something to offer and it’s a great way to meet others and do something for someone else. All we need now is some younger members – people in their 50s and 60s.”

You can hear Rex talking to Richard Atkins on the BBC Radio Gloucestershire Breakfast Show on Sunday, September 28 from 9am until 10am.

For more information about Fair Shares, go to http://www.fairshares.org.uk