14th January 2026
“I come here for a coffee and a craic,” says Daniela Wilby, cradling a steaming mug. “It’s nice catching up with people.”
“Here” is Kirkoswald Village Hall, home every Friday morning to Kettle Calling, the drop-in session where everyone gets a warm welcome.
Nestled in the beautiful Eden Valley, KO as it’s known locally, may seem a picture-perfect village at first glance. But many, especially older people, struggle with isolation – both physical and digital.
Rikki Carnegie is a regular at the sessions. “When I had my stroke, people in the village helped me out. Kettle Calling was my only chance to get out by myself, as I had to give my car away.
“Coming to the group – you’re sitting round the table and it’s like family. When I get back to the house, I’m by myself.”
The group is run entirely by a team of seven volunteers and free to attend. Donations – in the form of cash or sweet treats – are welcome but not expected.
Vicky Morgan and her husband Peter help lead the sessions, which aims to run 52 weeks of the year. “It’s important there’s something for people to attend regularly,” Vicky explained. “There’s no café in the village and the pub isn’t open every day.”
As well as providing refreshments and company, the volunteers try to help people with whatever issues they might be struggling with that week.
Volunteer June Mills explained: “A number of the people who attend the coffee morning are elderly and not particularly tech savvy. They will come and ask questions and we try to help them out – whether that’s filling in forms online, finding out what allowances they might be entitled to or researching the best energy suppliers.
“Generally, there is no or not very good internet signal in the village but we have superfast broadband at the village hall.”
The group applied to the Community Foundation for funding to buy a laptop, iPad and printer, and were awarded a grant from the Fibrus Community Fund.
June said: “Having the laptop and iPad make it much easier to read than trying to look on a mobile phone, and we can print information off for people to take away with them.”
Daniela added: “I think having the laptop, iPad and printer is a brilliant service. It might encourage more people to come along. I’m not computer literate at all so it’s great to have somewhere you can come to ask for help.”
Funder Spotlight
Colin Hutchinson, Group Managing Director at Fibrus, said: “We are really pleased to hear the laptop, iPad and printer are making a big difference to the community in Kirkoswald, particularly to older people who might not otherwise have access to this technology. That’s very much what the Fibrus Community Fund is all about – helping to bridge the gap in becoming a fully digital inclusive society.”