Ian, retired teacher

Bristol, December 2021

Ian's path into volunteering is slightly different to most. He was already a reenactor, attending events around the country with his wife, Beryl, who makes all their costumes. I first met Ian at the ss Great Britain - their group had already been at a number of events there. "When they then started planning Go Aloft [a visitor attraction on the ship] they approached me and said, well, we need somebody in sailor's uniform. And as you are a reenactor would you like to volunteer to be the first sailor? And then with the remit to train the other sailors, I thought, cool, this is great. You know, someone's interesting what I do for fun".

Ian also works in the film and TV industry as an actor but while his volunteering is very similar it offers a different side. "I like the fact that you haven't got that responsibility of earning money. You're doing it because you enjoy doing it. The look on people's faces when you're doing it. That's the payment."

What's surprising is that Ian says he "used to be incredibly shy". When he started working as a teacher - a role he didn't really apply for and was offered to him - he felt he had to put on the role of a teacher. "I had to perform in front of classes of children and you have to sort of push yourself beyond that. They see the teacher, they don't necessarily see the person". And this is carried over into the reenacting and volunteering. "Once you're in your character, even just volunteering on the ship, people don't see you, they see the costume. So you can actually become a different person". And creates opportunities, "I'm going places I couldn't normally go unless I did this volunteering. It opens all sorts of doors" Ian says.

Like many roles of volunteering it's amazing to see what it gives back. It can open up new worlds for people, give them confidence. And this in turn feeds back into their volunteering, pushing them on to do more and bigger things.