Hi Maggie, I was totally like you, Fred drove everywhere and navigated airports etc, I just sat there and looked out the window!!! Four weeks after he passed away I took myself off to my niece in Yorkshire, just to get away for a few days - total panic set in as I was booking the flight, and as for trains, well I hadn't been one one of those for soooo many years!! The day arrived, and Belfast airport ground to a standstill as the snow fell. Eventually we took off after the plane was de-iced twice, but of course by then I had missed my train!!! By the time I got to England, it too was snowbound. More panic as I envisaged having to stay somewhere I didn't know. I got to Doncaster five hours after I should have, but I got there!!! So believe me when I assure you if I, a total novice, can do it, then so can you!! I had thought after Fred passed away that I would try to find a group that I could join where everybody knew what it was like to lose their husband/wife/partner, but I couldn't find anything in Northern Ireland at all, I contacted the Hospice, Cruse, Cancer Focus, MacMillan etc, all said it was a good idea but they would be unable to organise anything like that. Then I met up with an old work colleague and he said I should organise one myself - where would I start, I asked. But it was an idea that just wouldn't go away. To cut a long story short, I managed to contact another widow (that I didn't know) we got together and talked about it some more. Then I got in touch with another lady off the Way Up site, who was very enthusiastic and she also came on board, so the three of us are working together to see what we can do! My son in law is going to do up a website for us, we've got some free advertising in a local community paper, and when the website goes "live" I'm going to contact our local radio to see if they will give us a mention! We're going to ask people to contact us via email at the website, or by leaving a message or sending a text (I bought a cheap mobile phone from Tesco rather than give out my personal number) and ask people to "register" their interest in joining. If enough people respond, the "Widowed Friends NI" will be up and running.!! Just what exactly the group will do we're not yet sure, but basically it can be whatever the members want it to be - meeting for coffee or a meal out, going to the theatre, going away for the day - the world's our oyster!! We are emphasising that we aren't a dating group, neither are we going to offer counselling, as there are enough groups already who do this, we are simply going to be a group of like minded people who are trying to pick up the pieces of a life shattered by the loss of the people they loved, who want to support and be there for each other for companionship. The three of us know how we feel, and figure there must be a lot of other people out there who feel the same way, if we can all help and support each other surely that can only be a good thing! If we can do it, so can everyone else!!! Honestly Maggie, I'm not a confident person, but I know if I want to help myself, then I have to give this a go, my two friends think exactly the same, it's not going to come to us so we have to do our best to make it happen. We'll certainly keep you up to date on how things proceed!! Hope tomorrow is a better day for you, go and meet your friend and get your thinking caps on about starting your own group too!! Best wishes, Lorna xx