Boots pharmacist and 96-year-old war veteran hold weekly quizzes to get through lockdown

Emma Jones, 31, who works at Boots in Washington Galleries, has been supporting Second World War veteran Tom Davidson with weekly pub quizzes, making sure he is supported and doesn’t feel lonely while he self isolates.

Tom, who is a regular customer at the pharmacy, lives on his own, and Emma wanted to ensure he had regular company during his isolation.

Emma, from Chester-le-Street, wanted to keep Tom’s spirits up and came up with the idea of doing the virtual pub quiz over FaceTime with her fellow Boots staff members.

She said: “I’ve known Tom for years, he’s one of our regular patients and he’s like my little pal. I know that he lives on his own so I thought it would be nice to keep him company virtually.

Tom would normally pop into our store every week but as he’s isolating, the team and I did a pub quiz on FaceTime one evening and we’ll definitely be doing it every week until he’s able to visit us again, it was so much fun!”

Staff at Boots in the Galleries have been looking after the community during the coronavirus pandemic, making sure essential prescriptions are still made regularly.

Emma added: “Having a strong sense of community is very important! I’m proud to be working on the frontline and helping to protect the health of our community during COVID-19.”

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