June 2nd, 2026Max loving giving back at Hepburn House
Max Primmer has been on the Ageing with Pride committee at Hepburn House for many years.
And that evolved into running Ageing Disgracefully where residents could get together to watch a movie, or head to the Amazing Mill Markets for a coffee morning.
That then evolved into Max deciding to also volunteer to chat to residents who perhaps did not have many visitors, for whatever reason.
“Some of the residents don’t come out of their rooms for various reasons, so I go inside and visit them in their rooms and talk to them. And for two or three hours every week I go down there and talk to people, play bingo and just enjoy being there.”
Max said when Ageing Disgracefully got started, just after Covid, quite a few people called to say they were keen to get involved but felt they lacked the confidence to just show up.
“They asked, ‘what if no one says hello or what if no one talks to me?’ So I said we’ll fix that up by you messaging me when you get to the Mill Markets car park, I’ll come out and walk in with you, introduce you and then straight away you’re going to be okay with people. That’s been going on for four years now and there’s new people coming in and joining us all the time now.
“And it’s not just Hepburn House residents at the Mill Markets gatherings. Anyone is welcome to come along. We meet every Thursday at 11am and it’s for everyone. It’s easy to get parking and it’s a great venue.”
Max is also keen to hear from other people who want to spend a few hours chatting with residents at Hepburn House – and the Mill Markets.
“There’s people who would love to have someone come and say hello to them once a week or maybe twice a week, if they have spare time and would like to get involved. The residents have so many stories to tell, they’ve lived so much life, it’s a marvellous thing to get to talk to them and sit with them and discover what their lives have been like.”
Max said if people were keen to get involved they could call Hepburn House and talk to the manager Shelley Simpson.
“Maybe you could take someone for a drive for a cup of coffee once a week? It doesn’t sound a hell of a lot but to those people getting out and just looking at the trees and having a coffee in a different place means so much to them. It’s amazing.
“I’ve always said you give a little bit of yourself but you get 115 per cent back. You’ve made a difference in someone’s life for that half an hour, that hour whatever it might be, you’ve you’ve made someone happy, made a difference in their lives.
“I think sometimes you get a bit more mature and you get into a place like an aged care facility then you feel like you’re not contributing anymore. But they have had interesting lives and done things that nowadays you wouldn’t even think about. It’s fabulous just talking to them. A real privilege.”
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