The 91-year-old who still shows up on Thursdays

Every Thursday, Ronald Nash walks into Peterborough City Hospital wearing a blue NHS volunteer shirt and lanyard. He is 91, and he still arrives ready to point visitors toward the right corridor, sit with people who are worried and make a joke when the moment needs one. The hospital's North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust named him volunteer of the year last week. 1

Nash has volunteered at the hospital for 26 years. He works alongside his wife, Mary, helping people find their way through the building and offering comfort to patients and families who may be anxious or uncertain. 1

Ronald and Mary Nash volunteer together every Thursday. (Shariqua Ahmed/BBC) 1

"I'm 91, but I like helping what I call the 'old ladies' and really love having a bit of banter, and I'll say something silly and it cheers them up," Nash told the BBC. "You can see them smile and it sends them on their way with a bit more happiness." 1

The line is funny, but the work behind it is serious. A hospital entrance is a strange place to be lost. People are often carrying a diagnosis, a deadline, a bag of belongings or a worry they cannot yet name. A volunteer who knows where to send them can make the first few minutes less disorienting. Nash's contribution is practical before it is sentimental.

Nash began volunteering in the 1990s after retiring from work as an engineer. He had also served in the army. The original reason was simple: he was looking for something to do after his first wife died. 1

"I was at a loose end," he said. "I'd retired and somebody suggested I perhaps would like to do volunteering at the hospital, which I did." 1

That first step also changed his personal life. Mary Nash said she met Ronald on her first day as a volunteer. They clicked, and they have volunteered together ever since. Mary is 81, and she described her husband as modest and kind. 1

Ronald and Mary Nash volunteer together every Thursday. (Shariqua Ahmed/BBC) 1

"I started it for something to do," Ronald said. "But now, after all these years, I don't do it for something to do - I do it because I like doing it, and I do it to help people, not so much to help the hospital, but to help the patients." 1

That shift is the heart of the story. Volunteering did not begin as a grand calling. It began with an empty stretch of time and a suggestion from somebody else. The meaning accumulated through repetition: one Thursday, then another, then 26 years of knowing how a hospital feels to the person entering it for the first time.

Ronald is one of the oldest members of Peterborough City Hospital's 240-strong volunteer team. Sarah Clarkson, who worked closely with him as a former volunteer co-ordinator, said his compassion shows in his interactions and that he helps create a safe, welcoming environment at the front entrance. 1

Mary said the two of them love the work and that their Thursdays are "extra special" because of the team around them. 1

Peterborough City Hospital's entrance includes a map to help visitors navigate the site. (Shariqua Ahmed/BBC) 1

I like the scale of this kind of good news. It does not require pretending that hospitals are easy places to visit, or that a cheerful exchange fixes whatever brought someone there. It says something more believable: a familiar face can help. A small joke can give a frightened person one less thing to carry. And a couple can build a life around showing up for strangers.

Nash has no plans to stop. "As long as all of my legs will get me here, I'll be here," he said. "It's as simple as that. I do enjoy it so much." 1

Read the BBC report on Ronald and Mary Nash for the full account of their Thursday routine and the hospital team they have joined.