LONELINESS

I must admit that I did raise an eyebrow when reading the ‘Loneliness hidden killer for OAPs” headline today. The reason that it caught my attention was the memory standing, unsuccessfully, as a local councillor five years ago.

Treading the streets and knocking on doors was quite a humbling experience in so many ways. Of course I was already aware of the financial disaster looming just over the horizon and walking the ward made me realise how isolated so many people had become. Social disengagement is a dangerous thing.

There was a time when folk paused to chat with neighbours, looking out of the window, walking down to the local Post Office and allowing the local community to engage.

But things change and now a huge amount of time is spent flicking through endless TV channels, surfing the voyeuristic internet or playing explosive virtual reality games. All this has us facing away from the window and as likely to send a neighbour an email rather than knocking on the door.

What I also noticed was the number of folk living alone listening to every heart beat and the sound of silence. One elderly lady that answered the door said that she had not spoken to anyone for over a week. We chatted for a while.

So there you have it. Fight against isolation and find the time to chat with neighbours, seek out the lonely and hold out a helping hand.

It’s not much to ask.