‘Natalie’s become like a daughter to me’
GWEN, 75, who lives alone in Devon, has weekly conversations with natalie, 33, who works in music publishing in London. Gwen says: SundayS are when I feel most alone — all the more so since Covid. I don’t drive, so I’m stuck inside at a loose end. That’s why my Sunday chat with natalie is such a breath of fresh air.
We’ve been speaking for a year now. Three years younger than my own daughter, she has become like a second daughter to me.
I’m separated from my second husband and, after suffering kidney problems in 2017, I moved to be closer to my daughter, who has a sevenmonth-old son. It was a big adjustment moving at my age.
I joined an age uK group that got me mixing with local people. It’s how I found out about age uK’s Telephone Friendship Service, which matches over60s with volunteers for a weekly chat. I was paired with natalie last October and our weekly half-hour conversation really helped me through lockdown.
Conversation has always flowed naturally. natalie is an interesting young lady who has family from Peru. I am from Singapore originally and moved here in 1971 with my first husband, who was a British serviceman.
natalie isn’t married but there must be a man out there — she’s such a pretty girl. We haven’t met but she sent me a picture of herself with her Christmas card. Talking to her is a real highlight of my week. NATALIE SAYS: When I first signed up, I thought of it as doing something for someone else — but it quickly became far more than that. Gwen is now part of my life. The other day she found a Gordon Ramsay recipe for scrambled eggs that used creme fraiche. We thought it was going to be a game- changer, so both decided to try it at our homes. Well, it turned out to be a disaster for both of us, which we found very funny.
I signed up as a volunteer because I’m so close to my grandparents and couldn’t bear the thought of an older person feeling lonely. Like many, I had a busy schedule but realised I could spare half-an-hour on the phone each week.
now many of us no longer have a morning commute, there’s no excuse not to do something worthwhile with that extra time. It’s been a worrying period for everyone and I’ve really appreciated Gwen’s more philosophical perspective on things.