Jeanne and Olive

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Jeanne and Olive are one of our Love Your Neighbour matches across Southwark and Lambeth. These connections aim to help our older neighbours to feel more confident, visible and valued amidst the constant buzz of our bustling capital.

We introduced Jeanne, 29 to her older neighbour Olive, 80 in March. Jeanne’s been visiting Olive in Brixton every week since as part of our Love Your Neighbour scheme. Here, they share with us their friendship so far.

Jeanne

“I visit Olive in Brixton every week. I do some food shopping for her, and then go round to see her. It’s really enjoyable to spend time with someone I’d never get to spend time with usually – someone whose background, age and perspective is very different to my own.

It’s really interesting to hear about her upbringing, her perspective on today’s world and how life has changed. She’s someone who has lived through a different time and a different world. It’s nice to be connected to someone from an older generation. It’s very easy to forget about older people and there’s a lot of bad stereotyping about getting old.

She appreciates the time and silly little things that she values – like eating a chocolate éclair – are always a laugh! She has a great positive attitude about things despite sometimes having a lot to cope with.

It’s nice to be part of her life and to provide her with a listening ear. She’s got a really great sense of humour and tells it how it is. It’s refreshing – we laugh quite a bit.

It has made me consider other people more. Everyone has their own approach to life. It’s added another level of thinking about what’s going on in the background for people you meet in the community – even just on the bus and in the supermarket. It’s easy to live in London and not be friendly – you get to where you want to go and do everything quickly. It’s a different kind of interaction with Olive.”

Olive

“I enjoy our chats – she does a bit of shopping and we talk about everything from now, going back to when I was a child. I suppose she’s not spoken to anyone who lived through the war. I’m 80 – I’ve got a lot to talk about and London’s changed so much.

I’ve really enjoyed spending time with someone of a younger generation – I don’t mix with many younger people anymore because I can’t get out much. We have all sorts of different conversations because she’s younger than me. She’s seen a bit of the world – and brings in a new outlook to me.

I feel a bit less isolated now – it gives you confidence knowing she’s coming to see you. It’s not just talk.”