Seeing London through your neighbour's eyes

Please note: this post is 115 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

One thing which we all share is the need to take time out. Time out for reflection, headspace, and possibly above all, time out to enjoy the simple things we enjoy the most. Hollie has helped her older neighbour Marjorie to enjoy the simple things which have become more difficult.

At the start of the summer we introduced Hollie and Marjorie through our Love Your Neighbour scheme. They live about 20 minutes away from one another in Herne Hill. Hollie works for a national health charity and signed up to our Love Your Neighbour scheme as she wanted to get to know an older neighbour in south London. She told us she wanted to spend a few of her spare hours each month with someone she wouldn’t ordinarily have a chance to meet.

“Like many 20-something Londoners, I spend most of my time with people my age. I don’t meet older people that regularly, and I don’t get to hear their perspectives. I visit Marjorie every other week for a couple of hours. We have a catch up over a cup of coffee and chat about what’s going on in the world. Then after a time, I start reading. At the moment we’re reading Malala Yousafzai’s biography, and I’m getting used to reading out loud!

I love seeing London through Marjorie’s eyes and hearing about how she experiences London life. Sometimes I’m a bit anxious about fitting it into my week – but I’m always so pleased that I made the time to visit. I look forward to it every time! Building a relationship with someone in the community has been really positive.”

Marjorie is 87, and has deep roots in south London having been a Classics teacher in Dulwich and Catford. Over the last few years she has slowly lost a lot of her sight through macular degeneration. Once a keen reader, Marjorie has been less able to enjoy a novel, biography or anything which takes her fancy. Hollie has helped to change this.

“I’m delighted! It’s all a very great help. I like seeing her, and having the books read to me. I try to give her little bits of information about the old times. It’s nice to speak to someone of the younger generation – I’m getting a new perspective. I like the reading, it’s good for winding down and relaxing!”

If you’d like to get to know an older neighbour like Marjorie, and build a new connection in your community, you can sign up to Love Your Neighbour here.