I have a vivid memory from a recent election campaign. I knocked on the door of a resident in South Lakeland.

I was greeted with warmth, perhaps more warmth than usual, by a lady who was probably in her 80s.

After chatting to the resident for a while, it transpired that I was the first person she had spoken to for two days.

A colleague told me a few weeks ago of his neighbour who had put up a sign outside her house inviting anyone passing by, to come in for a cup of tea.

The byline was ‘person looking for company’.

These are not isolated examples.

There is a lot of loneliness in our society, particularly among the elderly. Surveys indicate that a significant percentage of older people experience periods of loneliness.

Loneliness is heart wrenching.

I know there are many great initiatives in this area to limit loneliness.

I applaud all the volunteers, neighbours, churches and other organisations, who will be out over the holiday season making sure no-one is knowingly left on their own.

It was with great interest that I recently attended a presentation on loneliness and social isolation by Lancaster University.

They have developed a way for the elderly to access activities that are specifically designed for them.

The system is called MobileAge.

It is a project that is funded by the EU and is focused on enabling senior citizens to access services and activities in the community in an easy and personalised way.

It will tailor activities to suit the user, or user’s relative. So, for example if your elderly mum lives in Kendal but you live in Bath, you can have a look at what might be on interest for her in Kendal in the coming week, and let her know.

Anyone can take a look at MobileAge via www.mobile-age.eu.

It seems like a great system, even more so as it is already funded!

Lancaster University have been looking for communities to pilot the system and have decided that South Lakeland will be one of their pilots.

SLDC will be providing our wholehearted support.

Let’s hope people find it to be of practical benefit in reducing loneliness.