WINNIE BLAGDEN will turn 100 at the end of this month.
Winnie, a widow, has no surviving friends or family and would be celebrating alone, but for her carers, if it were not for the intervention of the team at BBC Radio Sheffield, who have appealed online for people to make this a birthday to remember for the soon-to-be-centenarian.
The BBC team has been overwhelmed by kindness: people offering to send letters and cards from the other side of the world: caterers offering food; entertainers offering party performances; flowers from florists; beauty treatment from beauticians; baking from bakers; and balloons from, er, ballooners.
I'm not ashamed to say that I had a little cry when I read the screeds of offers of help from people posting in response to the request. The woman who remembered that, as a child, her family "adopted" an elderly woman while they were on holiday and kept in touch with her, sharing cards and letters back and forth. The man whose food truck is nicknamed Winnie, after his gran, who would have been one hundred this year. The woman offering to send a card from Australia.
Sounds like Winnie is going to be buried in an avalanche of cards, flowers, cakes and presents on her milestone day.
I hope she has a fabulous time. I also hope she isn't too deflated once the fuss dies down and everything goes back to quiet normal again.
You see a lot of this at the moment, this trend for rallying anonymous troops when someone has a birthday or big event coming up. Usually it's a little kid who hasn't any friends in the playground and their parent is concerned for an empty party. Often the result of an appeal is overwhelming: for one wee American chap, whose behaviour needs kept him separate from his peers, the local fire station turned up with a truck and local police officers gave him a burl in their squad car.
There's no excuse for a young child to have no one to come to his party. What sort of parent doesn't encourage their child to socialise and mix with the other kids in their class? What kind of parent group fails to ensure no child is left out?
But what kind of community allows an elderly person to become friendless?
Internet appeals show clearly there is a thirst for involvement, a desire to surprise and nurture the lonely. One-off cards and special treats for a stranger are a lovely gesture but I bet there are people in need of friendship and attention closer to home.
Here's a trend idea: finding out who your neighbours are and popping round for a cup of tea. It won't make headlines but I'd argue it's far more valuable.
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