Dear LPG readers,  

I live alone and I know that a lot of other people do, too.   

I think that I am lucky though because I can still get around and I do spend a lot of my time out and about, but as the days get a bit shorter and the coldness and darkness creeps up on us earlier each evening, I do find myself more reluctant to venture out in the dark.   

I find that every aspect of living comes with its advantages and disadvantages, and while I think that not having to share the remote control is an advantage, once that front door is closed for the evening, I think that it would be nice to know that if there was a crisis and you needed a bit of help, you could get it without having to call someone on your mobile phone.   

This is not the first time that I have lived alone, but the last time, I was at work which meant that, if I wanted to continue paying my rent, I had to go out for a minimum of at least five days in the week.  At the time my microwave and my kettle got used a lot more than my gas cooker, because I ate while at work with my workmates most of the time, and perhaps it is how we eat that is quite a big part of how well we manage as loan-livers.   

This was before the days of online shopping, which can be another reason why we don’t bother to get wrapped up and go out to the shops regularly during the winter.  I hear you say “but most older people, regardless of their ability to get out and about, would not know how to get on line to order such meals even though a lot more of us have now learned to make smartphone phone calls and even video calls.”  The sad thing is that many of us have children that live quite a distance away which makes visiting difficult, but many of those children now do us the favour by doing the online shopping for us.  I only have to take a look at friends of a similar age to me, to work out that our children live a lot further away from us than they used to. 

I think that not having someone to regularly share a meal with, has to be one of the worst aspects of living alone.  Heating up a prepared meal and putting it on a table set for one is not the same.   I still spend time in the kitchen making my meals from scratch, but by the time I have slaved over my hot dinner, tasting it as I go, there is no real point in putting it on a plate.  I have often eaten quite enough before it ever gets to the table and that saves on the washing up too.     

Eating alone is a habit that can so easily start as the nights draw in one winter, never to stop again.  I found an old LPG article that I think all readers should take another look at as winter comes around which, if you have mastered the art of video calling, could well offer one plausible solution…        

MH, Lewisham  
 

MH invites you to read the article that inspired her message again…

 

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