If you walk along the Victorian promenade in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, you’ll notice one bench that sticks out from the rest. Sitting 100 metres from the pier head is a bright yellow sign marking, “The ‘Happy to Chat’ bench: sit here if you don’t mind someone stopping to say hello.”
It was introduced by the police earlier this year to deal with loneliness among the elderly in the seaside town, where pensioners make up a third of the population. The scheme was picked up by CNN, and has attracted followers around the country, as well as in other countries as far away as Canada, Australia, United States and Ukraine.
More than nine million people in the UK say they “often or always” feel lonely, according to the British Red Cross. And the former health secretary Jeremy Hunt described loneliness among the elderly as “our national shame”. With the problem so serious, can something as simple as a bench be effective to solve the problem?
That question led me to Burnham’s promenade on a windy November morning, where I spent hours sitting on the country’s first “chat bench” to see who, if anyone, would strike up a conversation.
After lunch, I got chatting to 67-year-old Ann Davies, who retired a few years ago from her job as the manager of the Sue Ryder charity shop. She has lived alone since her divorce 13 years ago, and spent much of her time volunteering. Otherwise, she explained, she would be at the serious risk of falling into the UK’s large group of older people who “often feel ignored or invisible”.
“Once you get behind that door, you don’t want to come out. And the longer it goes on, the more you don’t want to,” Ann said. “You almost get agoraphobic, and the outside seems very alien and scary. But it’s not. The best thing is to volunteer. You’ve got to have a reason to go out.”
Full of natural wit, it was very easy to warm to Ann after just a few minutes. She explained why she took regular advantage of Burnham’s chat bench, “Even just somebody looking at it is enough — some may say, ‘Oh, this is a good idea. What’s all that about then?’ You start chatting about the bench, and it goes on from there. ‘Are you on holiday? Do you come down every year?’ It’s just natural. Sometimes they’re not even sitting on the bench; they just talk to you standing there.”
As the afternoon wore on and the gloomy sky dimmed further, I called it a day and travelled back to London with my spirits high. Perhaps there is hope for neighborliness after all.
12. What is the bench mentioned in the passage used to do?
A.To let the walkers have a good rest. | B.To make the environment more beautiful. |
C.To provide a special place for people to chat. | D.To spread pensions from one person to another. |
13. What does Jeremy Hunt think of the problem “the elderly’s loneliness” in the UK?
A.It is a serious problem needing attention. | B.It can be a great burden to the country. |
C.It does great harm to old people’s health. | D.It needs to be solved by British Red Cross. |
14. How does Ann Davies fight against loneliness?
A.By cleaning the “Happy to Chat” bench frequently. |
B.By talking with other old people whenever possible. |
C.By spending time offering a helping hand to others. |
D.By calling on the public to pay attention to old people. |
15. What is Ann’s attitude towards the bench?
A.Doubtful. | B.Supportive. | C.Disapproving. | D.Concerned. |