Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours (Day 149)
Even when travelling Neighbours are so important, it's lovely to feel that we are part of the community. And our neighbour here in North Sydney is an absolute treasure.
Our Housesitting Hosts introduced us to their neighbour Lyn before they left for their own travels and this morning we invited her in for a coffee. What a joy she is and what a good neighbour. I know that Jane and Debs are very fond of her. Reminds me of the lyrics of the theme song for Neighbours:
Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours
With a little understanding, you can find the perfect blend
Neighbours, should be there for one another
That's when good neighbours become good friends
I remember my sister Jac watching this programme when she was pregnant with our first niece Abi, and when she was born, if she got a bit fractious, all we needed to do to calm her down was to sing this theme tune! Ah…Neigh…bours….
Anyhow, back to Lyn, yes she is a joy. We had so many laughs, she has such a wonderful chuckle which creases Tim and I up. As well as a range of subjects, some not appropriate for here, we also had a very deep conversation about death as sadly Lyn lost her husband John a few months back. We all agreed that this subject is not talked about enough and yet it is the one thing that is inevitable for us all. I remember when our dear Dad passed away and despite being the most organised person ever, he had left no instructions about his funeral. (He did die very suddenly though). Lyn said perhaps he did that on purpose, knowing that his 3 girls would do the right thing. What a lovely thing to say.
Huge hugs and a photo later, Lyn said her farewells. She now lives on her own after some 40 years together with John. Luckily she has Bango, her little King Charles spaniel for company. During the day I came across a video on Facebook about a fantastic initiative that Dr Helen Kingston in Frome, Somerset set up to tackle loneliness in the area. Wow! What a fabulous idea. If a patient mentions that they are lonely, they are sent to see a Health Connector who assesses their needs and connects them appropriately. There are over 500 community connectors in this area who on average talk with 20 people in a year – that’s 10,000 people supported. Since the scheme started in 2013, Hospital admissions are down 20%. That’s is incredible and how inspiring.
The rest of the day was making sure that the house and car were in a good state ready for Jane and Debs to return to. I am sure I have written this before, however it is a joy to clean someone else’s home. Mind you, a very easy home to clean as it was immaculate to start with. We popped down to the local shops to get a few provisions and saw some more amazing Cockatoos – this time two Gang-Gangs. It was amusing watching Tim chase after them and them waddling away!
We are off to stay with Alix, my friend Karen’s sister, for a few days before travelling onto Melbourne on Tuesday. She has kindly agreed to let us leave Tim’s main rucksack at her house so that we can just take cabin baggage around Melbourne, Tasmania and Uluru (saving time and money). So our bags are now packed, with both cats overseeing, perhaps they wanted to see if there was any room for them, no such luck …mmm I still think there is stuff that we don’t need. There are definitely a couple of things that Tim still hasn’t worn and we are now day 149. According to Tim they are tiny! What do you think – Keep or Ditch? Let’s have a vote!
