I’ve come to count myself very lucky for the family and friends in my life. If you too are fortunate enough to have good people who sustain you, then show them. Every day.

I’d like to tell you some stories of people I know who aren’t so fortunate; people who are part of what’s come to be called "an epidemic of loneliness".

There’s my neighbour. She never married, had no children, and as she reached retirement there was nobody there for her. She was a difficult woman, unkind to local children and pretty mean-spirited, but when my family saw her struggle as old age grabbed hold of her, we tried to help as much as we could. I find it difficult to see anyone unhappy. But there was only so much we could do. Quite recently, she went into a home. She’s now, sadly, completely alone.

Then there’s my aunt. She’s slowly shut herself off from the world since her divorce, and now lives pretty much in isolation. Her grown-up children have moved away. Relatives, myself included, encourage her to go out, make friends, meet people, join a club - but she says she can’t. She fears rejection, and that’s terribly sad.

I’ve a good friend, whose wife died some years back. It’s become almost impossible for him to go out and socialise, despite me and other old pals encouraging him. He says he can’t face it.

A young friend of my daughter struggled after university to get the job he wanted and just drifted away from the world. The only sign that he exists is his digital presence.

I either love or am fond of all these people - even my rather hard-shelled neighbour. So the way........

© Herald Scotland