• YOUR special report on loneliness was brilliant!

It was so full of compassion that I forgot I was reading the paper and not magazine of a London-based Christian charity I had just received.

I count myself unusually fortunate in that I have never felt really lonely, despite being:

(a) an only child in a small family;

(b) unmarried and childless; and

(c) now in my mid-80s.

This I attribute to various factors:

— Temperament. I am a loner by nature.

— Experience. I got used to doing things alone from a very early age when my father was away on war service and my mother was busy.

— The Christian faith. Church can be a mixed blessing, and many of my closest friends have come from other sources, but, OK, if Christianity means anything, it means the friendship of God.

— Health. I am still mobile, and able to get about as much as I need.

— Circumstances. I am free of family obligations; these can be very isolating.

— Interests. Things keep finding me to do them.

— Pets. I have had cats all my life.

I trust this is helpful. My heart goes out to people who, for whatever reason, are lonely.

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