Summary: With Christmas just around the corner, we break from our own accidental tradition of reporting gloomy local government news and bring you some festive cheer from around the country! Loneliness can be particularly rife over this season and we hear about several excellent projects to tackle it, including MensSheds, tea dances in Tower Hamlets, free Christmas dinner at a local pub and Merton’s wellbeing plans. Ingrid speaks to Cllr Denise Jones about helping the elderly and vulnerable in Tower Hamlets at Christmas, to Cllr Stephen Alambritis about Merton’s work supporting wellbeing in the community, to Chris Lee, a trustee of Men’s Sheds and founder of The Repair Shed in Hemel Hempstead about the impact that community projects can have on isolation, and Mick Dore, landlord of the Alexandra pub in Wimbledon which opens its doors to the lonely on Christmas Day. Plus other stories about Christmas bells, decorated bollards and seagull burglars! Hosted by Jen Glover and Ingrid Koehler.
