The joy of good NEIGHBOURS

What may once have been a passing hello or a hurried chat over the garden fence has since formed into something much more enduring for many neighbours during the COVID-19 lockdown

- FRANCES LEATE

‘WE BONDED OVER A TOILET ROLL!’

Lisa Robson, 49, lives in Milton Keynes with her 13-year-old son. I’ve lived in my house for 15 years and always enjoyed a friendly chat with my neighbours, so in September 2019, when I spotted a woman and her two children had moved into the house next door, I made a point of introducing myself.

Rachael, 52, seemed lovely. ‘We must do wine one day soon,’ I said to her after a brief chat over the garden fence. Only, running my own business – a bespoke memorial service – and looking after my son, our planned wine date quickly made its way down my list of priorities.

But then, in March 2020, the COVID-19 situation escalated. And just as things started to slow down for many people, I found I was getting more enquiries about my services. So as well as homeschooling my son, the garden became my little sanctuary, and I found myself often chatting to Rachael over the garden fence.

‘I’ve just been shopping, there’s nothing on the shelves,’ I groaned to her one night as I caught her going into her own home while I unloaded my bags from the car.

‘I couldn’t get any toilet paper when I went yesterday, either,’ she sighed.

Once I’d put my shopping away, we chatted in the back garden, cautiously standing some distance apart, with the garden fence between us, and our chat soon turned to other parts of our lives.

We spoke about everything from ex-boyfriends to being mums and launching our own businesses.