When Cheryl Barnacle boarded a plane to Florida in 2006, she thought life couldn’t get any better. She and husband Clive had just celebrated their silver wedding anniversary, looking forward to motorb

Volunteer Rebecca Cook brings some Christmas cheer to lonely people

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“Christmas is the busiest – and most exciting – time of the year in Cats Protection shops,” reveals Adele Allen, shop manager at the Cats Protection shop in Stone, Staffordshire. “There’s an incredibl

One in five older people in the UK admits to feelings of loneliness – and this only intensifies at Christmas. What is causing this crisis and how can we combat the sense of isolation?

We can’t predict exactly how you’ll be feeling as the year comes to a close, but our best guess is that you’ll be in need of a breather. Because for many of us, 2025 has not been painless. Political t