New Brighton

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up To 40 Minutes an elderly man sat on a bench in a busy City Centre Park - Alone .

He was ignored by the passing dog walkers, joggers, parents with children and young people with headphones, to has the all to once say "Hello".

he wanted company? He wanted to be Alone ? Does anyone actually care?

It was enough to help move to try a woman, to entertain strangers, to inspire, a movement That spread around The World .

"There was some of That British reserve made me think, he can think me weird if I sat next to him," said Allison Owen-Jones, 53, from Cardiff.

"wouldn't it Be nice if there was an easy way To Let people know you are open for a conversation, I thought.

"So I came up with the idea of tying a sign That the ways of the people. I didn't want to sound too vulnerable, so I wrote " Happy to chat Bank. You can sit here if you don't mind, someone to stop by to say Hello'.

"all of a sudden you're no longer invisible. "

"in the Chat" sign appeared (clockwise from top left), Kiev, Ukraine, Burnham-on-Sea, Newport, Tenby, London and Chester

tie up The idea in may of this year, led Allison to laminate, cards, and start you on benches in parks in and around your hometown.

It was a wonderfully simple idea for coping with the loneliness That quickly creates a buzz.

The aid organization took the idea a step further.

It already has partnerships with both Avon and Somerset Police and Gwent Police , permanent benches, the over your areas and organize volunteers to "chat banking".

word spread through Social Media and now "in the Chat" the benches are popping up all over The World - with the same words composed by Allison.

the people from Canada, the United States , Australia, Switzerland and the Ukraine turned to have, the next love, all interested in copying the idea, people talk.

have wanted to can Chronic loneliness have an impact on memory, mental and physical health "appeared in the Chat" bench mark in Vancouver, Canada

"We highlight loneliness among older people, but we never thought it would become such a remarkable success," said co-founder of Det Sgt Ash Jones, 49, of Aberdare.

"We have been contacted from people all over The World to take all the eager to such a simple idea.

"Some people days or even weeks without the simplest of human contact can go, so That the Chat Bank' break the addiction to the social barrier and allow us all to say 'Hello'. "

In the UK, More Than a million older people say they feel always or often lonely, A review found That 17% of the older people you speak with family, friends or neighbours less than once a week. For many, it is much scarcer than the.

Police , together with local volunteers, also here in Llangynidr, Powys Ash Jones is the Senior Liaison Team, the #chat bench movement around The World

Chronic loneliness has promoted can impact on memory, mental and physical health and is an important factor behind the financial exploitation of the elderly.

But it's not just the older people who can benefit from a random "Hello".

Allison said: "most of the time, I was very lonely when I had a small baby. This can be great for mums who are not perhaps speaking to another adult all day. "

Cardiff Council confirmed it is the division of the three permanent "Happy -Chat" benches in parks throughout The City , while signs in the County of Devon, New Brighton , Merseyside, and Altrincham, in Greater Manchester has appeared in Barry, Tenby, Abergavenny, Porthcawl and Newport in Wales, plus Barnstable,.

newport, chester, aberdare, cardiff council, avon and somerset constabulary, elderly people, new brighton, burnham-on-sea, social isolation, loneliness, porthcawl, altrincham, tenby, gwent police, abergavenny, barry, cardiff, barnstaple

Source of news: bbc.com