What’s the weirdest idea you can have when it comes to a flatmate? Say a French speaking painter who cannot draw or sketch without marijuana. What about an obsessive pet keeper who stays indoors mostly with three cats, four dogs, two lizards and, a guinea pig? Would you be able to deal with that flatmate? Well while those can be a tad bit unsettling, how about sharing the flat with a person who is on the wrong side of the age, say nearing 95? This is when your own age is anything but not 30.
How strangely uncanny would be an idea of sharing a flat with a mate who’s decades older than you? Well, truth be told, a company in Britain founded by Lottery and Lloyds Bank Foundation- HomeShare UK- aligned two people on the opposite end of the age spectrum and got them together under one roof.
In the course of the last few decades, life for Poppy Morgan has been about enduring pretty challenging domestic engagements. She endured a torrid time living with reckless, careless flatmates that either left the backdoor of her shared apartment unlocked or weren’t particularly up to mark when it came to maintaining domestic hygiene. But now, life for Poppy is kind of sorted, having moved in a beautiful five-storey Regency townhouse in one of Britain’s finest residences, almost a stone’s throw away from London’s King’s road.
Her flatmate is Mr. John Corbet-Singleton- tall, smart, about 90-years-old and single. The seemingly unlikely flatmates were introduced through HomeShare UK which operates a fascinating scheme, pairing older people looking for company with members of the younger generation. In this uncanny melange of two divergent age groups, one expects to see an interchange of life- with its changing vagaries, interesting lessons and moving experiences that can be rather interesting and fun for people of either age groups.
Discussions happen over a shared love of art and literature, films and quite simply, life in Britain. From sharing coffee to some evening tea over biscuits and finally, a slice of cake before retiring for the day, Poppy and Mr. Corbett are friends, regardless of the age difference.
So in the sense that life itself is a university like no other, what could be possibly better than exchanging enchanting experiences that perhaps no time spend over the internet or in company of a sophisticated gadget can bring?