Toni Fielding from MHA Enfield on how a simple cuppa can go a long way

On a Thursday morning, come rain or shine, residents living in the borough of Enfield are invited to come and enjoy a free cup of tea or coffee between 10am and 11am at Enfield Market.

As you step off the high street, and bob and weave your way through the variety of market stalls that are on offer, in the centre of the market you’ll see a group of friendly faces that meet once a week to have a natter over tea and biscuits.

The weekly ‘Natter Mornings’ are held in conjunction with Enfield Charter Market, MHA Enfield Live at Home, The Old Enfield Charitable Trust and West Lea Charity Shop. The project has been set up to help reduce loneliness and isolation among the older community of Enfield borough.

Recent research has shown that loneliness can have the same impact on your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, so the four organisations have joined forces to see what they can do to help the older generation.

The Natter Mornings project has got off to a flying start so far, seeing lots of people pop by for a cup of tea and taking the opportunity to meet up with friends old and new, while putting the world to rights for an hour every Thursday morning.

It’s lovely watching people from all walks of life come together. Loneliness is a big challenge for a lot of older people and we are working together to see how we can help reduce the problem and encourage healthy social relationships.

They say a cup of tea solves everything, so that’s where we thought we’d start and we hope to meet more and more people over the span of the project.

Natter Mornings will continue to run on Thursday mornings, 10am-11am, in Market Square, Enfield Town. Come along and join us, and let’s combat loneliness together!

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