TV chef at Christmas lunch to confront loneliness

Diners at a Sussex lunch club were joined by a celebrity chef for a special Christmas event.

TV chef Rosemary Shrager joined the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) to cook with all the trimmings at their Pevensey Bay Lunch Club.

Shrager, who also appeared on I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, joined as part of her role as an ambassador for the RVS's Our Festive Spread campaign, which calls for people to come together, so no one eats alone at Christmas.

The chef, who herself is over 70 and lives on her own, said: "I do know what it is like to feel a little bit lonely... and I think this is the most wonderful cause to bring people together."

Linda Moore, a retired bank clerk and lunch club regular, said she looked forward to attending the lunches.

"It's really great to meet all the people," she said. "The staff are really good."

Pauline McCormick, 88, said: "I love to talk to other people. It's a long, long week if you haven't got nowhere to go."

The Our Festive Spread campaign is organised by RVS for older people across the country.

Their research shows more than a million older people have had no invitations to eat with others over the festive period.

It also says nearly a third of over-70s living alone say this time of year exacerbates their loneliness.

The RVS also runs a lunch club at The Ethel Wood Community Centre twice a month for people in the community, offering a warm, social space where they can enjoy a home cooked meal and some company.

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