how are you getting on? lovely! things have changed slightly. he does go home, every night, seven days a week. it is nice, but they spoil me too much, they really do. but, there you go. i'm lucky, aren't i? some people don't have that. many people retire here from elsewhere so families can live far away and loneliness is a constant danger, exacerbated by lockdown. edward bell has therefore initiated a pen pal service encouraging people to write to the area's pensioners. to go back to the basics of receiving a letter, it's wonderful. it's that anticipation

of when it's going to arrive and what they are going to say and sharing information in a way which none of us do any more. it's got a telescopic sight... after our last report, ron kant was teased. i had kids saying, you know, you're film star! all that old cobblers! but the 84—year—old has gained a new friend, a pen pal, after a viewer wrote to him. i'm well pleased, to be honest with you. i really am. the gun enthusiast misses his bowls and friends, but is stoical about life. sometimes i do a bit of drawing. i like model aircraft out of balsa wood, things like that. and clean my old guns up, go out in the garden. the reopening of pubs and cafes hasn't made much difference to most people here. and their concern is another spike, forced to spend more time at home. it is worrying, isn't it? there are a few cases down here. so, i don't know how bad it is, though. you wouldn't fancy another lockdown, though, would you? no, no, i hope not. no, another nine weeks! without leaving your house!

yeah! the residents of this close have been spared the ravages of coronavirus. they talk of treating each day as it comes. it's just that currently each day is less fulfilling than they would wish. michael buchanan, bbc news, holland—on—sea, in essex. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night.