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Lonely Man Puts Sign In His Window Asking For People To Be His Friend

Joanna Freedman

Published 

Lonely Man Puts Sign In His Window Asking For People To Be His Friend

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

A lonely old man resorted to putting a poster in his window asking for somebody to be his friend after the death of his beloved wife.

Tony Williams, 75, from Alton, East Hampshire, has been in complete isolation since his wife Jo, also 75, passed away in May.

And the retired physicist says he often feels "cursed" by loneliness, and is left sitting at home "willing the phone to ring, but it never does".

Tony doesn't have any family nearby, so with nobody to turn to he decided to take matters into his own hands in a bid to find a companion.

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First, he put two adverts in his local newspaper, at a cost of £120 in total.

However, heartbreakingly, he didn't hear back from either.

Tony has been isolated since his wife's death (Credit: SWNS)
Tony has been isolated since his wife's death (Credit: SWNS)

Then, he decided to have some business cards made to hand out when he went to the supermarket or out for a walk.

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Hoping to find a pal to listen to music with, or sit in the garden alongside, the chatty OAP handed out 23 in total when he was out and about - but he also heard nothing back.

Now, in a last ditch attempt to find somebody to keep him company, Tony has put a poster in his window that reads: "I have lost Jo, my lovely wife and soul mate.

"I have no friends and nobody to talk to.

"I find the unremitting silence 24-hours-a-day unbearable torture. Can nobody help me?'

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Tony has now put a sign in his window (Credit: SWNS)
Tony has now put a sign in his window (Credit: SWNS)

*Sobs.*

Speaking about his decision to put the poster up, Tony said: "It's my last resort. I've tried everything to make friends, but it feels like nobody wants to talk to me.

"Not very many people pass my house, but I was hoping it would spread around the community, and someone might reach out.

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"Jo was my best friend and we had a lovely life. But now I'm all by myself. My wonderful wife has just died, and I have nobody.

"All I want is for somebody to see the sign and phone me up. I just want a nice conversation so I'm not sat in silence all day long.

"I'm not looking for someone to listen to me cry - I just want a normal person who I can chat to! I can talk to anybody about anything.

"I spend most days just sat in the house in silence, just waiting for the phone to ring ... but it never does."

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Tony's beloved wife died in May (Credit: SWNS)
Tony's beloved wife died in May (Credit: SWNS)

Tony met his late wife Jo, a legal secretary, in a bar more than 35 years ago, and describes their marriage as a "perfect harmony".

The couple, who lived in Kempley, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, for 25 years, were unable to have any children, and so depended on each other heavily for company and support.

"We first met one night in a bar, and we got on so well," Tony added. "It was just incredible. It was like I'd known her all my life. She was just so lovely.

"Our relationship was always so natural. We had no secrets and we could be totally open with each other - we really were soul mates.

"Back in Kempley, we both used to get in every evening from work and cook together - with me doing one job and her another - then we'd put it together at the end.

"Sometimes we'd spend hours cooking, laughing and listening to music together - it was the highlight of our day.

The couple were best of friends (Credit: SWNS)
The couple were best of friends (Credit: SWNS)

"We also had a huge, beautiful garden with an orchard. In the summer months, I'd do the gardening and Jo would come and sit outside with me. Everything was just perfect."

They moved to East Hampshire last year so Jo could be closer to her sister, Beryl, 73.

But Jo fell ill, with what turned out to be pancreatic cancer, shortly after they moved, and died suddenly, just nine days after the diagnosis.

Jo passed away at home, with Tony by her side, in May, and he said he has lived in near silence ever since.

"Now I'm here, completely alone, in the house where my lovely wife spent her dying days," he said.

"Every time I walk in the room, the first thing I do is look at her photograph."

Tony looks at his wife's photograph every day (Credit: SWNS)
Tony looks at his wife's photograph every day (Credit: SWNS)

While Tony's neighbours have offered to help him with anything he may need, what the OAP wants more than anything is a friend his own age to help pass the time.

Tony said he isn't close to his late wife's family, and his own three siblings live far away.

He added: "I just want a friend, and I hope my sign will find someone for me."

If you know somebody who might be a good friend to Tony, contact [email protected] to be put in touch.

Here's to hoping somebody can help put a smile back on his face

Topics: Life, Real Life

Joanna Freedman
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