Telephone friendship, and real introductions
Nattergale is a telephone friendship service for people living alone. Calls on your schedule from a voice that remembers you, introductions to other members with shared interests, and games to play together. All on an ordinary telephone. Nothing to install, nothing to learn.
How it works
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You join, with a person
Enrolment is a proper conversation, not a form. You choose the voice you like, and how often we ring… which days, what times, how many calls. You can change it whenever you wish, and you can ring us any time on a free line.
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The calls get to know you
The town you grew up in, the work you did, the things you love talking about. Every call picks up where the last one left off.
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An introduction, when you are ready
We suggest another member you are likely to get on with. Both of you are asked separately, and neither hears about it unless you both say yes. The first call is hosted, with a subject ready, so nobody has to be interesting on demand.
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The friendship becomes yours
Calls run through us until you both choose to swap numbers. Then we step back. Two members ringing each other is the whole point.
Why we are building this
The issue
People living alone wait months, sometimes years, for a befriending volunteer, because there are never enough volunteers. Loneliness does not wait.
How we solve it
It starts with the calls, entirely on your terms, from a voice that remembers you. You choose how often, which days, what time… a fixed call to look forward to each week, a chat most mornings, or both. However you set it, we keep to it.
Every conversation teaches us more about who you are. Nobody can match two people from a referral form. Months of real conversation can.
Where it leads
Real friendships. Two people ringing each other.
- We introduce you to another member who shares your interests… someone who grew up where you did, or worked where you worked, or remembers the same seafront.
- Both of you are asked separately, and neither hears of it unless you both say yes.
- The first call is hosted, with a subject ready, so nobody has to be interesting on demand. If it is not right, you can step away without a moment of embarrassment.
- We stay close while it is new, then step back. The best ending is a pair who ring each other direct.
And if introductions are not for you
Nattergale is still yours. A way to talk, to stay informed, to play, and to get a bit of practical help. And you can ring us whenever you like, day or night, on a free line.
Games worth ringing for
Built on the things people know and keep knowing. No scores, no timers, nothing to fail at. Best played in pairs… a game is a very good reason to ring someone.
- Guess the Year
- Finish the proverb
- Finish the lyric
- Twenty Questions
- Two Truths and a Lie
- Tell me about your first job
Small kindnesses
Checking the letter that does not look right. Finding out why the bus is on diversion. If we say we will find out, we ring back and tell you what we found. Every loop closed, every time.
Staying informed
What is on nearby this week, when the lunch club moves, what the weather is doing to the pavements. The small local knowledge that keeps a week feeling navigable.
Three rules we will not bend
- We never ask for card numbers, bank details or passwords. Not ever, and we say so out loud.
- We answer honestly whenever anyone asks what the voice is.
- Leaving is as easy and as warm as joining.
Who it could be good for
- People living alone, whose days have gone quiet
- The recently widowed or bereaved
- Anyone whose family live far away, or cannot ring as often as they wish
- People who find it harder to get out than they used to
- Anyone new to an area, starting again
And for the people around them… families, charities and coordinators with long befriending lists, and anyone deciding how care money is spent who wants something auditable.
We are not better than a friend. We are better than the wait for one, and we would rather introduce you to a friend than be one.
Be part of the first calls
We will begin with a small pilot… a limited number of members, looked after very closely, free of charge. If you would like a place for yourself or someone you love, or you run a befriending service with a waiting list we could help carry, we would like to hear from you.