To talk to strangers

My family say that I have an 'aura' that invites strangers to talk to me and one day about thirty years ago I decided it must be true. I was walking down Kingsway in Manchester, a huge long road and quite busy with people, when a woman approached me from the opposite direction and after bypassing several other people came up to me and asked if I would mind if she just talked to me. She was very lonely and I had plenty of time, so we stood and she chatted for about forty minutes in the street before she felt better - and then off she went. Just before she left me she said that she could 'see' a sort of haze around me and knew I would be the one to talk to - I'd more or less forgotten about it until reading this just now.

Julie wasn't holding back...!

I remember one ex complaining about women wanting to know all about total strangers, and I denied it was true.
We were out and he popped off to get a drink.
When he came back I said "Oh, could you not sit there, because Julie (a stranger a few minutes before) has just had an op on her bum after suffering for years and she needs to sit there, to be close to the toilet".

Oh, that's good news JaneAinsworth! Er...I think...??
And MissAdventure, that is EXaCTLY what I mean. You hear such funny, interesting, and surprising stories from people you'd never expect it from. With loneliness being such a problem in this country, I think a little natter with people while you're about your everyday business is a great step to keeping us all connected. You may have caught her at a very vulnerable time.

I m afraid I do it all the time bus, train, shop queues etc My grandkids are horrified and find me so embarrassing They ll say who’s that I say I don’t know and then theyre like whaaaat

I talk to strangers all the time. Other people are interesting and you never know that might be the only social interaction they have all day.

Ill talk to anyone but Grampy is King of making friends !! Whether its walking the dog, popping to the post box or going to the supermarket , inevitably he meets someone and they start talking.

Get on any bus in Glasgow and you'll always end up having a blether with someone!

I don't usually initiate conversations but if someone makes a comment and looks like they would like a chat I rather enjoy talking to them.

Yes, I'm a bit like, I like to talk and help people if I see them struggling too because one day I'd like to think that someone might do the same for me. I've met a lady recently, walking the dog and we've become friends and meet most mornings but that just started as a random "Hello" to a stranger. Sometimes I wish I didn't always seek out conversation though because not everyone is interested and then it can make you feel a bit daft but most of the time people are quite nice. The worst thing is if you say hello to someone, and they look like right through you, that's not nice at all. I feel sorry for them that they can't even be polite, must lead sad and miserable lives.

I meet all kinds of people when I'm out an about.
A lady on the bus a while back seemed determined to talk to me, and I wasn't really in the mood for a chat.
I gave in, and was so glad I did.
She told me she had just lost her husband (although it was almost a year ago, it obviously felt very raw for her) and she must have just wanted someone to listen to her.
We had a long chat, talked about her maybe joining some kind of group so she could socialise again, and whether she may at some time want to meet another man.
She didn't, and told me in hilarious detail how revolting she found the idea of of seeing 'an old bloke' in all his glory.
it cheered us both up, and I didn't even get time to tell her my worries.

I have fairly recently moved to my present home and have met so many people on bus journeys or walks by the sea and have heard so many interesting stories from what they did in the war to meeting royalty and actors, people telling me about their volunteering work so on and so on. My life seems quite boring in comparison but they seem just as happy to talk to me.

I can’t find it now granoffour but I read an article recently that said the main predictor for longevity was social interaction - not with your nearest and dearest, but random strangers you happen to come into contact with.
So you’ll probably live to be 100.