The 70-year age gap between Nicole and Alice is easily bridged every time they speak on the phone. Nicole, 30, is 100-year-old Alice’s Call Companion and is eternally grateful she was matched with the former nurse. 

“I’ve been calling her now every Tuesday for five years and the calls are so important to me,” said Nicole, a reflexologist and cancer charity operations officer. Nicole continued: “Alice has changed my life. She’s a grandmother figure who has shown me a different perspective. She’s sharp and humourous and is the kindest person. She makes me feel warm and loved and inspires me to be a better person. She’s just incredible.”

Nicole, who lives in Kent, was encouraged to become a Re-engage Call Companion by her mum, who was a volunteer driver for the charity’s tea party group in Bromley, south London. “Alice is very wise, and I have learned so much from her,” added Nicole. “She spent her earlier years on a farm in Jersey, which was occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War and then her family moved to England where she became a nurse in Bromley where I grew up.

“We talk about the area and how it’s changed. She used to work six days a week for just one pound and of course there were no mobile phones, and she didn’t have a refrigerator then – all the things we take for granted now.

“Alice encourages me to travel, which I do, and I’ve called her from Cornwall, Italy and New Zealand. She says she feels like she’s on holiday with me. There are family members around who make sure Alice is okay, but you can still sometimes feel lonely even when people are close by. I suppose I bring a different aspect to her life and she enjoys the calls.”

Alice, who lives in Somerset, recently celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and family – with some flying in from Portugal. “For Alice, the best gift was simply the company,” said Nicole.

Alice uses an app on her iPad that transcribes the phone conversations into large size text on a screen which she reads. “Nicole is a lovely girl. The calls mean so much to me,” she said. “I really look forward to them. She calls me without fail no matter where she is. If she is travelling, I am there with her. We always have something to chat about.” 

Alice’s daughter, Fleur, said: “Mum is always so eager to speak to Nicole that she has the phone in her hand at 2pm every Tuesday just waiting to press the button when it rings.”