One of the privileges of campaigning is that I get to knock on every door, one after another, and ask intrusive questions. I get to know things that perhaps neighbours don't. One of the most striking of these is coincidental strings of dwellings, sometimes eight or nine in a row, each occupied by one, elderly female resident.

I've said nothing to them, but wonder whether it's incumbent on me to explore with them whether an improvised additional support network based in the neighbourhood would be desirable.
Is that not one of the things councillors are for?

We are privy to the full electoral list, and the responsibility that goes with that must surely include picking up on clues, areas of need, or opportunities for more social cohesion.

That's the big society – a term coined by E F Schumacher (of Small is Beautiful fame – father of much of Green politics) to mean the public sphere enabling people (most easily with cash) to help each other. I'm all for it, I think.