'We talk about anything – we're good mates now'

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We love it when a single little moment offers a microcosm of why we do what we do at North London Cares. And today, we had just that as Lil and Sean – friends through both our Social Clubs and Love Your Neighbour programmes – got together in the middle of rapidly-changing north London, to share stories with a wider audience.

The pair, who initially met a year ago through our North London Stories podcast socials and who have since become firm friends, joined Nihal Arthanayake and the rest of the BBC team at a Radio 5 Live special on loneliness – and how to combat it.

And, as with Lil's previous media outings, her storytelling didn't disappoint: Lil's tales, confidently shared with the nation on live radio, were equal parts heartbreak and hope. Many listeners were captivated by her stories of love and loss, mischief and misadventure – and her lovely friendship and rapport with Sean.

We're so proud that North London Cares brought these friends together, and proud that through the opportunity to appear on national radio they were able to reach an even bigger audience and talk about such an important issue.

And we were especially delighted that Lil's humour lit up social media again – with one commenter even saying she should be Prime Minister!