Like anywhere it comes down to where you live. In London for example nobody ever talks to each other on public transport. In a lot of country villages, particularly those based in the south eastern bloc they have become havens for the rich to escape the city.

Move a bit further north though and things start to become more close knit. This is a historical thing that goes back centuries-if-not-millennia as the North has historically resisted the rule of the South as best it can. The divide if anyone asks is the River Trent, not the Watford Gap.

I live in Sheffield which is widely regarded as the friendliest city in the country (in the Yorkshire, the friendliest county too!) and everyone talks to everyone. Drivers nod to let you cross the road whereas in London they just keep going or look very fed up!

During lockdown my neighbours were a lifeline. Every day I would chat to my elderly neighbour about how terrible a job the government was doing. I’ll take her bins out when her son is away on holiday and pop around for a cup of tea and a chat too. I am on a first name basis with the guys who run my local pub, corner shop and Chippy.

If this all sounds a bit Postman Pat you’d be right: Sheffield is often described as the world’s biggest village.