1When my grandparents were young, the street where you lived defined almost every part of your daily life.
2Neighbours borrowed tools from each other, watched each other's children after school, and knew who was ill, struggling, or celebrating.
3Hardly anybody locked their doors during the day, because trust was simply the default setting of the whole community.
4Today, many of us live surrounded by people whose names we do not know and whose lives remain a mystery.
5We can video call a friend on another continent in seconds, yet we have never spoken to the family across the landing.
6Some people argue that community has not really disappeared but simply moved online into endless groups and discussion forums.
7There is some truth in that, but a screen cannot carry your shopping upstairs or water your plants.
8Interestingly, the pandemic reminded many streets of what they had forgotten, as neighbours started helping each other again.
9Shopping runs for elderly residents, notes slipped under doors, and countless small kindnesses slowly became ordinary once more.
10Perhaps real community is not something we inherit from the past but something we must choose to rebuild.