Talking Telford: A jammed lock opens the door to new neighbourly connections

Are they someone you could pass in the street without recognising, someone you’d know only to say hello to, someone you’d have a cup of tea with, or someone you could count on to help you hide a body if needs be?

I’m asking not because I’m in need of someone to help hide a body, but because, for the first time in almost six years of living in Lawley, I’ve learned my neighbours’ names - and I’m still reeling a little.

For context, I live in a block of flats and we’ve been having issues with a jammed padlock to a shed for holding bikes, mobility scooters and personal trolleys. I took it on myself to investigate the offending mechanism, find a replacement and identify who will need new keys to a new lock.

I went door-to-door to make enquiries. Most people weren’t in or didn’t answer, but on the fifth and final door I got a break. This was the new home of a lady who moved in earlier this year. We’d passed each other a few times in the halls but now here we were, face-to-face for the first time.

There was a little awkwardness (this is England after all) but it didn’t last. We spoke about the lock but we also gossiped, opened up on what had brought us to Lawley and joked about where we’d come from.

By the time I left I had a new lead, but I’d also learned a little about my new neighbour. And I soon realised this was the first time I’d even learned one of their first names.

I’m a little ashamed to admit it even now. Have I really been that closed-off from the community I’ve become a part of?

Then again, what makes a community these days? In a social media age where most of us have reliable internet connections, it might make more sense to whip out a phone and chat with people we share similar interests with across town or across the globe than to reach out to a flesh-and-blood mystery person next door who we may not even get on with.

Even in the house I grew up in, to us kids our next-door neighbour was primarily a scary man who threatened to take our football away. But nowadays my mother has a street full of supportive neighbours who look out for each other - you can get lucky.

I guess, as with most things, neighbourhood is what you make of it. The internet has done wonders for helping people find their own communities - but there’s no substitute for a good gossip over the proverbial garden fence sometimes.