For Hire: Husband, Mother or Companion, Lonely in Japan

I am not sure I agree with Duncan Bartlett byline for Rent-a-friend in Japan (BBC, January 12) that 'Japanese still like to use their money to have fun'. This segment of From our own correspondent starts with a visit to Cat Cafes where for a fee time pressed Japanese can...

Loneliness 'makes you cold'

"     Loneliness and coldness are often associated in everyday language, but psychologists have found that social isolation does make people feel cold. The University of Toronto team found people feeling excluded said a room was colder than those...

Nottinghamshire Notes: Gormley's 'Another Place' Liverpool

Antony Gormley's installation 'Another Place' is currently on a beach just outside Liverpool.  It consists of 100 cast-iron figures based on the artists' own body, and they cover a 3 kilometre area, each gazing out to sea.  They are due to be moved...

Donors get web wish lists from homeless

"VANCOUVER, CALGARY -- The simply written, personal biographies hint at the terrible loneliness and longing that visit the homeless each Christmas. Heartbreaking, too, are the humble requests penned by those who live and sleep on the streets of two of Canada's most prosperous...

Lonely artist crawls 60 miles

"An art teacher from London, England, has crawled 96km on his hands and knees to draw attention to the plight of single people spending Christmas alone. Mark McGowan, 37, was pulling 18...