Dreams Of A Life

[tamborine]

Joyce Vincent lived alone & her corpse had lain in her flat for 3y. Her TV was playing & post piled indoors. Xmas pressies she had wrapped surrounded her, she was only 40y & no-one missed her.

Wouldn't you think debtors would have noticed her absence ?

[Buenchico]

Debtors or creditors, Tambo?

Anyway, all that creditors do is to send loads of letters and then commence court action. If the debtor doesn't appear in court (or is otherwise represented) the order goes through automatically. It result in, for example a charging order against a property; nobody would notice if that wasn't complied with as it has no effect until the debtor seeks to sell (or is known to have died) - that could take decades.

I live alone and if I was to drop dead right now I can't think of anyone who would notice my absence for many, many months (or even years); I wouldn't want it any other way!!!

(For anyone who requires a link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/oct/09/joyce-vincent-death-mystery-documentary )

[cupid04]

Did you watch it. Mr c. didn't want to see it [so I didn't] We only have one telly.
He said it would be too morbid.

[tamborine]

Keep feeding those cats as they will miss you - or feast on you if you drop dead, Chris. My pets will get my absence noted & get me prosecuted for neglect as an epitaph

[woofgang]

when DH and I went to the US for his work, it was the same. He would go off travelling for the job and I would be alone with our dog. Phonecalls were expensive so my family in the UK wouldn't have expected to hear from me often and the mail used to go astray as well. No one would have known if I had fallen down the cellar stairs or been mugged and killed somewhere.When i realised this I was a bit :-( at first then i got used to it.....it makes you very careful on ladders though lol

[douglas9401]

I take it she had direct debits set up to service the TV Licence police, electricity company etc.

[emmie]

i read through the article, and i can see how this happens, one loses contact with friends, family, they think you don't care, want to know, better left alone, been there, and done that. You have to wonder that the council let the rent arrears run up so high without checking for three years.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/dec/15/dreams-of-a-life-film-review

[emmie]

according to a new report i was reading the other day there are more single people living alone than ever, and it really isn't hard to imagine there are a lot more people out there like Joyce, equally lonely and uncared for, often elderly who don't get see any relatives, or carers.

[ummmm]

She could have had enough money in the bank for her DD's to carry on being paid for quite some time.

She didn't have any friends and was considered a bit of a loner. Would you miss or even notice that you hadn't seen a loner for some time?

[netibiza]

If she had wrapped xmas presents then surely someone must have wondered why they didn't get a pressie that year, I would have called. This is where good neighbours come in.

In the 70's I used to drive my bike round the countryside checking on the mothers who 's menfolk were off the island as we had no phones in those days and people lived in out of the way places, I also took fresh bread. I often sat with the kids so the mothers could get shopping. But things change.

[ummmm]

That's the thing though, loners are not consistent. They pick up friends and drop friends.

[MrsLulu]

buenchico, Yould bemissed on AnswerBank right away

[MrsLulu]

Sorry about the garble, my computer is getting slow and missing letters

[ChillDoubt]

It was quite sad and shocking that someone's existence and death could go unnoticed in central London for 3 years.
Despite a large circle of friends, the lady never really settled amongst one group and details towards the end of her life became sketchy.

It was appalling too that when the film maker made enquiries with the local council etc about her council tax and why something wasn't flagged by them nor the utility companies, they all decided not to co-operate.

It was a sad indictment on modern society in a way, in that as one interviewee said in the modern world we have little time for other people but can make time to go shopping(she was pointing out the irony of the lady dying in sight of a large shopping centre) but often find it too much bother to call someone or just simply drop by.

[ChillDoubt]

For those who missed it I'd urge you to watch it:

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dreams-of-a-life/4od

[emmie]

one can be a loner without being lonely, and if in some cases your partner has passed away, then sometimes the friends, family don't call, thinking they are intruding, life is rarely simple

[emmie]

i don't think its limited to London either, suspect that many overcrowded cities are like it, and even smaller towns, where people just don't want to get involved.

[whiskeryron]

Back in the day ( as they say) everybody had a milk delivery & it was soon noticed if your milk had not been fetched in. I was a milkman for a number of years & anything unusual was noted & neighbours were asked if Mrs Whatsit was alright etc. Now of course with most people buying from supermarkets things are totally different.

WR.