Pensioner finally finds Yuletide friends

It’s a festive story to thaw even the coldest heart. Pensioner James Gray, who advertised in a newspaper for company for Christmas Day, broke his decade-long streak of lonely Yuletides and celebrated the 25th in style.

The 85-year-old retired butler, originally from Cork but a long-time resident of London, spent Christmas in the company of London-Irish couple John and Marian Cunningham as the trio had a meal in the Holiday Inn in the south London borough of Sutton.

James came to global attention after his ad in the Irish Post, pleading for company to help him get over Christmas following years of solitude at a time of family get-togethers. Almost 2,000 cards and packages were sent to him via the newspaper, while the Cunninghams, from Galway, answered his call for company.