28/11/2022
Great article, Billy! So refreshing to hear about good neighbours these days. Not just the amazing Alan but also Billy for nominating him. Keep looking out for each other!
Billy Delimitrou and his wife were attending the open inspection of their future home in East Bentleigh when Alan Beardsley, our Good Neighbour for December, drove past and introduced himself. 🏠
“He mentioned that he’d been looking after the grass for the woman who’d left the house recently for a nursing home,” he said. “We thought, ‘How nice of him is that?’ “ 🌱
“Alan is an old-school sort of fellow in that neighbourly way,” he said. “I really like that about him.”
A retired banker of 81, Alan speaks with a steady, resonant baritone conveying equal measures of authority and compassion; a Hollywood talent scout would cast him as the strong, silent type.
“My wife, Heather, and I have lived here for 48 years, and if people need help, I’m happy to offer it.” Gardening, setting out and collecting the rubbish bins, running essential errands — they’re the small mercy missions in Alan’s repertoire.
On the day we spoke with him, he’d just returned from shepherding an elderly neighbour to the doctor. 97 and beginning a slide into dementia, she’d recently gotten herself stranded away from home with no recollection of how to find her way back, and she needed a travel companion. “That’s the story of my morning,” Alan said. “I’m glad to help her. She’s a dear old soul.”
👉 If you know a good candidate for the Good Neighbour column, email us at [email protected] or visit https://bit.ly/3UpxzuZ