Bartley was, naturally, over the moon to have found his very own “happy ending”, saying: “The first thing I did when I heard about the job was pour myself a stiff drink.

“It’s been a whirlwind in the past couple of days.”

We love this pensioner’s incredible attitude to life – and we hope that he makes plenty of friends in his new role. And fingers crossed that his newfound “celebrity status” will encourage more of us to reach out and speak to an elderly person when we sit next to them on the bus, walk past them at the supermarket, or try to brighten up their day in some small way.

You can find out about Age UK’s befriending services (both telephone and face-to-face) on their website. Or, if you are worried about an elderly relative or neighbour, they also have advice on how best to overcome loneliness , too.

Pensioner, 89, offered bar job after "stop me dying from boredom" ad goes viral