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Fi Glover presents friends and strangers in conversation as the nation adjusts to the 'new normal'. In this week's programme: 90-year-old Joan from and 86-year-old Joyce on how old age doesn't have to mean a slowing down of the mind or the spirit; Ghillie and Teleri on what it’s like to live in remote parts of the country and battle the elements; Ava and Zoe talk about their varied interests, school life such as it is, with GCSEs on the horizon and how their lives and hopes have changed since the pandemic; and Simon and Polly talk about how they became solo parents by choice – through sperm donation and surrogacy - and how they plan to discuss the subject with their children when the time comes.

The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moments of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in this decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Mohini Patel