"Carol died alone, with no obvious next of kin - and no will.A cousin, who never met Gerry, was traced that morning by the UHU and has come to pay their respects.The team's daily work is littered with difficult conversations.At Carol's one-bedroom flat in a traditional Glasgow tenement the only sound is the swishing of the forensics-style white plastic overalls as UHU investigators Katy and Yvonne go about their work.The two-hour search is diligent and painstaking, with everything in the flat returned to its original place when they are finished.The 85-year-old had fallen ill after moving from his housing association flat in Glasgow to a care home. We need to adapt to the changes in society. "Full article Where are Stacey Dooley's interviewees now? Kim Kavin.

"Graham has decades of experience of these types of funerals. I'd love to have spoken to her," says Yvonne.Robert's well-appointed flat in the plush New Town area of Edinburgh was full of clues to his life. He only leaves with the passport.A picture of what is thought to be Robert's father and a newspaper clipping Robert kept of a time he got into trouble with the police"When I realised he had died and nobody knew anything about him I was intrigued. "I've done a full service for a homeless person, for people who were alone with no-one in the world," he said.When the search moves to her bedroom there is another intriguing discovery - a photo, hidden in an underwear drawer, of Carol on what looks like her wedding day.Media playback is unsupported on your deviceIt is established that Carol was not a native of Glasgow. After she died it seemed, according to Janet, that it may have been easier for him to tell people he didn't have any family.The investigators eventually trace a niece in another part of the country, who never met Carol. "He was a man-about-town, he was a playboy," she says. Heather Kelly. "I pieced together what I think was his life and he was obviously part of 'the set'," she explained.

Going out by yourself will help you become comfortable with being alone. More Tips to Help You Embrace Being Alone. "Each to their own," she says. "Before he was a name, now he's becoming a person," says Yvonne as she sifts through a box of old letters and Christmas cards.None of the people smiling alongside Carol in her photos come forward either. I need to let you know … Hi Rhoda. Deborah Porter . It is from their eponymous debut album, and features American rapper Jay-Z. "Be Alone No More" is the debut single by British R&B vocal quartet Another Level, released on 16 February 1998. Reader Count & Comments. "He didn't ask about the funeral," Yvonne points out.

"What he meant was he didn't have any contact with them any more, but everyone has family, whether you like it or not. ""For us to get that sort of information, we need more tools at our disposal," explains UHU manager Ella.He wants his passport back and says his TV is in the flat too. Could you send me a private message as soon as possible please? The lilt of Graham's Outer Hebrides accent feels tailormade for the occasion.Contact is made with social workers and the housing association, and a friend is traced. Biscuit tins are checked and empty suitcases are opened.

"She looks as if she's had a good life. The service is over in less than seven minutes.Cash and valuables are collected and logged for the long process of settling Carol's estate.The shift towards conducting our lives online is actually making it harder to trace the lives of the dead.Robert Chalmers died alone in an Edinburgh hospital last April, just days before his 75th birthday.Robert was her mother's cousin - and, by coincidence, Janet is one of the country's top professional genealogists.The man explains he's a friend of Carol's and is "the guy who came to look after her every day".But a public notice asking for relatives to come forward attracted the attention of genealogy firms, who traced Janet Bishop.Photos are carefully removed from frames to check for any writing on the back. We rely on readers like you to uphold a free press.We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. "It could be any of us in these circumstances, but for the grace of God. When You Start to Enjoy Being Alone, These 10 Things Will Happen; What Your Fear of Being Alone Is Really About and How to Get over It; Featured photo credit: Caleb Frith via unsplash.com. "In a sense you feel the person is there watching you," says Katy. Gerry (not his real name) was an organised man, which made the investigators' job easier.A full ashtray and an open TV guide in the living room are clues to how suddenly Carol fell ill.Katy echoes the sentiment. "My mother had spoken about him," she said.Options being looked at include a ban on households mixing, and reducing hospitality opening hours.There is muzak but no minister, so no final words for 67-year-old Carol (not her real name). "You're sad for that person, but in a sense you are doing the right thing for them when nobody else is there. It doesn't matter how many people turn up. "He knew they were there, so to say to his friends 'I don't have any family' - that's not true," she says.The next part of the job takes months - death administration is notoriously slow - and involves a flurry of letters and phone calls to a range of public and private agencies.Checking the post can help establish whether a person had bank accounts and any other financial assets or debtsThe strangers who step in when someone dies aloneFriends and neighbours helped fill in some of the blanks.