Alex added: “It struck me in that moment, we could have really helped each other if we’d been sat at one table.
“In our society it’s a bit odd to just go up to somebody so I didn’t on that day. But it got me thinking about what could have happened if we could have all chatted to each other.”
As a result, she started a website and posting on social media.
Alex said she was “amazed” when the first venues started to contact her, asking if they could support the idea.
Since then, the Chatty Cafe scheme has grown to include 600 volunteers who sit at “chatter and natter” tables.
There are also weekly online chatty cafes.
Over the next five years, Alex said she hoped to expand the scheme to 1,000 tables as well as raise £1m.
“We’re a really small organisation but we’ve got big ambitions,” she explained.
“We want to train more volunteers. The publicity, the marketing – everything costs money day-to-day.
“Loneliness is an epidemic, it’s a national crisis and the more we can give people the opportunity for face-to-face interaction the better.”