Brigs back memories of when i was a kid (7 or 8). My aunt lived on the next street to ours but, as we were at the top end and so was she, it was a bit of a walk, particularly in poor weather. The neighbours across from us, Chuck and Minnie (i kid you not), would allow us to cut through their house, out the back gate and straight to our aunt's back door:-)
Both in their 60s, Chuck would usually be sat in his armchair, one ear cocked to the radio, stained pint mug of tea in his hand while Minnie would be in her rocking chair, rocking to and fro, seemingly staring into infinity. The house had bare flagstone floors, the dining table had newspaper covering it and on the mantlepiece were candles which got smaller every day. It was obvious they didn't have 'two ha'pennies to rub to a penny'.
In exchange for their allowing us to use their gaff as a short cut, my brother and i would run errands for them. Free of charge, of course:-)