Carrying a bunch of flowers, the old man leaves his house and walks to the local cemetery. He places the flowers on a grave and stands for a moment, sad and shivering. Next we see two laughing girls passing him on the street: he expects them to say hello, but they ignore him. So does a man reading his newspaper on a bench. "Oh people, help the people," sings Birdy's plangentResounding and soulful. The word comes from a Latin verb meaning to lament.   voice.  

Then we see a young couple with a little dog, which leads them into the same pub the old man is heading for. Inside it is warm and cosy, with a blazing fire and sparkling Christmas decorations. But with no one for company, the old man takes his seat alone at a table.

Suddenly, the dog trots across the floor and jumps up beside him. One of its owners hurries over, exchanges a few words, and then asks if she and her partner can join him. The video ends with them laughing and clinking glasses together, and the words:

"There are no strangers here. Only friends you haven't yet met."

Though the quote is wrongly attributed to the great Irish poet WB YeatsAn Irish poet and dramatist who is often considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th Century. , the sentiment has universal appeal - and so, it seems, does the ad.

Put out by Charlie's Bar in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, it was made for just £700. It stars an amateur local actor, Martin McManus, and a real-life couple - Meagan Daley and Alex Middlemass - with their dog Missy.  

Within three days of its release it had been viewed millions of times on X, formerly called Twitter, and received over 60,000 likes on TikTok.

It was even complimented on social media by a shop famous for its Christmas ads, John Lewis. The department store uses top advertising agencies and buys hours of TV time, spending hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The manager of Charlie's Bar, Una Burns, said the reaction to the ad was completely overwhelming. Asked about the inspiration behind it, she said: "It's just what I had seen in the pub over the years.

"And I suppose I just wanted to get across that message that it's not always a joyful, happy time for everybody - that some people find it really tough... and that a smile or a simple hello can go a long way."

"I think it's very important people keep an eye out for the elderly and the lonely," agreed Martin McManus. "And it's not just the elderly that's lonely... It's a sad time for memories, especially if you're living on your own."

A survey of attitudes to Christmas¹ found that 17% of people in Britain felt more lonely during it. Another research project² found that those under 25 were just as likely to be lonely as those over 65. According to two experts, Andrea Wigfield and John Ratcliffe, writing in The Conversation:

"Christmas, with its images and expectations of gift-giving, socialising and excess can often be a time when our own relationships or connections are put under the spotlight. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy if the period doesn't match up to perceived ideas of what our lives should look like at Christmas."

Yes: Love is an incredibly strong force, and with friends and family to support us we can get through anything. Christmas is often difficult for old people because they have lost many of their loved ones.

No: Love certainly helps, but ultimately we all have to stand on our own two feet. We need to foster self-reliance so that we can cope when our friends and family are no longer there.

Or... Love is a mixed blessing - nothing gives more pleasure and nothing causes more pain. The world would be a much more sensible place without it, but it would also be much less interesting.