Age Concern England and Help the Aged (now a single charity to be known as Age UK from Spring 2010) has just announced a list of celebrities who will be contributing to their forthcoming Christmas fund-raising event at St Paul’s Church in Knightsbridge. Amongst them are Sir Roger Moore, Lionel Blair, June Whitfield and Sylvia Syms.

Well that’s good then. There has been some confusion resulting from noises emanating from Age UK (to be) that as part of their remit “to support older people” the new organisation is intending to concern itself with everyone aged 50 and over. But from this line up of the great and the good (who genuinely are to be commended for their efforts) it is clear that they must still intend to align their brand with the elderly.

Confirmation, if any was needed, comes from Sir Roger, who said, commenting on the event: “Far too often older people are forgotten about in our society, especially over the festive season. It is vital that we remember those older people who are suffering from isolation and loneliness at this time of year.”

Far from being lonely, the majority of the young old are far more likely to be over-stressed and over socialised from the usual round of festive work and family commitments. Rather than feeling isolated we’re more likely to be wishing for half an hour’s peace and quiet (in amongst all the good bits, of course).

Click here for more details of the event.

 Age Concern and Help the Aged is able to offer grants of up to £500 to clubs for older people. For more details please look at the link below.

http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/08D1C0F9EA804291B35B0DAE63BA5134.asp

Topshop makes your Christmas wishes come true this year: The high street giant’s latest venture, Dress Me Up, allows shoppers to steal a star’s style for a day by hiring dresses from their wardrobe.

Launching today, Dress Me Up will be in Topshop’s flagship Oxford Street store until December 6th for you to try things on for size before its official launch on 7th December, running through until the 23rd.

During the hire period, you can grab Kate Moss’ beaded Lanvin dress, Freida Pinto’s pale yellow Burberry Prorsum number, Scarlett Johansson’s Nanette Lepore animal print mini, Peaches Geldof’s floral floor-length Dolce & Gabbana gown, Dita Von Teese’s blue evening dress by Jayson Brundson, and one of Nicola Robert’s bespoke costumes from the latest Girls Aloud tour, among a rialfull of others. Names also signed up to the initiative include Naomi Campbell, Jourdan Dunn, Erin O’Connor, Sophie Dahl and ELLE’s very own Olivia Palermo.

But that’s not the best part: Hiring a dress costs a mere £40. And, if after wearing your favourite dress you can’t bare to see it go, you’ve got the chance to own it forever as it falls into auction, with proceeds going to Age Concern and Help the Aged.

“Having worked with Topshop for so long, we didn’t think twice about donating our dress. It’s such a great cause, especially at this time of year,” Emma Cook told Vogue UK. “The combination of being able to help support Age Concern and Help the Aged and the chance for someone to wear our dress that wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford to, is such a fantastic concept.”

Which dress would you borrow if you were in the UK? Let me know @twitter.com/HauteCouturista

Wilson Room
Meeting started at

Witnesses

Age Concern and Help the Aged, Counsel and Care, and Alzheimer Society Mencap, Mind, Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Carers UK

Parliament TV

Until today I was hitherto unaware of this campaign, but it made me smile. Innocent (the smoothie popples) and Sainsbury have joined forces to raise money for Age Concern and Help The Aged, if you can knit. Get involved here.

Last week, the high court stood by the current law regarding employee rights when an employee reaches retirement age. As we know it, the law states that an employee retires at the age of 65 without further financial burden on the employer. This was challenged – the suggestion being, I think, that some sort of redundancy payment be made.

Small business owners will view the ruling with a sigh of relief.

But beware, this was a test case being taken though the courts by Age Concern and Help the Aged.  As I understand it, the charities will not bother to appeal the ruling because they have been promised new legislation by the government that is more in line with their interests.

This can only result in increased costs for small business owners, providing yet further evidence of the continued government assault against small businesses.

Will it ever stop?

Don’t get me wrong. I am not anti-ageist – I love the fact that 70 is the new 60 – my father is 73 and spends 2-3 hours working every day. That is because people want his services.

Surely, at the age of 65, the employer has the right to draw a line in the sand and reconsider the resources will be best for the business in the future?

History tells us that the small business owners are a resourceful lot, and they will find ways of adapting to suit their needs rather than those of the government. The long term affect of this would be less security for the very people the government is trying to protect.

I’ve been waiting for it. The day getting shorter. The sky has aged.

I remember when I didn’t notice.

But now I feel it coming. The air alive with static. It cackles. I cower.

The first morning when the window frosts. I watch the bubbles form, the small untouched circles. Soon there will be none.

I never liked the shadows. Too much room.

And the claustrophobia of defence. It constrains and frustrates.

People come to knock, in case of no reply. For them, not me.

Winter is their conscience.

The sky has aged. And so have I.

Written with Help the Aged in mind

At my age I’m a little slow on the uptake , but apparently yesterday was UK Older People’s Day 2009, applying to everyone over the age of fifty. Talk about depressing! Surely if forty is the new thirty and fifty the new forty then Older People’s Day should set a lower limit of sixty.

According to the internet:

The 1^st October 2009 is a chance to celebrate the huge contribution older people make to families and communities everywhere by making new connections to those who live around us whatever their age.

All older people should have the chance to lead full, active and productive lives. We want to challenge outdated stereotypes by promoting the positive images of aging and inspire people to see old age as an opportunity to take on new challenges. Above all, we want to ensure that everybody, regardless of age, feels included in our society.

Aside from sections on allotments, free bus passes and staying mentally and physically active, the website also has ‘useful links’ to the Pension Service, Directgov Over 50s, Age Concern and Help the Aged, and a section about Grandparents’ Day this coming Sunday.

I was going to go for a run later but what’s the point, not at my age – I might go and do myself an injury, what with the brittle bones and all.

Time to give up the running...

 

...and get an allotment.

Margaret Peterson with a picture of her and Charles in happier times

 

By Cara Sulieman

AN ELDERLY couple who have been married for 25 years have been forced 13 miles apart by the NHS because of red tape.

Charles Peterson, 88, was refused a place in a care home in his hometown because his step-daughter works there.

And now his wife Margaret, 82, has to make a 26 mile round trip to North Berwick to visit her husband from her home in Dunbar.

The couple only spent a few days apart in their 25 years of marriage – even travelling the world together when Charles got a job in Saudi Arabia – until he had to be taken into hospital following a stroke in early 2008.

“Ridiculous”

An old person’s charity has branded the decision “ridiculous” and is calling for East Lothian Community Health Partnership to reconsider their position.

Margaret said that the family got their hopes up when they heard that Charles could be moved to the Dunbar care home – just one mile from his home – but have now been shattered by the decision to retract the offer.

She said: “It was like giving a bag of sweeties to two delighted schoolchildren and then snatching them back again.

“It has been awful living so far apart from Charles. I can only visit him every five weeks or so and every time we see each other we spend the whole visit in tears because we miss each other so much.

“He calls me every morning when he gets up, and I call him at night before bed, but it’s not the same as being able to see each other. We just want to spend our last years together as a couple.”

Reunited

Charles spent 11 months at the high dependency unit at Belhaven Nursing Home in Dunbar after his stroke but was moved to the care home in North Berwick when his condition approved.

It looked as though the couple would be reunited when a place came up at Belhaven’s permanent accommodation last month.

But NHS bosses discovered that Margaret’s daughter from a previous marriage, Katie Fairgrieve, 59, is a nurse in the palliative care ward and vetoed the decision.

The family have appealed the decision with local care managers, NHS Lothian and the Care Commission but their pleas have so far fallen on deaf ears.

The only option that has been offered to the family was for Katie to give up the job she loves and move somewhere else.

“Professional”

Margaret said: “I can’t ask her to do that and she shouldn’t have to. It’s not fair on her to say that the only way Charles can move back to Dunbar is if she gives up her job.

“Katie’s my daughter from a previous marriage so there’s not a drop of blood between them. Aside from the fact that she works in a completely different ward, when she crosses the doors of the nursing home she becomes a professional so even if they did come into contact she would not allow her feelings to affect her work.

“We thought the move to Belhaven would be the perfect solution but the wannabe Gods at the NHS said it would be inappropriate.”

The wrangle has meant that Charles has lost the spot at the home, which has now been given to someone else.

“Over application of the rules”

A spokesman for Age Concern and Help the Aged Scotland said that although there are rules in place to prevent immediate family members from working in the same place where their relative is a patient, it seems as though NHS Lothian has taken it too far in this case.

He said: “It seems a bit over the top. These rules apply to immediate family and this seems to be a case where it isn’t immediate family. It is a gross over application of the rules in this regard.

“It seems they have made the decision without taking into consideration the ramifications for those nearest and dearest to him.

“A bit of common sense would have seemed more applicable in this case. There are rules but it is how you implement those rules that make a difference. They should be looking at the impact on the people concerned.

“If she has to make a 26 mile round trip every time she wants to see her husband then that is ridiculous – something needs to be changed. The authorities should look into this again and reconsider their position.”

“Integrity”

But Mairi Pollock, clinical services manager for East Lothian Community Health Partnership (CHP), said that the rules were in place to make sure that a professional relationship was maintained.

She said: “Providing quality care for each patient is a priority for East Lothian CHP.

“East Lothian CHP has an obligation to maintain the integrity of the professional relationship between patients and staff when personal relationships overlap professional care.

“We are working closely with our East Lothian Council colleagues and Mr Peterson’s family to ensure he continues to receive appropriate care.”

Age Concern and Help the Aged are looking for an Internet Champion to represent the charity and provide a leading light for the estimated 6.4 million people 65+ who have never used the internet, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

Many older people never have the chance to use the Internet, despite new research from Age Concern and Help the Aged finding that older people see the benefit of the internet with three in four people believing it to be a useful tool to stay in contact with friends and family (ICM survey 11-18 September 2009). The research also found that 61% of older people believe the internet to be a useful way of making savings on products and services.

The Internet Champion – who will be a regular older person who has embraced the internet – will show older people that using the internet is a realistic possibility for them and that they too can reap the benefits of being online.

The winner of the Internet Champion search will receive a laptop computer, a complete BT package including BT Total Broadband, as well as an all-expenses paid trip to London. For more information visit www.ageconcern.org.uk/it.

itea and biscuits week, supported by BT, offers older people nationwide the opportunity to get involved in technology ’taster sessions’ at local Age Concerns and other supporting organisations from September 21 to 25.

What is a regular older person?

The Internet Champion search aims to find an ordinary person (aged 55+) who has recently learned to use the internet and whose personal story can inspire others. The search will begin on 21 September 2009 and end on 13 November 2009 with the winner being selected by a panel of judges from Age Concern and Help the Aged. To apply, candidates will need to fill in the Internet Champion application form which can be downloaded from www.ageconcern.org.uk/it.

November sees Sainsbury’s stocking its shelves with Innocent Smoothies charmingly adorned with wee knitted hats.

So why discuss this now in mid September? It’s because all the hats are handknitted by generous folk and donated to the cause. Then they’re counted up, dished out, fitted onto the individual smoothie bottles and are ready to be sold.

For each smoothie & hat combo bought in Sainsbury’s in November, Innocent donate 50p to Age Concern & Help the Aged. The money goes towards keeping our nation’s Grannies and Grandpa’s healthy and warm over winter. The aim is to raise a whopping £250,000 to support both Age Concern and Help the Aged with their healthy eating and healthy living projects.

There’s a month and a day left to get the hats sent off and received, so I’m currently knitting away when I have a spare moment.

I first found out about the Innocent/Age Concern partnership and THE BIG KNIT in 2007, it was advertised in the monthly Sainsbury’s magazine I used to buy loyally every month. My first year, I only found out 2 weeks before the deadline, bought a few small balls of yarn from town and made up 20 hats just in time.

I’ve since moved home, and sadly am no longer even remotely near a Sainsbury’s (how I miss my monthly mag!) but I kept up with the Big Knit idea, and having some time on my hands last year, and being able to ‘borrow’ bits of wool from my Mum’s giant stash, I managed to whip up 50 bright and colour little hats, including cupcakes, strawberries and a couple of dolls.

This year I’m hoping to match that target of 50. It’s quite a big one considering each hat can take at least half an hour to make, the dolls being closer to an hour, but if I’m not writing or working, I’m sure there’s a few moments here and there to get a couple done a day.

I’ve already begun, and will update you before the end of my monthly blog with pics of the new ones, but for now I’ll leave you with a couple of photos of the hats I made last year.

And please, if you live near a Sainsbury’s, pop into one this November and buy yourself a tasty innocent smoothie (make sure you pick one with a hat!) – a treat for you and a donation to a worthy cause. After all, if you think it gets cold over winter, imagine how the older of us out there must feel!

Otter.

Last week we attended the third in a series of seminars presented by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Age Concern / Help the Aged (for whom a new name is imminent). Entitled JustAgeing: fairness, equality and the lifecourse the programme focuses on inequality over the lifecourse with this particular seminar being held to examine the notion of inter-generational equity. In what was an interesting but fundamentally academic discussion, a number of contentious issues were raised not least the assumed ability of particular generations (in this case “baby boomers”) to manipulate resources to their own benefit and the detriment of others. What emerged yet again however is that we lack an adequate vocabulary to discuss meaningfully today’s ageing reality – as revealed by a clear demonstration that the generation we think of as “baby boomers” in the UK is in fact two different cohorts who have been subject to different social, economic and environmental influences relating to the different years they were born. 

But the real issue which quickly emerged from the heart of the session was the extent to which we, as a society or as providers of services, can or should expect to be able to achieve inter-generational equity and the extent to which this is either achievable or desirable.  After all, individuals always have been and will be different. As we have said so often before, why do we expect them then to suddenly become homogeneous simply because of a shared age?  It was an interesting theoretical discussion no doubt, but unfortunately there was not a great deal of practical use to take away.

Decorating High Wycombe, used under a creative commons licence. Photo by bertieboy70, click pic for link.

Buckinghamshire and the Chilterns in particular is one of my favourite places to spend the day. I’ve had profitable excursions in Gerrards Cross, Chalfont St Peter, Amersham, Chesham and Beaconsfield, and still plan to visit Tring and Berkhamsted to tick them off the list. More than this even, it’s a beautiful part of the world, largely untouched by the presence of the metropolis on its doorstep and filled with charming village greens, Georgian old towns and rolling, English hillsides. High Wycombe is the big name in the locality and as such definitely warranted inclusion.

Sadly, Wycombe seems to be the sinkhole for the region into which everything less desirable drains. It starts promisingly enough: the drive into the town from Beaconsfield presents you with a wonderful view of the banks of trees and the massive King’s Mead and The Rye parks. But by the time you get to the town centre itself, you’re left with a different impression. Firstly, try and find your way around – if you don’t end up on the way out of town you’ll be stuck at the vast Eden shopping centre. Once you’re in, little improves. On a warm August Saturday, High Wycombe town centre retains that bleak feel that you get in semi-planned communities like this commuter town. The wind always seems stronger in these places, like the right angles and concrete expanses funnel it in unexpected ways, which doesn’t happen in the patchwork of older towns.

A few of the charity shops had closed up by the time we reached there – earlier than their scheduled hours, possibly in advance of the bank holiday weekend. Among them were British Heart Foundation, Scope and Help The Aged, so of course I can’t comment on these (other than whoever was manning the shops clocked off early this weekend). The latter two are situated on Oxford Street, close to the large, semi-pedestrianised centre. On this same stretch was a fairly reasonable Oxfam, but the experience took a turn for the bizarre when a (slightly odd) customer was demanding a refund for a £2.99 CD that he’d bought in the Chesham shop. It raises the question firstly, how do you deal with someone so irate about three quid? But more importantly, when is it right to take anything back to a charity shop? Certainly one has ones statutory rights etc., but morally it’s pretty low to demand a refund off a charity. Our only guess was that the CD was his annual treat, and when it wasn’t right, three pounds was a big spend out. I dunno.

That left a large but odd-smelling Cancer Research, and a huge South Bucks Hospice shop on White Hart Street. This was a split level affair, with an upstairs snug for books and things, and a big open plan downstairs for clothes, nicknackery and the rest. A good selection, though I left with nothing.

Google maps informs me that there is also a Save The Children, a Marie Curie, and and Ian Rennie Hospice shop (I’m kicking myself for that – in Beaconsfield I’d stared at a sandwich board down the road for ages trying to guess whether Ian Rennie was a charity shop or a DIY shop – I wrongly thought DIY): I don’t feel like I’ve missed out by avoiding these places. Maybe I’m being unkind, but Wycombe offers little attraction to warrant a return visit. I plan to leave it to the hordes of bored-looking, loitering youth that littered the place.

Find: High Wycombe @ Google Maps
Best buy: old hard-backed books will always grab me.
Consume with: plenty of chain coffee shops and pubs, you won’t go hungry.
Visit: save it for the annual drama of the ‘mayor-weighing’.
Overall rating: two saucepans

Posted by Ethereal

My best friend and I love shopping, period. As per usual, we went to our local high street, which we adore. We also dragged her boyfriend who was visiting from California. Poor thing. Our local haunts include Oxfam, Cancer Research, St. Christopher’s Hospice and Starbucks for a frappe.

Driving home from the gym, I often noticed a charity shop we hadn’t been visiting. So we decided to pay it a visit. Great idea that was. My friend found my Halloween costume! Slightly early, I know, but it was a bargain at £15. To be honest, we have not celebrated Halloween ever since we met each other. She grew up in California, so not celebrating the pagan festival is somewhat of a sin.

“Oh my God! I have found your Halloween costume. It is so cute for you,” she exclaimed loudly.

The dress

It is so pretty and fits like a glove. Whilst in the fitting room, my personal stylist/best friend grabbed every single pearl-like necklace the shop had and flung them into my hands. “Oh my God, you have your whole outfit. You can be Bridezilla!”

The lady at the till was ever so nice and told me that wedding gowns costing around £1000 are brought in and resold for a mere £50. There were none there at the time when we bought my “Bridezilla” costume but I can imagine the joy of finding one.

I love charity shops because as a student I feel I don’t earn enough to give to charity (which is a load of rubbish). But I feel better knowing that the money I spend makes a difference. I have spent £53 (£20 in H &M and Zara) this month, excluding my dress and five pearl-like necklaces. I gained one monochrome stripped sleeveless dress, one pink shirt, a pair of grey leggings, a tan belt and a pair of tight straight leg trousers. That is a shopping spree for me!

Interesting amalgamation of apparell

The point that I am trying to make is that it is not important how much you spend. Moreover, it is the love you have for the clothes. Everything I own I will repair, re-heel, stick back together and wear even if it falls apart. I have a four inch nail in one pair of my wooden sandals. I have torn my favourite dress thrice and my favourite flip flops have been to America, India (twice) Tunisia, Cyprus and Crete and are held together by superglue.

Wear your clothes, don’t let them wear you, dammit!

♓

The relation between memory and personal identity is a well trodden track in the metaphysics of mind and self. But an article on the BBC News website suggests a connection not standardly considered.

A standard proposal of their relation, for instance, is that A is the same person as B only if A can remember experiences had by B. A consequence of such a view is that a person who is sufficiently old and incapable of remembering experiences had by her younger self is not the same person as that ‘younger self.’ There are variants on this approach which rule out that consequence. But all variants share the following feature: the link between memory and personal identity is in what is remembered.

But recent psychological research gives reason to consider a different kind of relation. Psychologists have found that as we get older, we tend to remember positive things better than we do negative things, with a corresponding change in how we behave (we’re happier) and in how we exercise our mental capacities. If this is true, then perhaps, in addition to changes to what one remembers, there are also changes in how one remembers that could constitute changes to who one is.

For the BBC article go here. For a more elaborate description of the research go here.

Related articles:
Anthony Collins on the Emergence of Consciousness and Personal Identity
By William Uzgalis , Oregon State University
(Vol. 4, March 2009)
Philosophy Compass

It’s a Friday, good enough an excuse to bring out the big guns. This is my ‘Floella Benjamin’ as she is queen of the jumpsuits. I love a jumpsuit, they say ‘ready for anything you can throw at me’. Except being really quick in the loo as they require the wearer to get fully undressed. Otherwise, they’re definite action wear.

This is also a tribute to John Hughes as I like to think it’s something he might have dressed Molly Ringwald in.

These shoes are vintage Carvela, I wear them too often for what is really an evening shoe because I absolutely love them. Occasionally, I prolong their life by masking the scuffs and marks with a good spray of gold craft paint. It works pretty well, but sometimes I end up with gold knuckles, as is the case today. I suppose it’s cheaper than jewellery.

Vintage 80s Jumpsuit – Laura Ashley via Jumble Sale
Vintage Carvela Sandals – Carvela via Help The Aged
Vintage Gold Leather Belt – not technically mine.

Last Thursday I attended the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Help the Aged/Age Concern’s JustAgeing? seminar. It was held  to launch their new research report “Socio-economic inequalities in older people’s access to and use of public services”. The seminar itself was interesting, not least for its emphasis on the need for innovation, creativity and co-creation in devising services for the aged (and indeed for any other group who might be on the receiving end of things being done to them/for them). 

Predictably, one supposes, during the Q & A session the argument emerged about the extent to which those outside a target group i.e. the young in this instance, have the insight, knowledge or right to design programmes, policies or whatever for those whose characteristics and needs they do not themselves share. It’s an old chestnut and applies equally to race, gender, faith, unmarried mothers or whatever other group you choose to focus on.

For me it once again accentuated an acute disparity. Senior politicians, bureaucrats, decision makers etc. tend in the main to be over 50. They are powerful people who make, or approve policies whose beneficiaries are the “over 50s”. Yet these over 50s – the “done tos” – are never linked to the former. Instead they are treated as if they are voiceless, powerless, and lacking in representation. How come?

What it seems to underline is that ultimately it’s not about age. It is, as ever, about social and economic status. And what it seems to imply in this particular context is that the first group of over 50s i.e. the wealthy and powerful are not the slightest bit interested in aligning themselves with the “done tos” and are unlikely themselves ever to want access to older people’s public services.  Once again the message cannot be reinforced strongly enough – all over 50s do not have standard needs.

Great song.

A heat wave warning has been issued for England and Wales.  The Met Office says temperatures in some parts could rise as high as 32C over the next few days.

The Met Office believes there will be a north south divide in regards to England’s weather.  London and the South East of England will feel hotter during the day and night.

A heat wave is official when temperatures reach above a certain level.  Met forecasters says that the warning level currently stands at level 2, where temperatures are about to reach 30C. 

The Met Office said today’s hottest temperature has been in Surrey at 28.4C.  And it looks set to continue throughout the week.

The heat wave plan alert is in four stages.  Level One is green, “summer preparedness and long-term planning”. Level two is amber and signals “alert and readiness”.

And Level three is red for “heat wave action”. The highest is the Level four, classed as “red emergency”.  But these are for temperatures that start at 38C.

Met Office

Helen Chivers from the Met Office told ITV News, “Thursday looks like it will be the hottest day of the year so far.”

But with the temperature comes high humidity and the possibility of heavy thundery showers according to the BBC Weather Centre. 

They also predict the western part of England will enjoy the least sunshine and the wettest weather.

The Department of Health urges people to check on elderly relatives and neighbours.  Because they are more prone to suffer in the heat wave.

A spokeswoman from Help the Aged charity said “Older people, especially those on medication, can often find coping with the heat particularly difficult.”

UK Gets Ready

NHS have been warned to expect a larger number of patients coming in with symptoms such as dehydration and heat stroke.

According to the UK Government’s Official Heatwave Plan, hospitals could set up “emergency cool rooms.”

Simple measures such as “Windows should be kept shaded and closed when the temperature is hotter outside than inside” is stated in the plan.

It also advises people to drink cold liquids like water and fruit juice at regular times.  And it says to avoid hot, caffeine and alcoholic drinks.

In addition tight fitted clothes should be avoided.  Because it reduces the body’s ability to sweat efficiently.  If these simple guidelines are followed, hopefully we can all enjoy the rare summer sun!

This week I attended the first in a series of seminars under the title “Just Ageing” (http://justageing.equalityhumanrights.com/) which is being organised by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the new charity formed from the merger of Age Concern and Help the Aged. The first seminar looked at our assumptions about the process of ageing itself during which Professor Tom Kirkwood, Director of The Institute for Ageing and Health at Newcastle University, gave a fascinating talk on the physiological and social experience of ageing.

I can’t really do justice here to his exposition which in itself was a huge summarisation of the work being undertaken. However, the message coming through loud and clear is that human beings are not per se programmed to die at any particular time – indeed the survival instinct in us is strong right to the end. So, under the right circumstances, increasing life expectancy can be expected to continue and we should celebrate old age, not see it as form of disability or inconvenience. What does happen is that imperfections in us and breakdowns in our ability to function bring on the end of our lives and if these can be eliminated or minimised then our life spans can be increased. Furthermore, many of the causes of this are “malleable” – things such as diet, housing, education, exercise, negative stress – as evidenced by differing life expectancies in different environments even within the same country.

This was the third seminar, organised by varying bodies, that I had attended in the space of a week each focusing on a differing aspect of ageing. There is much excellent work taking place and it is clear that the momentum is increasing. However, to date, government seems to concentrate only on the short term without a real “statesmanlike” approach to the longer term questions, employers (with a few exceptions) seem concerned only with damage limitation and containment of costs, and amongst the population at large there is a massive lack of awareness of the issues involved.

When will all this be pulled together?