It was getting tough in 2006 and the workhouse still threatens us in 2011

HariboJunkie

rachbc wrote: »

I think raspberry gin might be enough just by itself - why did I not hear of such a thing til now - with a good 9 months til the pyo raspberries re-open!!

Keep an eye out on the reduced to clear section in the supermarket as there are still Scottish raspberries about and they don't seem to be selling at full price.

I do bramble gin and peach/nectarine gin as well and prefer the bramble to any other.

rachbc

brambles I have plenty of - alas no gin but that can be remedied - do you add sugar too and how long do you steep for?

Frugalista

rachbc wrote: »

Been a long time since I had a long thin roll up!! Perhaps the solution to us all worrying about tougher times....:T

I never rolled them too thin. :whistle::whistle::D

HariboJunkie

rachbc wrote: »

brambles I have plenty of - alas no gin but that can be remedied - do you add sugar too and how long do you steep for?

Just excatly the same as sloe gin but with a smidge less sugar. Leave until Christmas or longer if you can. It's very liquer like and tastes so.....erm brambly.

ceridwen

rachbc wrote: »

My doddery elderly grandparents (mmm have an idea how much they'd like that term) got meals on wheels - though it was a private service they paid or themselves. My own parents aren't that doddery yet but give they live hours from me in the middle of nowhere (literally no houses for miles) so I have no idea what will happen when the time comes. Not entirely sure why the thought that was a sensible retirement/ place to grow old plan but its their choice!

Shall I try to explain how I see it there - re what your parents did? Errr....well from my own POV...it MAY be down to "If I cant live where I choose to now - then when can I? and I'm going to go ahead and do so - regardless of other peoples 'practical' considerations re accessibility". Well - thats one theory as to "just why....". At ANY age I reckon there is the "Yep...I know whatever-it-is-bad-thing-happens-to-a-lotta-people-but it wont happen to ME personally" scenario.

There IS also another "possible point" - even as a middle-aged person there is likely to be the strong awareness of having not had to "cope" with so many other people around as there is NOW (ie in 2011) and the wish to return to "a level of people around" that one is used to. If this is how it feels to me (ie as a middle-aged person) then I can sympathise with how "old people" might feel. I do honestly wonder if I will have to move to "the back of beyond" as I get older - in order to get back to the number of people living nearby/amount of accessible countryside I am used to..and blow the "access to facilities" argument..

If one has lived in the same area for many years - then you've gotten used to a certain number of people around/privacy level/etc - and that is a HUGE problem to some people as things stand at present. Reason = we remember how many people there were around back when we started living in the area and find it very difficult to adapt/wonder why the heck why we "should" be "expected" to adapt to the fact to the fact that there are now LOADS more people/development around than there was when we first were here. It HURTS...it hurts VERY badly indeed to some of us...and it is understandable why some people would want to be in an area where the "number of people/amount of development around" equated with what they have been used to in their area. I DO wonder myself whether to move to bring the level of people/development back to what I am used to - because it hurts so much with it being so much worse than what I had originally. That is THE huge disadvantage to being in ones own home area for some of us - so I'll hazard a guess that your parents are in "their own home area" where they have been for many years and its in England. I may be wrong - but if they are - then I understand exactly where they are coming from on that one....my own personal standpoint is "Blow the facilities - I want what I'm used to...and I wont need the facilities personally:)".

Any time yer wants the viewpoint of an older person and/or a man - just ask....:rotfl:. Middle age is when one realises that THE "standard viewpoint" has changed for Society - and no longer matches ones own "personal viewpoint" in some respects ....so goodness only knows how the Elder Generation feels and I aint a lookin' forward to Society's prevailing viewpoint being WAY different to my own that I'm expecting at that point...

rachbc

ceridwen wrote: »

Shall I try to explain how I see it there - re what your parents did? Errr....well from my own POV...it MAY be down to "If I cant live where I choose to now - then when can I? and I'm going to go ahead and do so - regardless of other peoples 'practical' considerations re accessibility". Well - thats one theory as to "just why....". At ANY age I reckon there is the "Yep...I know whatever-it-is-bad-thing-happens-to-a-lotta-people-but it wont happen to ME personally" scenario.

There IS also another "possible point" - even as a middle-aged person there is likely to be the strong awareness of having not had to "cope" with so many other people around as there is NOW (ie in 2011) and the wish to return to "a level of people around" that one is used to. If this is how it feels to me (ie as a middle-aged person) then I can sympathise with how "old people" might feel. I do honestly wonder if I will have to move to "the back of beyond" as I get older - in order to get back to the number of people living nearby/amount of accessible countryside I am used to..and blow the "access to facilities" argument..

If one has lived in the same area for many years - then you've gotten used to a certain number of people around/privacy level/etc - and that is a HUGE problem to some people as things stand at present. Reason = we remember how many people there were around back when we started living in the area and find it very difficult to adapt/wonder why the heck why we "should" be "expected" to adapt to the fact to the fact that there are now LOADS more people/development around than there was when we first were here. It HURTS...it hurts VERY badly indeed to some of us...and it is understandable why some people would want to be in an area where the "number of people/amount of development around" equated with what they have been used to in their area. I DO wonder myself whether to move to bring the level of people/development back to what I am used to - because it hurts so much with it being so much worse than what I had originally. That is THE huge disadvantage to being in ones own home area for some of us - so I'll hazard a guess that your parents are in "their own home area" where they have been for many years and its in England. I may be wrong - but if they are - then I understand exactly where they are coming from on that one....my own personal standpoint is "Blow the facilities - I want what I'm used to...and I wont need the facilities personally:)".

Any time yer wants the viewpoint of an older person and/or a man - just ask....:rotfl:. Middle age is when one realises that THE "standard viewpoint" has changed for Society - and no longer matches ones own "personal viewpoint" in some respects ....so goodness only knows how the Elder Generation feels and I aint a lookin' forward to Society's prevailing viewpoint being WAY different to my own that I'm expecting at that point...

Hmm interest POV but probably very different to the reality - they were fulfilling a life time dream to build their own house (literally brick by brick with their own hands). They actually moved closer to us geographically from the far south as they had spent many months travelling to sick parents of their own and didn't want to burden us with the same - plus the wanted to be closer to their grand kids. With planning so restrictive they had to take what ever plot was available with permission for the kind of house they wanted to build. As it turns out with lack of motorways they are similar time distance away despite being 150 miles closer!!

My parents have planned for every possible 'bad thing' - with disabled adaptations possible to their home being designed into the build and living wills for other eventualities. Though oddly the very location of the house doesn;t seem to have been planned in the same way!

They are very very sociable people and despite having only living in the area a few years run the local youth club, have been involved heavily in getting a community hall built in the nearest hamlet and are sit on numerous local forums. They only thing they don't like about countrylife is the 'Daily Mail' mentality and lack of cultural diversity. I do worry that if/ when they are unable to drive they will really suffer without lots of human contact and that a couple of acres, pigs and ducks won't compensate for theatre/ arts galleries and the mental stimulation they got from their urban life and being surrounded by lots of like minded people. We shall see!

My parents don't really have a home area - having lived, studied and worked all around the country so I suspect they will move again at some point when they have had their fill of the countryside - I heard talk of Scotland recently but thats not be mentioned again yet!

Pink.

rachbc wrote: »

My doddery elderly grandparents (mmm have an idea how much they'd like that term) got meals on wheels - though it was a private service they paid or themselves. My own parents aren't that doddery yet but give they live hours from me in the middle of nowhere (literally no houses for miles) so I have no idea what will happen when the time comes. Not entirely sure why the thought that was a sensible retirement/ place to grow old plan but its their choice!

Hi rach,

My work involves a great deal of contact with some very elderly patients in their own homes. In cases such as your parents if they are eventually unable to manage completely living alone and with with no family support in the nearby locality, however are still not incapaciated to the point that they need sheltered housing or a care home, social services can come into their own. I know it may not be the same everywhere, but certainly in my area social services provide fabulous care involving up to six visits a day for medical care, personal care, preparation of meals, and shopping. I can't applaud them enough.

In my experience people who remain in their original neighbourhood/locality tend to be happier and feel more secure in their old age....They have neighbours, family and old friends nearby, therefore usually have regular visitors and others who are prepared to look out for them. Moving to a different community at that time of life would not be my personal choice, but then everyone is different.

As you say it was your parents' decision to move and they seem to have thrown themselves into their local community. Who are we to question our parents' choices in later life? My Dad (in his mid 70's) would not be amused if I even thought about telling him how to live his life. I'm sure it will work out for them and you and hopefully you will have many years before you need to worry about it at all.

Pink

ceridwen

rachbc wrote: »

They are very very sociable people and despite having only living in the area a few years run the local youth club, have been involved heavily in getting a community hall built in the nearest hamlet and are sit on numerous local forums. They only thing they don't like about countrylife is the 'Daily Mail' mentality and lack of cultural diversity. I do worry that if/ when they are unable to drive they will really suffer without lots of human contact and that a couple of acres, pigs and ducks won't compensate for theatre/ arts galleries and the mental stimulation they got from their urban life and being surrounded by lots of like minded people. We shall see!

My parents don't really have a home area - having lived, studied and worked all around the country so I suspect they will move again at some point when they have had their fill of the countryside - I heard talk of Scotland recently but thats not be mentioned again yet!

Bit of a different "starting point" there then to many of us (including me...).

Hmmm..."lack of cultural diversity"....well I dont know about the "hunting/shooting/fishing" type standpoint....definitely NOT for me personally...but I COULD do the Anglican Church/W.I./etc thing in "back a beyond" circumstances (though not my choice personally) because that would be "how things are community-wise" - so not a problem. The W.I. would get used to "how does one make sugar-free jams?" - but...it could be done for us all to deal with that:rotfl:"Diversity".....depends how much "diversity" one is used to I guess...and some of us could handle that either way...loadsa "diversity" or no "diversity" at all...justa matter of adapting and no problemo either way..

"Mental stimulation" - depends on the person in some ways...some people have had less "mental stimulation" than they mighta expected in a different environment anyways and learnt to adapt and the Internet is yer friend these days for getting a lot that hasnt been "accessible" in the past for-whatever-reason.

Depends I guess on where one's "core values" lie - ie as to which comes first if its not possible to "cover all angles" - be it "diversity/mental stimulation" on the one hand OR being "away from crime/loadsa people around/impersonal set-up as no-one cares because no-one is "accountable" on the other hand. Horses for courses on that one...and whether one is used to a "home area" type way of thinking...

Obviously if one is used to a "home area" and has pretty much stayed in that area throughout - then one is much more likely to be a "conserver-type" temperament I would think...

I rather envy people who have moved from "pillar to post" in some ways - because they dont know how any specific area "IS" and are therefore not nearly so likely to realise when its being "damaged" in someway - as they dont know how it used to be...It is not easy to live in one's own "home area" for years IMO.

"Diversity" IS a very very "modern" concept and I would say is one that is probably "taken for granted" by younger people - but may or may not be by older people.

rachbc

Pink I would never even consider telling them what to do...daren't! They never considered where they were before 'home', nor the place before so I think hey are wanderers at heart! They may of course end up buying a motor home and driving off into the sunset as they keep threatening to do!!

Its reassuring to know that social care step up to the mark when needed an as you say hopefully I won't have to worry for some time - if ever, about it!

Pink.

rachbc wrote: »

Pink I would never even consider telling them what to do...daren't! They never considered where they were before 'home', nor the place before so I think hey are wanderers at heart! They may of course end up buying a motor home and driving off into the sunset as they keep threatening to do!!

Its reassuring to know that social care step up to the mark when needed an as you say hopefully I won't have to worry for some time - if ever, about it!

Hi rach,

I know you wouldn't consider telling them what to do! Please don't think for a second that was what I was implying. I was just thinking out loud about how my Dad would feel and in turn how I think that I might feel if my children were to even suggest to me what to do at that time in my life...my comments were definitely not intended as critisism and I'm sorry if it came across that way. From your posts it's absolutely clear you haven't tried to interfere in your parents life in any way and I think you are to be admired for that.

Your parents sound like wonderful characters and good luck to them if they decide to take the motor home option. I don't envy you the worry though if they do!

Pink

Edited: Tried to reply to your kind pm but your inbox is full.