When I get Older

anniemf2508

SailorSam wrote: »

I had the programme on in the background, i wasn't really watching it but what i thought when i saw the old people on their own was, should i be knocking on the door of old people by me who i know live by themselves, to see do they need any help.

me and my husband were talking about this the other day, the lady who lives opposite us is an old lady on her own, shes always pottering in her garden but we rarely see visitors there or see her go out. We thought we should be making more of an effort to introduce ourselves, so that if they did need us for anything they wouldn't be afraid to ask.
Me and my son are going to make a batch of cupcakes later and take some over as an ice breaker

roddydogs

JackieO wrote: »

I know its not really money saving but did anyone see the two programmes this week about the elderly on t.v. I wonder what you all thought about them.Money seemed to be the root of most of the problems and the lack of it for care.I know it was 'made-for -t.v.' but I found it strange that the lady with five children had an almost empty fridge.Maybe I'm lucky, but if my fridge was that empty my kids would be really worried and try to find out why.Gloria Hunniford seemed to think that by moving this lady into a smaller flat it would solve all of her finacial worries by giving her an extra £74.per month to live on as opposede to the £20 odd she had to live on at the moment.Can't make my mind up really what do you think

She wasnt "Old" anyway, (62) and seemed reasonably fit, and why hadnt she provided for her old age, and why didnt her children step in if things were that bad.
Then we see Gloria showing her round a better flat, without first asking the obvious question "How Much"?

Caterina

Sorry to butt in with something completely different from the thread but I just saw an old friend and needed to get in touch:

JackieO, hellooooo! *WAVING* I Pm'd you but got no reply, was wondering if you are still on the board and it is great to see you! Hope you are ok, check your messages please! Cx

Mistral001

There is an interesting line in the first episode of Frasier the TV comedy show. Frasier is sitting in the coffee house chatting with his brother Niles about what to do with their father. Frasier has busied himself all morning getting nursing home brochures and Niles is scanning over them.

Niles says: "Oh look, this ones says "We care so you don't have to" "

He was joking of course. But it did stick in my mind, having looked after an aging parent myself

SailorSam

anniemf2508 wrote: »

Me and my son are going to make a batch of cupcakes later and take some over as an ice breaker

I'm nearly old, can i have a cupcake ?

zaxdog

The community I live in is very different to those on the programme as for example the lady next door but one to us has a home help each morning, I get her kindling etc for the fire and bring her a cake every Friday for her tea, the folk on the other side run her errands and the lady of the house will help her, if for example she wants to go to a function, to get gussied up and will then go in and help her to bed when she gets home. Her family goes between scattered and close by and pitch in a fair bit and when we had a four day power cut last winter the nearest neighbour with a generator had her and another two older ladies in for dinner each night and then took them home and helped them to bed.

That said I am very greatful for the community I live in and we all do work to keep it going.

thriftwizard

why hadnt she provided for her old age

Like us, she may have intended to, but had other priorities take precedence at the point where she could have - in our case that's DH's father needing paid care & also having to pay out quite a lot towards our student offspring (who are all doing "serous" degrees & working very hard to keep their costs down, BTW, but didn't get much in the way of grants/loans as we are just over the "limit"). I suspect a lot of people will be in that situation through no fault of their own - as a parent, if you have the choice between stashing money towards your own care, although you know you may never get there, or helping your kids afford a deposit on a property (even a rental deposit; increasingly they are asking for 6 months up front round here, and you'd be very lucky to get it back again) you WILL put your children's immediate or future needs first - how can you not?

Pink.

Hi Jackie,

As this isn't really Old Style related, I've moved your thread over to the over 50's board to see if you can get more replies.

Pink

candygirl

Hi Jackie:hello:
I've watched both of these programmes, and found John Simpson and Tony Robinson real pompous pr*cks.Gloria's lady has moved in to the opposite end of my town, in a rough area but it is good she is nearer her kids now:) The bit that really upset me was the couple in the first episode, where he had suffered a stroke and she was exhausted looking after him:(
It's a scary prospect getting old.I wish we all had an off button tbh:(

[Deleted User]

candygirl wrote: »

Hi Jackie:hello:

It's a scary prospect getting old.I wish we all had an off button tbh:(

That thought actually crossed my mind last night and something I have been totally against, until I saw the programmes.

Being prepared will help psychologically such as tidying up our paperwork and getting rid of stuff as we get older. I suppose `older` is very individual ie how we actually feel, physically and mentally. My neighbour is 76 and as active as they come so `old` isn`t just a number.

Some lovely and considerate people on here too, so heartwarming