What does 2012 have in store for England?

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horoscope

When I was invited to talk about the stars in the year ahead by our local BBC radio, I was asked what the stars tell us in general. I was delighted to be able to say that those in the media will encounter some amazing trends the second half of 2012 and into 2013 and radio or any form of media ( including our favourite Mature Times of course) will be the best job to have with many new and adventurous opportunities arising in the second half of the year.

Already there are moves to get a high speed railway built from London to Birmingham, and this debate is going to continue to cause huge controversy until the middle of the year. The expansion of rail services is likely to happen anyway into 2013 and beyond, as is work on improving other major routes throughout England.

We have the return of Venus transit of the Sun in June ( the last one of the 'paired transits'' was 2004 and the next one wont be until 2115) and this augurs well for all female rulers and sovereigns as well as female Olympic contestants who should be delivering some good results in the competition in London this year. Sadly we can also expect the demise of people who had leaderships of political and sovereign rule also, especially female ones, but I expect this to be due to natural causes such as old age.

Bankers continue to benefit in the first half of the year, but there does look to be some splits the second half of the year into 2013, and this could be a move to separate the hedge funders from the banks traditional business arm as well as to introduce some new codes of conduct. New banking initiatives are already being introduced as banking responds to a need for change in the financial sector.

Strike action is still likely to continue for the first half of 2012, and I expect unrest for battle weary workers, especially those in service industries, with new legislation arising that will anger those in these areas of work. Workers will be much more militant till the middle of the year, and unions working harder than ever and featuring in many disputes.

Malefic influences affect Scorpio later in the year and I expect this to manifest as problems with drains, underground caverns and water supplies, as well as bogs and marshes where flooding or other bad effects cause concern. For example a planetary warning exists to expect fracking to be more controversial than ever with perhaps the toxic side of this activity hitting headlines with underground water supplies under threat of being polluted for a few years to come.

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Campaigns & Issues

Councils’ care home policy may cost families £millions a year, says charity

independant age_logo Thousands of families in England may be paying councils millions of pounds a year for care home places that should be free, according to a report by older people’s charity Independent Age.

The families are having to ‘top-up’ their elderly relatives’ care home fees because some councils refuse to pay the full market cost themselves. Councils are required to provide an appropriate care home place to elderly people with few assets but the maximum rate they will pay in England is on average £45 a week, compared to an average real cost of £524.

Inflation falls for all age groups, although elderly still hit hardest

The latest figures from the Alliance Trust Economic Research Centre show that all households experienced a decline in their inflation rates in April
Despite this, it is still the elderly households which face the highest rate of inflation
The over 75 year old households face an inflation rate of 3.6% and although this is the lowest level since October 2010, it is still higher than the official rate of inflation
The 30-49 year olds, once again, have the lowest rate of inflation at 3.0%. This is the lowest level recorded for this age group since November 2009
Gas price inflation remains elevated at 15%, which continues to affect the elderly households disproportionately

Win a pair of tickets to South Pacific

South Pacific This breathtaking and lavish Lincoln Center Theatre production reinvented Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical.

It swept the 2008 Tony Awards, played for two years to sold-out houses on Broadway and was televised across America.

You could win one of three superb weekend breaks in Silver Travel Advisor’s “Best of British” Diamond Jubilee celebration this month

STAhotel j_peg_169 Silver Travel Advisor is a friendly website packed with advice, tips, information and honest reviews written by and for silver travellers (aged over 50).

A team of advisors are on hand to answer queries (for free), and you can share your own experiences too.

It’s time to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee this month with an amazing British prize draw:

Win a two night stay for two people at Flackley Ash Hotel , Rye, East Sussex

Patients to benefit from better advice on pain control

Mike Bennett New guidance for doctors and other prescribers on the use of strong painkillers for patients with chronic or incurable disease has been welcomed by researchers at the University of Leeds.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is today (23 May) launching a new clinical guideline on the safe use of opioids – a family of drugs derived from the opium poppy that have been identified by the World Health Organization as essential in the treatment of severe pain. The new NICE guideline should help ensure that when patients receiving palliative care for chronic or incurable illnesses start treatment with strong opiods, the drugs are prescribed safely and consistently..

Older people need specialist housing

Cambell Robb Britain’s housing market is failing to meet the needs of the elderly, despite a rapidly-ageing population and a growing demand for retirement housing, a charity has warned. Housing charity Shelter has found that if demand remains at current levels supply would have to increase by over 70 per cent in the next 20 years in order to keep up.

The report explored the housing options available to those over 55 - a group that will make up one in three people in England by 2030.

Learn how the internet can make life easier for you

Learning internet Stocking up on the heavy grocery essentials was a full day out for Sheila, age 82. “I could see the advantages of doing the supermarket shop on the internet: having the groceries delivered, saving the taxi fare and not relying on others to shop for me if I’m ill,” said Sheila.

“But although I used the internet for emails, I didn’t really enjoy or trust it. My daughter suggested that Pearson Love to Learn’s Internet Basics online course might give me confidence and when she offered to try it out with me, I decided to give it a go.

New sat-nav for older people

sat nav_for_older_people There could be a new solution for the increasing number of elderly drivers in Britain who are driven round the bend by complicated sat-nav devices. Scientists are developing a new satellite navigation system - dubbed the Granny-Nav - to help technophobic pensioners. The new device, which tells pensioners to turn at a specific point, such as a pub and not in a certain distance, is being hailed as a new way to keep the elderly as independent as possible.