Mature Times - Comment

What has happened to individual responsibility and responsible authority?

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:01:12 +0000

As the global banking industry continues to lurch from crisis to crisis, Ken Lacey from the Weston-Super-Mare Senior Citizens Forum revisits the Depression of the 1930s - and remembers the values of a generation who were brought up to 'live within your means and set some aside for a rainy day..."

Remembrance Day - an alternative view

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:04:20 +0000

As Remembrance Day approaches, please spare a thought for genuine war veterans that choose NOT to be part of the benevolent military extravaganza.

Is this a return to rationing?

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:49:02 +0100

Is the older generation being forgotten in this country? The Royal British Legion thinks so, and has recently launched a campaign called “Return to Rationing” to raise awareness of the ever-worsening plight of millions of pensioners. Chris Simpkins, Director General of The RBL, says it’s time to remember the debt owed by society.

Reflections on the Heyday Challenge

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:59:58 +0100

There has been disappointment over the failure (to date) of the Heyday challenge over the default retirement age in the European Court of Justice to deliver a surprise “get out of jail free” card. Chris Ball, CEO of The Age and Employment Network puts the current situation in context.

Zimbabwe: soon, no country for old people

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:38:59 +0100

Life expectancy in Zimbabwe has dropped from just under 60 years 15 years ago to 34 years. So, very soon, there will be more senior citizens than young people. Yet because the health delivery system is now so tattered, these old people may not have enough drugs to treat their illnesses, most of which tend to the terminal. This could soon be no country for old people. An inside view from a Mature Times reader in the country.

Do we really need such an overblown Olympics?

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:09:17 +0100

I have been watching the current Olympic Games and marvelling, not only at the success of our athletes, but the cost of it all. Is it not time to take the lead and offer a simple Olympic games in the spirit of the original?

Madonna hits 50 - but what does that say about the rest of us?

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:03:59 +0100

Passing the 50 mark is always a significant moment in our lives. We're currently watching Madonna go through that stage - in her own way. But what does it mean for the rest of us? Baby boomer marketing expert Judith Cork has her own take on life after 50.

Keeping the family circle together

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:29:46 +0100

Broken families have been blamed for the rise in anti-social behaviour and crime, and young people staying locked into welfare rather than making their way in life. So what’s the solution? Pamela Wilson, Chairwoman of Grandparents Action Group UK maintains that at least part of the responsibility must lie with the way that Family Courts operate, and makes suggestions on a better way forward.

Where have all the insects gone?

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:53:53 +0100

I live in London and have been increasingly concerned this summer about the lack of insects. The buddleias are flowering profusely but there are no butterflies dancing around them. So I thought that perhaps I was looking in the wrong place - a big city. Not so.

Piffle, padding and procrastination ...

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:46:37 +0100

"So there you have it, Strategies and Guides - a Band Aid delivered yet again to paper over the cracks." Reader Doris Daly responds to the new strategy document aimed at developing dementia services. The National Dementia Care Strategy will reconvene in September to assess the outcome of this codology of a consultation. Why not get involved and have your say?

Making justice visible

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:03:37 +0100

Our justice system often comes in for criticism from the public and the media. We asked Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald QC to tell our readers about how justice is being done - and being seen to be done

Right care Right deal: The future of social care

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:37:41 +0100

There is a growing consensus that the social care system is in crisis. Under-funded and misunderstood - the care and support system in the UK has become a distress service, meeting only the needs of the poorest and most debilitated. Paul Cann, Director of Policy at Help The Aged, explains how a new campaign is calling for nothing less than a revolution in social care.

Don't call me "old"

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:51:18 +0100

Last October the Mature Times' website asked readers over 50 "what they really, really, want". I say never mind the over 50s, what about the over 60s, over 70s (I am almost 72), over 80s and even the 90s and 100s - whose numbers are increasing every year? Many 'wants' and not a few fantasies have been listed in your reader's responses, but in my view the most serious one is not to be considered old.

Why are older people stuck like rabbits in the headlights?

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:58:21 +0100

We are not part of the system so we have no retaliatory weapons against what we see as injustice. Except, a powerful voice, a voice that can only be brought to its full power through unity. At the moment our voice is barely heard above a whisper because it is fragmented.

I Love Being Old ....

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:45:57 +0100

One MT reader urges everyone to 'Look forward to enjoying the coming years, after all you’re only old once' !