Britain is a country where old men now have their very own celebration on 'Older People's Day'.

October 5th was 'Older People's Day'.


Apparently, 'UK Older People’s Day helps celebrates the achievements and contributions of older people to society, with this year’s celebration based around the theme of ‘Getting and staying active’, encouraging people to prepare well in the present to enjoy a positive and active life later on'.

A bit of research revealed a few flurries of activity in some regions :

* NHS Western Cheshire -
Getting and staying active in later life is the theme of host of events in western Cheshire to celebrate ...

* North Wales News ... Anglesey celebrates Older People Eisteddfod.

* Events held in Somerset

* Greenwich celebrates the achievements and contributions of older ...

If we had dropped in on Greenwich, what would we have found ? :

* An 'Age Concern event' where admission was free and included light refreshments and as well as an opportunity to talk to a healthy living team about 'fun ways to stay active', a 'host of other activities' on the day which included :

- dance workshop
- exercise to music session
- blood pressure checks
- massage therapies
- fruit smoothie tasters
- free raffle.

Well, that sounded a lot of fun and practical too, with the 'blood pressure checks', presumably coming after the 'dance' and exercise and all this was at the 'Greenwich Pensioner's Forum'.

Over at Charlton House there was another activity which cost £1 and had the Mayor in attendance. Here the activities included :

* a talk on the 'History of Alms houses' from the Assistant Director of the Alms Houses Corporation.
* a performance from poet Marion Kelly.
* a talk on pensions from Neil Duncan Jordan from the National Pensioners Convention
* a performance from the Blackheath Male Voice Choir
Scottish dancing.

They all sounded jolly exciting and the £1 entrance fee to the event included tea, coffee and lunch and entry to a raffle competition. The Council Cabinet Member for 'Health, Adults and Older People’s Services', said:

" I hope as many people as possible make it along to the events and a great time is had by all."

I bet a lot of old men had trouble deciding which events they should attend : on the one hand would it be dance - exercise - music - blood pressure check - massage - fruit smoothies or, on the other, talk - poetry performance - talk - male voice choir - Scottish dancing. What would I have chosen had I lived in Greenwich ?

Outside London, over in Cheshire they had free smoke alarms - taster sessions for flower-arranging - 'men in sheds' - belly-dancing - walking groups - information about home repairs, adaptations and improvements.

The 'belly dancing' sounded a bit more interesting than the 'home repairs'.

The 'Men in Sheds Project' was more serious and aimed to encourage older men : 'to go along for some 'shed therapy' whether they are lonely, want to chat over a cup of tea, learn new skills or share the skills they have with others or just get out of the house for a while'. I'm still not sure if 'shed' meant that they sat in a 'garden shed' or 'shed', as in 'got rid of' their worries. Maybe it was a bit of both.

I went to the Government's website to see what had gone on within 10 miles of where I live. Sadly, the answer was 'absolutely nothing'.
http://fulloflife.direct.gov.uk/older-peoples-day.html

Britain's West Midlands is a 'county' for Old Men

The Department For Work and Pensions ( I suspect, a little work and a lot of pensions),tell us that ‘People are living longer. By 2020 half the population of the U.K. will be aged 50 and over’.

Under the ‘Full of Life ‘ banner, the Government and other supporting groups, are undertaking a wide programme of activity centred around 'UK Older People’s Day' , to raise the profile of the issues surrounding older people and our ageing society.’

Following the apparent success of last year’s celebrations, 2009’s Older People’s Day will take place on 1st October. 'The day will highlight the contribution older people make to our society and economy and will try to tackle any negative attitudes and stereotypes by bringing different generations together to promote a more positive view of later life'.

THIS ALL SOUNDS VERY LAUDABLE TO ME.

Apparently, in 2008 'from allotment projects to tea dances, exercise classes to achievement awards, around 50,000 people took part in some 900 local events across the country' and the organisers are hoping even more people will get involved in 2009.

I went to the 'Directgov' website to find out more :
http://fulloflife.direct.gov.uk/index.html

Encouraged by the invitation to 'Find an event near you', I clicked on the 'South East' region of the map and found that 14 events were planned. Interestingly, closer inspection revealed that most of them were by the sea.

I wonder if that's because seaside towns on the Kent and Sussex coasts are seen as safe havens for retired old people ? Anyway, this was what was on offer :

By the sea

Peacehaven : An Information Fair
Worthing : Mexican dominoes, line dancing, Tai Chi, a history walk and photo exhibition entitled : 'What it means to be an older person in Worthing'.
Eastbourne : A Poetry Reading
Seaford : An Information 'Fayre'
Lewes : 'Life on the Home Front (1939 - 45)
Newhaven : An Intergenerational Dance involving a 1940's style dance with the old joining local school children to revive the tea dances of the War years
Bexhill : A walk and a quiz
Hastings : An advice stand in the local shopping area
Gravesend : Tai Chi, massages and fitness tests

Inland

Horsham : An exhibition and information about clubs
Uckfield : An event involving local 6th form students

Well, I've got the car, but quiet frankly, nothing on offer really grabbed my attention, so I went back to the map and took myself to the following regions to see what was going on there. This is what I found :

Northern Ireland : Nothing
The North East : Nothing
Scotland : 2 events
The North West : 2 events
The South West : 2 events
The East : 3 events
London : 3 events

THEN, THE REALLY BIG SURPRISE -The West Midlands : 53 events

So, the only conclusion I can draw is, that if you are thinking of retiring and moving to the coast, forget it. Get yourself to the land-locked West Midlands, where Birmingham alone is organising 11 events for your benefit.