Britain, already no country for old men will soon be no country for old women

Old Men of Britain your Government does not want to lower your state pension age from 65 to 60 to be on a par with women, but raise it to 66.Old

Women of Britain be warned that your Government, in the name of 'equality', wants to raise your pension age from the present 60 to 66, to be on a par with the old men.

THERE'S GOING TO BE LESS AND LESS OF THIS :






So, old women of Britain beware, more than 500,000 of you approaching retirement age will now have to wait at least a year longer than you thought before collecting your state pension. From 2018, you will not be able to draw a pension until you are 65 and after that, the pension age for both you and the men will increase in tandem to 66 in 2020.

Your Government confirmed today that those of you who are 55 and 56 now will be worst affected as you will turn 65 as the pension age rises to 66.

The 'Pensions Minister' Steve Webb said :
"As longevity increases it is only fair that costs are shared among the generations. Accordingly, the Government has decided to bring forward the increase in state pension age to 66."

AND MORE AND MORE OF THIS :

Britain's old men say "Happy Birthday" to actors Warren Mitchell and Richard Briers and also Faye Dunaway whose beauty, as young men, beguiled them

Warren is 85 today, Richard 77 and across the Atlantic, Faye is 70.

Things you probably didn't know about Warren that he :

* was born Warren Misel in London where his father was a glass and china merchant and is of Russian Jewish descent.

* was interested in acting from an early age and attended the 'Gladys Gordon's Academy of Dramatic Arts' in Walthamstow from the age of seven.

* did well at school and read physical chemistry at University College, Oxford, for six months where he met Richard Burton and together they joined the RAF in 1944.

* completed his navigator training in Canada just as the Second World War war ended.

* attended RADA for two years, performing in the evening with the Unity Theatre.

* had a short stint as a DJ on Radio Luxembourg and then in 1951, became a professional actor with straight and comedy roles on stage, radio, film and television.

* in 1966, played 'Alf Garnett' in the long running sit com 'Till Death Us Do' with Dandy Nichols, Una Stubbs and Anthony Booth, the father of Tony Blair's wife, Cherie Booth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWKy4RHf5tQ

Here he is on stage at a Royal Variety Performance in character as Alf :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLtcMa3xyDo

* continued in the show which ran from 1966 to 1975, in 7 series, making a total of 53 episodes.

* on stage he received extensive critical acclaim for his performance in Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' for which he received a 'Laurence Olivier Theatre Award'for playing Willie Loman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnTqlxajQ5Q

Things you possibly didn't know about Richard, that he :

* attended a prep school in Wimbledon and left at the age of 16 without any formal qualifications.

* got his first job in a clerical post with a London cable manufacturer.

* at the age of 18, was 'called up' for 2 years 'National Service' in the RAF.

* on leaving the RAF went on to study at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1954 to 1956.

* worked on stage in Liverpool, then Coventry and finally had his West End debut.

* started work in television in 1961 where he played in the series 'Marriage Lines' opposite Prunella Scales.

* will be remebered for 'The Good Life' from 1975 to '78, playing Tom Good, a draughtsman who decides, on his 40th birthday, to give up his job and try his hand at self-sufficiency.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TywW-_f9ELU

* starred as 'Hector' in the first three series of 'Monarch of the Glen' from 2000 to 2002. Here he is with his wife Molly, in their last scene together before he passes away :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWtwWuN0fr4

I remember Faye Dunaway for her role as 'Bonnie Parker' in the 1967 movie 'Bonnie and Clyde'. I saw it with my friend K.M. when we were students living in Brighton. We were both 20 and Faye was 26.

We Rob Banks :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnTqlxajQ5Q

A Tribute with 'Nico' singing :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6s7LuDCRc4&feature=related

Britain will soon be a country where old men can work longer and longer and not be forced to retire

BRITAIN CAN EXPECT TO SEE MORE OF THIS :


The Government has announced plans to phase out the compulsory retirement age of 65 in April.

Dr Ros Altman, Director General of SAGA, explains why the current age limit no longer works on the BBC Radio 4 'Today' Programme :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9360000/9360058.stm

The 'Employment Relations Minister', Ed Davey told the Programme that the move "shouldn't be the problem that some people suggest....the evidence that productivity and performance declines after 65 is just not there."

The move "will boost the number of jobs in our economy," he argued, and so help tackle youth unemployment.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9360000/9360105.stm

AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE LESS OF THIS :

Britian is a no country for old men who bank with Santander

The Daily Mail Newspaper in its 'Money Mail' section launched their 'Not Good Enough, Señior Campaign' last Summer and as a result it was told by :

Norman Payne, aged 80, that he :

* had his ­current account with Alliance & Leicester, which, when it was taken over by Santander, suddenly found he had two account numbers and sort codes for the same account and demands for council tax and internet payments, after Santander failed to pay most of his direct debits.

John Gorrod, aged 79, that he :

* sent Santander a cheque for £5,100 to open his tax free Isa account and found that the bank had lost his application and said : 'I couldn’t believe I had sent them so much money and it just became lost in the abyss.’

* found that the delays meant he missed his chance to invest his Isa ­allowance for the tax year 2009-10.

William Harris, aged 75, that he :

* found that when he was was with Alliance & Leicester telephone banking was 'quick, simple and ­efficient. Now it is slow, difficult and inefficient.’

* was recently passed from 'pillar to post' and ­eventually cut off when he tried to ­transfer some money over the phone.

Steve Boyle, aged 63, that he :

* found that, when his Alliance & Leicester account was switched to Santander and he applied for a credit card, he was rejected because the bank had ­incorrect details on file.

The newspaper awarded Santander the 'Runner Up' position in the poll they had run with their readers in 'The Wooden Spoon Awards'.

Britain is a Country where the B.B.C. is a Corporation for old men but not older women.

Miriam O'Reilly, the sacked 53 year old presenter of the BBC programme 'Countryfile', has won an 'Age Discrimination Tribunal' case against the BBC which was found guilty of 'Ageism'.

Miriam at a press conference :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrMpfOdSWss

It is the first time an age discrimination case has been upheld against the BBC, which 'apologised' to Miriam and promised an 'immediate overhaul of how it recruits and appoints its presenters'. The verdict gives her the opportunity to claim damages including loss of earnings, injury to feelings and aggravated damages.

She said ageism was "endemic" in television and "part of the culture of broadcasting". She described the verdict as "historic". "I felt I was treated badly because of my age and taking on the BBC was the right thing to do, however hurtful and stressful it has been."

"I think broadcasters now realise that we are not going to take it. If you lose your job because of your age and not because you can't do it, it's a disgrace, it shouldn't be happening. After more than 25 years with the BBC I deserved to be judged on my ability and not on my appearance. I don't think having wrinkles is offensive."

She said that prior to this job loss, one Director of the programme had warned:
"You're going to have to be careful about those wrinkles when high-definition television comes in."

Another had asked: "Is it time for Botox?."

It had also been suggested that her hair had white roots and in one instance a cameraman brandished a can of black spray in order to cover these. In all, a strange picture of life as an older woman at the BBC began to form, a landscape in which every new wrinkle or grey hair threatened to sink the most well-established career.

It's interesting to note how different the situation is in the USA, where Oprah Winfrey,now inher late 50's, has just launched a whole network and Barbara Walters, Martha Stewart and Diane Sawyer are all widely respected fixtures on TV.

In the UK, by comparison, while older men have had signature series in their 60's and beyond like Michael Parkinson, David Attenborough, David Dimbleby, Alan Yentob and Melvyn Bragg, it's almost impossible to think of a woman in the same situation.

P.S. I found this Gaurdian article dealing with case entitled :

Britain is no country for old folk
Will Miriam O'Reilly's tribunal victory against the BBC herald an era of fair treatment for those over 50? Probably not.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/11/miriam-oreilly-countryfile-bbc-ageism-sexism

Britain is a country which says "Goodbye" to an old film director called Peter Yates

The film director Peter Yates, has died aged 81.
Things you may or may not have known about Peter, that he :

* was the son of an army officer, attended Charterhouse School Public School and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

* entered repertory theatre in the late 1940s as an actor, then worked as a racing driver and manager for the internationally successful Stirling Moss.

* dubbed foreign-language films into English and edited documentaries before becoming an assistant director on such films as 'The Inn of the Sixth Happiness' in 1958, 'The Entertainer' in 1960 and 'The Guns of Navarone' in 1961.

* From 1962, directed episodes of the TV series 'The Saint' and 'Danger Man'.

* directed his first film 'Summer Holiday' in 1963, as a lightweight vehicle for Cliff Richard :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbajf_rHzys

* the time spent as a racing driver gave him the break he needed when he was hired to direct 'Robbery' in 1967, which, with its opening car chase and climactic action sequence made the film, brought him box-office success, critical plaudits and an invitation to Hollywood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K-GT-_gziw

* was nudging 40 when he was offered 'Bullitt' in 1968, starring Steve McQueen as a cool, laconic cop whose San Francisco car chase became one of cinema's most influential action sequences :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiihioRMZmU

* enjoyed a massive box-office success with 'The Deep' in 1977 :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FPNauytoxw

* made 'The Dresser' in 1983, a film based on Ronald Harwood's play about his experiences working for the actor-manager Donald Wolfit :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZROSsbbHJ0

* made 'Krull' in 1983 :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoHgC9sAEvE



.

Britain says "Happy Birthday" to Robin Ellis, Jimmy Page, David Bowie and for nostalgia Scott Walker

Robin Ellis, actor, is 69 and here he is playing Ross Poldark on tv in the mid 1970's when he was in his early 30's :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbi48y_1Zkc

Jimmy Page, musician, is 67 and here he is playing 'Stairway To Heaven' with Led Zeppelin released in 1971 when he was 27.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9TGj2jrJk8

David Bowie, singer, is 64 and here he is singing 'Life On Mars' when he was 24 :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueUOTImKp0k

P.S.
Scott Walker from the USA is 68 today and here he is singing 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore' when he was 22 in 1965 :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eAxCVTMJ-I

Britain is a country which says "Happy Birthday" to Clive Dunn and remember Lance-Corporal Jones and 'Dad's Army' set in the Second World War

Clive Dunn, seen here on the right, three years ago, with Ian Lavender, is 91 today. Clive spent his best years as an actor playing old men and featured in the comedy series 'Dad's Army' which ran for 80 episodes between 1968 to 1977 and attracted audiences of 18 million people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfQwHb1pWPE

As Lance-Corporal Jack Jones, he became part of the living room furniture along with the other characters based at Walmington-On-Sea on the South coast during the Second World War.
Thet were part of the non-professional Army known as the 'Home Guard' or 'Dads Army' because they were too old or incompetent to serve in the Regular Forces.


What you possibly didn't know about Clive, that he :

* after leaving school, studied at the 'Italia Conti'.

* played small film roles from the 1930s onwards, appearing alongside Will Hay in the films 'Boys Will Be Boys' in 1935 and 'Good Morning,Boys' in 1937.

* served in the Army with the '4th Hussars', during the Second World War, during the course of which he spent 4 years in prisoner-of-war and labour camps in Austria,

* after the War, worked in music halls and theatres before winning the role of Jones the Butcher at the age of 48 in 'Dad's Army' in 1968 where he was was one of the younger members of the cast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BT0TiXbGNQ

* had strong socialist beliefs often caused him to fall out with Arthur Lowe, who played Captain Mainwaring and who was a committed Conservative.

* had a 'number one' hit single with the song "Grandad" on his 51st birthday in 1971
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KJGJRd8pGE

The lyrics of 'Grandad' were unapologetic, commercial nostalgia and I love them :

I've been sitting here all day thinking,
Same old thing ten years away.
Thinking,now my days are gone,
Memories linger on,
Thoughts of when I was boy.

Pennyfarthings on the street riding.
Motorcars were funny things, frightning.
Bow and hoops and spinning tops.
Annie gretzel's lollipops.
Comic cuts, all different things.

Grandad, grandad you're lovely,
That's what we all think of you.
Grandad, Grandad you're lovely,
That's what we all think of you.
Grandad, Grandad.

Areoplanes tied up with string flying.
Telephones and talking things sighing.
A radio and phonograph, Charlie Chaplin made us laugh,
Silently falling about.
Familiar things I keep around, near me.
Memories of my younger days, clearly.
Now it's in my mind?
Everyday I find, thoughts of when I was boy...