As we get older it may feel like we are slowing down, it is important to listen to our bodies but it’s also good to keep ourselves mobile and active, socially and mentally. Why not try something new this year? Check out the Harrogate and Ripon Centre for Voluntary Services (HARCVS) ‘Where to Turn’ directory for ideas.
A report published by Age UK indicates that 23 million hours of unpaid care is provided by people over 80. This is equivalent to 1.2 billion hours of care a year at a saving of £23 million to the healthcare system.
Unfortunately this comes at a personal cost to the health of the carers, who are often living with long-term health and mobility problems and who are unable to get any breaks or respite from their duties.
For further details, please follow this link.
This video features Mary Maxwell, a lady for Omaha, who offers a humorous look at ageing with great comedic timing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPFCn3itBFE
Forum members gathered at the Masonic Hall for their Christmas lunch. A festive occasion with some ‘flashy’ Christmas sweaters! Thank you to the chef and catering staff for the delicious food.
At a time when information about Brexit is proliferating, scammers are taking advantage of this to try to obtain personal information. The e-mail supposedly from BT warns about the need to accept new terms and conditions with reference to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For more information go to our Alerts page.
Community First Yorkshire states that ‘a carer is someone who, without payment, provides help and support to a friend, neighbour or relative who could not manage otherwise because of frailty, illness or disability. They may even be juggling paid work with caring responsibilities at home’.
Following Carers’ Week, it is important to ensure that carers are aware of the resources available to them. Carers’ Resource has gathered some quick information about each allowance and benefit. Also, Carers UK has an online tool to guide you to information about benefits and other entitlements.
Jill Quinn, CEO of Dementia Forward and Karen Parkes of Harrogate Borough Council Lifeline service will be coming to talk to us about their work.
Please join us. Admission is £2 which includes refreshments and a raffle ticket.
Further details in our ‘Forum Events’ page
Did you know that your Echo’s “Alexa Guard” can protect your home. As from April 2019, Amazon rolled out Alexa Guard to all Echo users. Your Echo can now listen for breaking glass, alert you to smoke alarms, and randomly turn your lights on and off. But it’s not a full security system.
For more details, about this and Burglar Deterrent follow this link.
Now could be a good time to raise the issues of older people. We are not a minority group (see previous post).
23,200,000 of us are 50 yrs of age and over, so we could influence the outcome of the election. So let’s challenge the politicians on their policies. Follow us on Twitter for up-to-date information. @hgdover50sforum
We need to use our voice to try to make things better for older people, because we are members of a large population. Just look at the figures …..
There are more people in the UK aged 60 and over, than there are under 18*
23,200,000 people, one third of the UK population, are 50 years of age and over.
3,500,000 people in the UK over the age of 65+ live alone
2,000,000 people aged 75+ live alone; of these, 1.5 million are women.
3,000,000 people aged 80 or over are living in the UK
As Emma Thompson (actress) once stated, ‘The trick is to age honestly and gracefully and make it look great, so that everyone looks forward to it’.
*(Source: AgeUK)