Living longer - too long?

The novelist Martin Amis’ newspaper interview at the weekend has caused widespread condemnation after he called for euthanasia booths on street corners, where elderly people can end their lives with “a martini and a medal”. The author even predicts a Britain torn by internal strife in the 2020s “‘if the demographic time bomb of the ageing population is not tackled head-on. There’ll be a population of demented very old people, like an invasion of terrible immigrants, stinking out the restaurants and cafes and shops. I can imagine a sort of civil war between the old and the young in 10 or 15 years’ time.”

Novelists depend on imagination to write their books, but for Amis to enter the real world and identify a situation that might indeed become a problem may have something to do with the fact that his latest novel is being published shortly, extracts appearing in the same paper which interviewed him.

Joan Brady in today’s Guardian writes : ageism seems to me almost indistinguishable from racism, a point that couldn’t be made clearer than Martin Amis makes himself: old people are ‘like an invasion of terrible immigrants, stinking out the restaurants and cafes and shops’ That’s what racists say about anybody with a different skin colour or an alien head-dress: They stink’. Brady continues ‘Its health that matters, not age. What people are capable of at my age (she has just turned 70) depends partly on that and partly on luck. I have a hereditary heart condition that flared up and called for major surgery. That was two years ago and I feel stronger than ever’. (She also is an author whose latest book is being published next month!.)

But this is more than a battle between novelists and raises again serious concerns which are in the public eye at the moment. There is a movement against compulsory retirement at 65 in this country, which we have referred to in these blogs. But should older people continue to work beyond retirement age when young people can’t get jobs? Can the middle generation be expected to provide through taxes care for older people who can no longer care for themselves? Longevity is a phenomenon of our time and euthanasia is a moral issue that for me at least is not simple, but can no longer be ignored.When life has become hell and can no longer be seen as a sacred right, should it be possible to assist the ending of life?

Amis raises real issues in an offensive and trite way. But they are real.

Bryan

' I Hate Winter '

It was the lament of an elderly friend. She is 81, lives alone in a second floor flat with a long walk into town to do her shopping. She had a hip replacement a year ago and is now warned that it was not very successful and she may have to endure a second operation. She is a spirited person and doesn’t give up on her life easily, but this hard and tedious British winter, with frost and snow preceded and then followed by drenching rain, has been too much for her. No one likes grey days but when you are yourself feeling grey, even when you are as sparky a person as my friend, it’s hard to avoid the depression that can accompany a prolonged winter. And it’s only January!

The cycle of the year affects everyone but perhaps older people are less resilient when the weather is severe, as it has been throughout Western Europe over the last couple of months. One becomes more aware of the niggling inconveniences of age. You don’t hear as well as you used to and when fog and frost muffles people’s voices you get tired of asking people to repeat what they have said. Your eyesight isn’t as sharp as you would like it to be and as you cross a busy street you may miss a sudden movement of traffic and be in danger. Your digestive system has been playing you up, partly due to holding yourself in as you battle against the cold, perhaps.

But then you wonder if it is the weather or is it all part of the inevitable reduction of health as you age? ‘Is there really something wrong with me?’ you ask yourself, as you struggle to keep warm in bed at nights. ’Does it mean another visit to the doctor’? He or she may say the usual mantra: ‘I’m afraid it’s your age’, which in this context could be a relief. But what if there is something more which could involve you being referred to the local hospital; a long wait before you are given an appointment, and perhaps eventually discovering an unwelcome diagnosis. Better to worry about what might be than to find out what is?

Too much time to think and too little opportunity to have creative leisure can be a burden of this passing Season. But it will pass. Spring - more or less – is on its way! If this is a bit how it is with you, buy and eat a favourite food. Go and see an unlikely film. Invite yourself to visit a friend. Look through an album of old photos and celebrate the good days. Be with people. Re-read a favourite book. Book a holiday.

…..and if you are really desperate, write a blog!

Bryan

A New World

Britain’s spell of cold weather is headline news. Supplies of gas and electricity are under threat, near to capacity at 96%. Residential customers are being given priority over industries. It’s true that the U.K. is always unprepared for extremes of weather, but the present one is creating new records of severity. Temperatures in some parts of the north and in Scotland have fallen to minus 21C. There is a national shortage of grit and salt to clear the roads for which - of course - the government is being blamed.

This is all creating a different way of life. Many if not most schools are closed and looking after children on the loose has become a problem for their parents and at least for a time children are enjoying new freedoms. Whilst some parts of the country are relatively free of heavy falls of snow, in some areas the snow is so deep that people have been marooned in their houses for days that are now turning into weeks. Everywhere it is bitterly cold. Several airports are closed as well as major roads. People are advised not to undertake long journeys ‘unless absolutely necessary’. ‘Deaths rise as snow and ice grip Britain’ says one newspaper headline.

For one day local buses were grounded in our area, but cautiously began to test the roads yesterday and are running normally today. We went into town this morning and people boarded the bus in a variety of winter clothes, hats especially noticeable. Even older people have gone to wearing the poplar Norwegian caps with long pigtails either side that are all the rage. ‘I can’t stay inside’ one elderly passenger said this morning, and its true that although the first breath of a new day is a shock, there’s a sense of release in getting out – and pleasure in returning to a house hopefully warm. People when they cross each in the street are smiling to each other. The British are in danger of showing the ‘grin and bear it’ spirit that is supposed to be typical of us!

People’s routines have been brutally affected, and enforced idelness means the livelihood of some is at risk. With fewer responsibilities than many, our own life has become quite fun and much more home-bound than usual. We have been doing some of the jobs we have had in mind for some time, but never got round to. If not exactly indulgent, we have been enjoying our meals more than usual, too. Space for reading. And searching for watchable TV programmes, occasionally with success. And quite enjoying instead of complaining about not being so young as we once were.

More snow, however, is promised for this weekend. The novelty may soon pall!

Bryan

Loneliness

The local Churches Together in our city ran a Christmas Day lunch for 150 people who otherwise would be alone on that day. It’s held in the dining hall of a public school, which John Wesley founded for the sons of his travelling preachers. (Surprised by this initiative no doubt he would have probably appreciated it, though he might have qualms about the lavishness of the meal and the entertainment that followed). The whole enterprise is funded by gifts and local charities and organised by a team of volunteers.

Recent research suggests that there are more than 850,000 people in the U.K. who are seriously lonely, not just at Christmas but all the time. One in three people over 60 do not talk to a friend or family member once a week, whilst one in ten can pass a whole month without such a conversation. The World Health Organisation astonishingly rates loneliness as a higher health risk than smoking. On our local bus route I see the same elderly people going into town day after day, surely not always to shop, but possibly just to get out of the house and be amongst people. A good justification for free bus passes, and one of the advantages of being older!

There’s a pioneer experiment in some London boroughs whereby if you are lonely you sign up to a phone group on a topic that interests you and then together with six or so others with the same interests, you have up to an hour’s conversation. The hope is that for people near to each other, they might team up afterwards.

Southwark Circle is one of the London ventures, and whilst not intended only for older people, obviously has particular relevance for them. You pay to belong (that could limit some people), from £30 to £75 a quarter depending on the amount of help you require. Their website summarises the purpose of the scheme.’Southwark Circle is a membership organisation whose members stay sorted, connected and lead the lives they want to lead. It does this by introducing members to each other and local, reliable Neighbourhood Workers. It was ‘co-designed with people over 50 years old as well as their families and frontline workers’

Interesting developments which involve the people concerned, rather than handing down statutory help or patronising them. At their best this is what churches have always done ‘She doesn’t come to church anymore, but we keep in touch by regular visiting’. To end your days in ill health is a fear we all have. To be alone in a house full of mixed memories may be worse.

Bryan