AofA's Hot To Trot Talking Points
Every Friday
Join us every Friday to find out what we’ve been discussing in the AofA FB group - Advantages of Age - Babyboomers and Beyond. A lot. Always.
The wonderful Martin Parr died and his death evoked a lot of lamenting. This photograph seems to sum up his aesthetic as well as his humour. Poetry of the ordinary, I saw someone describe it as. He was 73 and a British legend. There is a documentary about him on i=player I Am Martin Parr and in that I saw that he was using a mobility aid and still getting out there taking photographs of British life in all its spectacular absurdity. Thank you Martin Parr
2. This Guardian piece on older female solo travelling was perfect for AofA because many members do precisely this. Not me. I love travelling but with companions who share the same travelling sensibility as I do. Anyhow there was a great discussion and here’s what one of the participants, Ruth Fox, had to say.
‘There are some lovely things about travelling alone. One is, like Marion said, I can choose in every moment what to do next without having to adapt to someone else’s preferences. I call it ‘I go where I will’. Another is that there’s a kind of greater sensitivity to the moment, the immediate experience. Sometimes that can be challenging, but it’s often a deeper appreciation of the beauty of a place, or the gifts along the way. Then there are the ‘chance meetings and encounters’... People I meet and have simple exchanges with, may be just buying something, a smile, or could be more of a conversation. Or a kindness, a small act like showing me the way. They can seem like jewels in the thread of my adventure. The first day in Fuerteventura I met a couple walking up from the sea and they looked tired so I offered them a lift up the hill (I had a hire car that time). We ended up having a delightful lunch together. So lone travelling can have the odd lonely moment, but connections like that tend to happen more. In Essaouira I had a lovely evening eating out with two guys from the hostel one evening. I also had a really interesting quite long chat with a man from Mali who was selling trinkets in the seafront. There were very few people around as it was off season when I was there. He was telling me about his life. That week I was in slow time and had time to look and listen. There was another conversation, with a man who initially was selling something but we moved past that and chatted for ages, leaning on the harbour wall. He was telling me why Islam means everything to him in his life. Because he was guided in every decision in his life so he never has to guide himself. So different from my own way! It’s interesting when people start to tell me about themselves and their life.
Travelling alone I’m learning from people around me. Also I can happily spend hours just enjoying the beauty of the land, seas and skies!’
We were thrilled that our Substack Writer Award Winner,
, was featured in a piece in The Northern Scot and the Forres Gazette. We love that the word about our Awards has travelled to Scotland. ‘My award is about all of us who are growing older and want to do it with more laughter, honesty and confidence. If my writing helps even a handful of people feel better about ageing, then that’s a win already.’ Absolutely. Well done Jane.
Benjamin Zephaniah died on December 7th 2023 and he will be remembered not for being a national treasure - reductive in so many ways - but for being an astute and much-needed political activist as well as brilliant poet.
5. This was a controversial one. Members didn’t approve really. Thought the idea of muscles and care was misleading. And here’s what the post said.
‘In Japan a country facing a rapidly aging population caregiving has long been a physically demanding and undervalued profession carried out mostly by women over forty. With projections estimating a shortage of more than half a million caregivers by 2040 innovative solutions are emerging to fill the gap.
One of the most surprising comes from a community near Nagoya where an initiative known as the Macho Caregivers program is reframing what it means to provide care. The program recruits bodybuilders and offers them paid gym time protein shakes and daily training. The idea is simple but powerful to match the physical challenges of caregiving with people who have the strength and stamina to meet them while also redefining gender expectations in the field.
For participants like Takuya Usui what began as a job that allowed him to use his muscles soon transformed into meaningful emotional work. Building trust connecting with elderly residents and offering support that goes beyond physical assistance has given the role a new depth for many of these unlikely caregivers.
This emerging trend is reshaping the public image of caregiving in Japan showing that strength and compassion can coexist and that care work can be both skillful and fulfilling. As the country seeks solutions to its demographic challenges the Macho Caregivers program stands out as a creative and human centered approach that could inspire similar initiatives around the world.’
I shared a photograph of the wreath that Asanga, my partner, made a few years ago. We did our own wreath-making workshop in his kitchen and gathered material from his land. I brought one back to London with me. Anyway this post prompted lots of people to post their own home-made wreaths. Have you done one? Enjoy this festive period.