Support Grey Pride

Support Grey Pride: it is a campaign for a Minister for Older People, just as there is a minister for children. I think this is important because older people need to have someone concentrating on making our social provision right for them - not just care services, but all sorts of provision, like better banking and transport for older people.

The website is good, and you can contribute to their blog.

Link to the Grey Pride website.

Daily caring for somone with dementia

How someone cares for another important person in their life is a crucial part of experiences of ageing both for the carer and for anyone being cared for. Many of us do this in mid-life for the older generation and experience it later when it comes to our turn. Rob writes a blog and has also written an account of how he cares daily for his mother: but he is in his twenties and she is ion her fifties; she has Pick's disease, a fairly rare form of dementia that affects people in the middle of life.

Rob's account of caring is striking in its honesty and practicality. He says:

I am committed to ensuring that the last few years of mum’s life are filled with as many happy moments as possible. This outlook on my responsibilities translates into completing activities with mum that focus on maintaining her independence, dignity, sense of involvement and enjoyment.

A good set of principles for this heavy personal responsibility.

Link to Rob's account of daily caring.

Other information on caring and finding care homes on the website of Care Homes UK

Link to Rob's blog, Demention

Draft assisted dying bill

The reality is that all older people are approaching the end of life, and so have an interest in debates on assisted dying. A proposed Parliamentary Bill is another attempt to get support for allowing people to commit suicide if they fear approaching death, but it will not help most older people, because it only provides for people who are told they have a terminal illness and excludes people without mental capacity (that is, you won't be able to get help to commit suicide if you already have serious dementia according to this proposal).

If you want to reply to the consultation, you have to do so by 20th November (there will be a report in February). You can see the proposals and the consultation form if you click on the Draft Bill link below.

I've been looking at this in my end-of-life care blog, so you might like to examine some more detail.

Link to the Draft Bill

Link to a post on the Draft Bill in end-of-life care blog.

Ageing: picturing parents and children

An intriguing websitewhich says something about ageing. A German photographer takes pictures of parents and their children.

Here's a screenshot of a blog showing some of the results:

Link to the 'My Modern Met' blog illustrating and commenting on the pictures.

Link to , the photographer's website