Kathy Lawrence
Ups and downs of moving mum in
This week’s storyteller has chosen to be anonymous. One of our readers tells us how her mum moved from Zimbabwe to live in the family home in the UK at the age of seventy-six. Seven years on, she talks about why it happened and how well it’s working. And we asked her husband what he […]
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Bridging the distance between us
This week’s storyteller is Sally.When Sally’s parents both became ill and dependent on others, Sally resisted the pressure to turn her life upside down and go home to help. She tells us about the struggle to help from a distance and relieve the load on family who stayed nearby. At the young age of 49, […]
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Helping our parents to feel that they’re not a burden
We’re bound to feel frustrated with our parents sometimes, but do we want them to feel eternally grateful to us? You’ve given up yet another Sunday to spend it in A&E with a parent. Your partner’s come too, and between you you’ve been running errands all afternoon – driving off to your parent’s house to […]
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Coming home – or at least nearby
This week’s storyteller has chosen to be anonymous.When’s the right time to move a parent to be close to you? Does removing some parental challenges mean introducing new ones? My mum is a healthy lady in her early 70s. She and dad moved away from our home town some years ago, building a full and […]
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I can’t believe you said that
Remember when you hit that age in your teens when overnight your parents seemed to become excruciatingly embarrassing? You didn’t want to be seen in their space because you never knew when they would next say something truly toe-curling? Well here’s some news for you. It could be about to happen again. Here are two […]
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Review: The Hilton on Park Lane
Written by Kathy Lawrence We’re always looking for opportunities for families to enjoy time together, so when the Hilton on Park Lane invited us to see what’s on offer for the “silver” generation, we went armed with a list of questions but prepared to enjoy. Our review looks separately at Afternoon Tea and overnight stays. […]
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How can retailers become truly dementia-friendly?
Written by Kathy Lawrence Simple changes can make navigating and enjoying the shopping and eating out experience much easier for those with dementia. Shops, restaurants and community spaces regularly do an excellent job in signposting the way to the toilets in their buildings. But how about signposting the way out as well? Dementia expert Prof […]
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Christmas gift guide for older parents and grandparents
Here are a few ideas to help you choose seasonal presents for your older friends and relatives. Check out our 2023 gift guide for seniors for the latest suggestions. In our Christmas gifts list for 2015 we’ve asked for ideas for the over 70s. We know that’s a hugely diverse audience with different tastes and […]
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Top tips for keeping the scammers out
Scamming seems to be a growth industry and the techniques that scammers use can be overt or subtle. Shân Hughes provides a roundup of advice that you can pass on to older members of the family to keep them safe both in their home and online. And she offers some pointers to getting trusted help […]
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Mother’s Day gifts for grandma 2015
Flowers, chocolates, fragrances – there are plenty of traditional presents for mums on Mother’s Day. If you’re looking for something different for a mum who’s hit retirement age here are a few suggestions. Story of their lives Our parents have lived through interesting times, from the Second World War through austerity and the white heat […]
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