retirement
Helping parents to avoid depression
Written by Kathy Lawrence With depression known to be a real risk in an ageing population, there are many ways that we can help our parents to keep active and independent to stave off the gloom. Our parents can become depressed for many reasons. Losing friends and loved ones is an obvious cause, but loneliness […]
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Practical projects bring people together in Men’s Sheds
Workshop spaces where people can work side by side on personal and community projects are growing fast around the country. Men’s Sheds are a great opportunity to share and learn new skills, enjoy new achievements and make new friends. What are Men’s Sheds? Men’s Sheds, or Men in Sheds, are opening up at more than […]
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How to enjoy the benefits of compost in your garden
Productive gardening is a joy for many reasons. But success depends greatly on the quality of the soil in which plants grow – and creating great compost is hard physical work. Or are there short-cuts that we can all use without that heavy spadework? The people at Mantis have provided this short guide. Gardening is […]
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How to make downsizing a good experience
Sarah Macnaught, founder of London-based home organising company Rightsize, shares her hints and tips for helping your parent decide what to keep, what to sell and what to give away when it comes moving their belongings from the family home. When downsizing becomes a pressing need for a parent, due to illness, bereavement, finances or […]
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Tips on making the move into care a little bit easier
Sometimes the move into care is carefully planned. Sometimes it happens in an emergency. We asked Sonia Hamilton-Martin of Worplesdon View Care Home for advice on how to make the process as pain free as possible. Making choices about favoured care/nursing homes before they’re needed, if they’re needed, means that in an emergency everyone knows […]
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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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What to put on your bucket list?
Written by Kathy Lawrence Lists of inspiring things to do in a lifetime become hugely popular. A survey asked older people what they would suggest for their younger family and friends. Here’s their top 20. Who better to take bucket list advice from than those who are now retired and living out their aspirations or […]
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Fresh ideas on balancing work and eldercare
Written by Rebecca Lenton Women in their 50s and 60s are working longer whilst taking the lion’s share of care for ageing family members. As career opportunities begin to slim with care responsibilities often over spilling into working hours it’s clear that older women can have a tough time of it in the work place […]
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