What the papers said in the week ending 1 October 2022
Letters this week drew attention to a Long Read I had overlooked: We are treated to stories and reflections on calls to the ministry. All the major churches are short of recruits and more is required of lay people of all ages, but we do need professional support. We hope their training can include awareness of the strengths and needs of older people: Faith, hope and comedy on long spiritual journeys | Letters | The Guardian
Headlines have been dominated by the initiatives of the new UK government. These have not been well received on ethical or economic grounds: Thérèse Coffey scraps promised paper on health inequality | Thérèse Coffey | The Guardian
- ‘Out of control’: what the papers said about government handling of UK’s sterling crisis | Newspapers | The Guardian
- Bank of England in £65bn scramble to avert financial crisis | Bank of England | The Guardian
The media are preparing to offer comfort in these hard times: BBC to air ‘escapism’ and ‘resilience’ shows during cost of living crisis | BBC | The Guardian. Best not to dwell on reality.
Some suggestions of what might cut the cost of keeping warm are now being questioned: Hydrogen could ‘nearly double’ cost of heating a home compared with gas | Environment | The Guardian
Bizarre practices which waste time, money and fuel but add to pollution, continue in honour of inflexible contracts: Revealed: 5,000 empty ‘ghost flights’ in UK since 2019, data shows | Airline emissions | The Guardian
While most people care about the environment and nature, this is not translated into policy or action: Most UK adults think nature is in urgent need of protection – poll | Conservation | The Guardian
- Earth is under threat, yet you would scarcely know it | George Monbiot | The Guardian
- Perhaps the vegetation of the sea can be part of the answer: North Yorkshire puts seaweed at the heart of its carbon-negative ambitions | Carbon capture and storage (CCS) | The Guardian
- Some initiatives are being rewarded by swelling numbers of rare animals: Wolves and brown bears among wildlife making ‘exciting’ comeback in Europe | Rewilding | The Guardian
Exercise as good therapy and elevation of the spirits, is better understood and is changing lives, especially of women: ‘A sea of positivity’: older women boost London Marathon numbers | London Marathon | The Guardian
We have confirmation that low mood and a feeling of loneliness is associated with more rapid ageing (bringing forward death) – They do this more than smoking. Feeling depressed or lonely can age us faster than smoking, researchers say | Health | The Guardian
- Just being old can still be blamed for deaths, though there is usually some evidence of pathology as a deciding factor: Queen Elizabeth died of ‘old age’, death certificate says | Queen Elizabeth II | The Guardian
Health care:
There is continued complaint from patients that doctors are too busy to see them, while doctors complain that they are overworked. The doctor won’t see you now – the NHS is in crisis | Letters | The Guardian
- Neglect of the infrastructure of the NHS includes the roofs over our heads: Dangerous NHS England hospital roofs ‘will not be fixed until 2035’ | NHS | The Guardian
Enthusiasm for the announcement of a breakthrough in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease will be muted: we have hear it before, it is complicated and expensive treatment and comes with side effects Success of experimental Alzheimer’s drug hailed as ‘historic moment’ | Alzheimer’s | The Guardian
When all the modern facilities are failing, dog owners know that their pet will understand – and will offer tailored therapy in affection and exercise: Ruff day? Dogs can detect if people are stressed, research finds | Science | The Guardian
Other matters:
The hot summer drought may have reduced the slug population in gardens in some parts of thr country: Slug numbers appear to shrivel after UK heatwave | Invertebrates | The Guardian
In Prisons Week we are reminded that the UK has the largest prison population, rate per population in Europe. This includes many older men whose needs are difficult for the service to meet. Indefinite sentences ‘the greatest single stain on justice system’ | UK criminal justice | The Guardian
The war over Ukraine goes painfully on as Russia seeks to recruit from its populations and claims to have annexed parts of the Ukraine: Putin annexes four regions of Ukraine in major escalation of Russia’s war | Ukraine | The Guardian
David Jolley Chair of Christians on Ageing, in a personal capacity.
