What the papers said in the week ending 8 July 2023
Values:
Following on from the loss of local banks, post offices, hospitals, schools and libraries, we are now faced with the loss of ticket offices from railway stations. We are not comfortable with this. There is a need for services for people: Plans for mass closure of railway ticket offices in England confirmed | Rail industry | The Guardian
- ‘No country for old people’: readers on losing England’s rail ticket offices | Rail transport | The Guardian
- Ticket office closures: bad for rail staff, bad for passengers | Rail industry | The Guardian
- ‘There’s nothing like face to face’: Darlington reacts to ticket office closures | Rail transport | The Guardian
The value of libraries and these other services goes well beyond £ s d: Study finds English libraries generate at least £3.4bn in yearly value | Books | The Guardian
Seventy five years of the NHS is celebrated – but we fear for its future: Seven in 10 people believe charges for NHS care are on the way | NHS | The Guardian
- Tories, hear this: the public still believes in the NHS on its 75th birthday – and we know you don’t | Polly Toynbee | The Guardian
- Austerity has led to NHS quality of care declining in key areas, study finds | NHS | The Guardian
- 2018–2027: The eighth decade | Nuffield Trust
- To save the NHS, listen to GPs and patients | NHS at 75 | The Guardian
The weather:
The environment has changed and puts us under additional stress: Rain forecast for parts of UK after hottest June on record | UK weather | The Guardian
Sad to read that our government may be seeking to opt out of its commitment to combat the hazards of these changes: Revealed: UK plans to drop flagship £11.6bn climate pledge | Climate crisis | The Guardian
Health matters:
Changes in health and illness patterns are evident especially amongst older people, and relate to chosen life-styles:
- Lung cancer diagnoses of UK women to outnumber men’s for first time | Lung cancer | The Guardian
- Skin cancer cases reach record high in UK with sharp rise among older adults | Cancer | The Guardian
Alzheimer’s disease remains a major preoccupation. Is there realistic hope of help from medications? People with Alzheimer’s urged to follow Fiona Phillips and join drug trials | Alzheimer’s | The Guardian
A good night’s sleep seems likely to be more feasible: Middle-aged people ‘need sleep to see mental health benefits of exercise’ | Memory | The Guardian
And living with dementia has possibilities: Fiona Phillips is right: life needn’t end with dementia. In my case, it rid me of my fear | Wendy Mitchell | The Guardian
The debate about assisted dying continues: Assisted dying – not for wimps, but right for us | Assisted dying | The Guardian
Modes of disposal of mortal remains are open to discussion: ‘Boil in the bag’ environmentally friendly funerals arrive in the UK | Death and dying | The Guardian
Sad to read that Captain Tom’s legacy has run into stormy water: Capt Tom Foundation closes to donations as council orders building demolition | Captain Tom Moore | The Guardian
Then and now:
There have been massive advances in 100 years: Virtual reality and a ‘snail fossil’ meet in clash of old and new at Royal Society | Science | The Guardian
Orkney is looking to its past to escape the present: Orkney could leave UK for Norway as it explores ‘alternative governance’ | Scotland | The Guardian
More on our early years: Youth hostels gave me my first taste of freedom | Travel | The Guardian
A defence of saving precious moments: Keeping ‘stuff’ is not necessarily hoarding | Waste | The Guardian
The end of the line for a favourite car: Ford Fiesta: production ends of UK’s all-time bestselling car | Ford | The Guardian
Grim reality:
Councils cannot pay for necessary services Local councils in England at risk of insolvency over £3bn funding black hole | Local politics | The Guardian
The pandemic left many older people much worse off: Older UK workers who retired early in pandemic were ‘forced into poverty’ | Coronavirus | The Guardian
Poorer people are being excluded from electricity and gas supplies: Ofgem records big rise in households with prepayment meters being cut off | Energy bills | The Guardian
Christianity:
An aside from the Archbishop of York has raised interest and potential conflict: Lord’s Prayer opening may be ‘problematic’, says archbishop | Anglicanism | The Guardian
David Jolley. Chair of Christians on Ageing, in a personal capacity.
