What the papers said in the week ending 14 August 2021
Christians on Ageing has a long-established interest in the welfare and spiritual care of older prisoners. It is sobering this week to read accounts and additional comments about the state of UK prisoners and the experiences of their residents of all ages. A population of 78,000 (twice the rate per population as was the case when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, several times the rate in most European countries) saw 396 deaths in the 12 months to June 2021. The men (95% of the prison population) are old at 50. Surely we can do better than this. The reform of prisons has been my life’s work, but they are still utterly broken | Frances Crook | The Guardian
As sobering but on a global scale is the report from the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Control) which predicts further escalation of the extremes of weather we are seeing. Human activity has contributed to this change and we are asked to modify what we do: World’s climate scientists to issue stark warning over global heating threat | Climate change | The Guardian
- The IPCC report is clear: nothing short of transforming society will avert catastrophe | Patrick Vallance | The Guardian
- George Monbiot urges us to preserve established old organisms and not rush to replace them: The gift we should give to the living world? Time, and lots of it | George Monbiot | The Guardian
- A similar message comes from studies of many different animal groups – wisdom developed over generations cannot be easily regenerated if it is lost Culture shock: how loss of animals’ shared knowledge threatens their survival | Conservation | The Guardian
One has to think the same applies to human kind
Amongst the strengths developed within cultures over centuries is the routine of spending time together simply to chat and share stories and reviews of the day and more.
- The Mayor of Algar has applied to Unesco for recognition of this practice with World Heritage status Spanish village seeks Unesco world heritage status for outdoor chats | Spain | The Guardian
- Sardinian villagers live long lives working to the same prescription: ‘If you talk, you live well’: the remote Sardinian village with eight centenarians | Italy | The Guardian
- Arguments to retain and use ‘dead’ languages add support to this appreciation of gifts from our heritage: Why the Latin language is still alive | Letters | The Guardian
- Museums are no longer stuffy places of dry exhibits – They are presenting interactive experiences of lives of the past: Tea, sweat and whale poop: museum sniffs out history of London’s docks | Museums | The Guardian
‘Flying feminist’ Lilian Bland celebrated in new exhibition | Museums | The Guardian
Issues of age:
Historic studies of mental health link suicide of older people to poverty and mental illness: Insanity the common verdict on suicides in 18th century England | Ageing | The Guardian
Grandparents deprived of contact with their young grandchildren by the pandemic and lockdowns are offered comfort by bags of rice weight-matched for the infants and decorated with photographs of the child Rice, rice baby: Japanese parents send relatives rice to hug in lieu of newborns | Japan | The Guardian
Early death amongst women is linked to shrinkage of stature during middle age: Study links women’s middle-age height loss with greater risk of death | Medical research | The Guardian
Increased girth in middle age and later life has been shown not to be due to a change of metabolic rate – but comes from eating too much Energy to burn: teenage metabolism rate similar to adults’, says study | Medical research | The Guardian
Many people retain their appetite for life and activities: these has been an increased number of marriages of people aged 65 and more. This often works out well: ‘Getting married rejuvenated me’: the over-65s tying the knot | Marriage | The Guardian
Deterioration in relationships was less common amongst older people (12%) than young adults (35%) Fifth of UK adults had a relationship breakdown during Covid, study finds | Coronavirus | The Guardian
Tony Bennett has been advised to cease live performances – five years into dementia and aged 95 Tony Bennett, 95, retires from live shows on doctors’ orders | Tony Bennett | The Guardian
John (Frank) Smith pursued his favourite pastime of hill-walking until the very end Body of missing hillwalker, 84, found in Scottish Highlands | Scotland | The Guardian
Covid: consequences and considerations
While new cases and deaths from Covid-19 continue, health care resources have been drawn to deal with this crisis, consequently needs arising from other pathologies are not being met. It will take time and additional resource to catch up: Almost 1.2m people waiting at least six months for vital NHS services in England | NHS | The Guardian
- The problems are not confined to health care. People of every sort of vulnerability have been damaged by the extra stress Revealed: England’s pandemic crisis of child abuse, neglect and poverty | Social care | The Guardian
We are urged to take a world view on the use of vaccines and other approaches to containing the pandemic. Approaches to squeeze the virus even more securely in the UK and other rich countries would deny others the sort of protection we already have: Booster jabs for rich countries will cause more deaths worldwide, say experts | Vaccines and immunisation | The Guardian
Other matters:
We learn of the strange world of money: Gavin Woodhouse is accused of having become rich at the expense of others by dealing in finance with no substance. His interests included care homes SFO launches investigation into Gavin Woodhouse over suspected fraud | Serious Fraud Office | The Guardian
Advances in the use of brain scans can add to understanding of dementia. The techniques have value in research but the prospect of their application clinically on a global, or even a national scale should be tempered Artificial intelligence could be used to diagnose dementia | Dementia | The Guardian
During this week we have lost Una Stubbs who has brought joy to many as we have aged together
David Jolley
