Self-help advice for the over-50s

THIS is addressed to everyone over the age of 50.

You know that you have been, and are still being treated very badly by successive governments and politicians, yet the majority of you will not lift a finger to help yourselves.

Even worse, you refuse to do anything to support the declining number of individuals who devote themselves to fighting for you.

Many pensioner groups and forums have closed during the past few years, and more are closing due to your 'if you achieve anything for me I will take it but I am not going to help' attitude.

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There are still groups manned by a declining few who because of their ages and failing health desperately want to stand down, but cannot find replacements, so they continue on long after they should, to prevent their group or forum from closing.

They allow their family life and homes to suffer because of the time they spend on trying to improve your lives, yet do not expect thanks but would appreciate your support.

Unless a group or forum has a membership of several hundred they can and will be ignored, and then members leave because 'you are not achieving anything' but do not volunteer to actually do anything that could help while still a member.

Even the offer of free membership does not encourage the thousands of eligible older people from taking active parts in their group or forum, but these people are only too quick to point the finger at any perceived error or failure.

A lot of groups will ask for a £5 annual membership fee; one has the cheek to ask £12 per year (23p per week) to cover the costs of producing minutes of meetings, hiring meeting places, printing and stationery and all the other expenses, and even this seems to be asking too much of the missing multitude of older people.

Perhaps you want to exist on just about the lowest state pension in any European country, have to go cap in hand for means-tested benefits just to exist; quite happy to have to sell your home to pay for nursing care; be penalised should you have savings in a bank; have to rely on friends and family to look after you; and at the moment you may feel that you do not need to worry because you are still healthy and capable of looking after yourself.

But beware, your good health may deteriorate as you get older and then you will be dependent on others and a good National Health Service and then discover that no-one wants to help and the NHS is a completely different service to what it is today. So now is the time you should get involved.

After you have read this article please think very carefully whether you should get stuck in and lend a hand before it is too late.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill 'Never before has so much been owed by so many to so few'.

For further information call Tom Williams, 01752 350498 or email tomag42@hotmail.co.uk.

TOM WILLIAMS

Via email