New Job - Area Network and Volunteer Manager, London

That's right, we're looking for an organised self-starter to manage, recruit and develop a network of Independent Age volunteers in the London area. In this role, you'll help our volunteers better support the older people we work with, while promoting Independent Age's activities and raising funds for the charity. If you're curious and want to know more, visit our jobs page for a full job description and details on how to apply.

If Nanna Henderson can remember the sugar...

a Thrifty Kitchen update by Rebecca Law

Journalist Ian Gilbert’s maternal grandmother, Josephine Henderson (“Nanna”), raised a family through wartime rationing and post-war austerity, and the thought of buying preserves would have been anathema to her. And so it was that Ian came to inherit her wonderful – and wonderfully simple – recipe for lemon curd. “It’s dead easy,” explains Ian in his intro to the recipe for this lemon curd, which he contributed to our Independent Age cookbook, The Thrifty Kitchen.

And so, armed with confidence in abundance, the two of us headed off to this weekend’s Food and Wine Festival at Oxford Castle ready for our next foray into the international world of cookery demonstrations.

While Ian busied himself making Peter Gordon’s hot-smoked salmon fishcakes, I, as his faithful assistant, was left with the simple task of stirring the lemon curd - the ingredients of which were neatly perched on top of a gently bubbling bain marie. But something was afoot and what should have been metamorphosing into a velvety smooth lemony mixture was more akin to cottage cheese. Alas, as it dawned on us that the pre-measured 300g of sugar required for this recipe were still neatly sitting in their glass bowl on the work bench, we realised that we had just taught our audience how to make that traditional favourite: lemon scrambled eggs. Yum.

We may not have been Fanny and Johnny, but the performance was still enough to encourage a number of the audience to buy our book and to pledge to hold a Big Tea. And just for the record, the lemon curd is great, just so long as you listen to “Nanna”.

Thanks, too, to Harriet Steele who did a great job of manning our stall for the day...and juggling lemons.

Susanne O'Leary reading in Co. Carlow, Ireland

Bestselling author Susanne O'Leary will read from and sign copies of her latest novel, Swedish for Beginners, at historic Huntington Castle, Clonegal, Co. Carlow, Ireland, on 28 September at 5pm.

There will also be a wine talk and tasting events by Tindal Wines. Tickets are €15 at the door and proceeds go to benefit Independent Age.

Email Frances Galloway for more information, or to purchase tickets.

Good to grumble?

Today's story on people failing to act on the early signs of rheumatoid arthritis is sadly unsurprising. Pain experienced when we are young is rarely accepted as something ‘normal’, but there is a worrying tendency for some older people to assume that a degree of pain is an inevitable part of the ageing process. This, however, is simply not the case.

In our experience as an older people’s charity we have come across a “mustn’t grumble” attitude among a number of those we support, forcing us to ask why it is sometimes considered acceptable to suffer? Does this acceptance come as a result of negative attitudes towards ageing in our society, and a feeling that older age automatically means death and decline? And what are the consequences?

Over half of our beneficiaries endure pain on a daily basis, which has an inevitable impact on their quality of life. It is worth considering whether a proportion of the vast numbers of older people currently failing to claim their benefits and entitlements, view their own disability as a natural limitation accompanying older age, and not something which entitles them to any help.

There is a broad expectation that the generation of baby boomers will expect more from their later years. But in order for this to happen they must not only challenge negative attitudes about the type of life they can expect to lead, but the type of life they will be able to lead. We must address our current versions of what is natural and what is not.

Young at heart

After reading the results of the latest study on older people and physical activity published in the British Medical Journal and appearing in the Daily Mail today, we can safely say that the findings are unsurprising. The news that staying active is good for you is nothing new, and it makes sense that building and maintaining strength and mobility helps to prevent falls and guard against ill-health. The issue is that many people don’t realise it’s never too late to get started. Older age doesn’t have to mean decline. At Independent Age we’ve met people in their nineties who push their physical boundaries to the limit. From sky-diving and pole-dancing to Tai Chi and gardening, those we support remind us there’s always a way to stay young at heart.

Some older people may feel that when arthritis and other ailments take hold, exercise is no longer for them. But gentle activity can make the biggest difference to those who believe they’re least able. Its benefits extend beyond the physical – it’s a great excuse to get out and about and meet new people, helping to combat the isolation and loneliness that can be so common amongst older people.

Big Society: what does it all add up to?

By Simon Bottery, Director of Fundraising, Policy and Communications

I only narrowly passed my Maths GCSE but for some reason I think the Cameron concept of 'Big Society' is best framed as an equation:

Volunteers +Carers x (Third Sector + state - (inefficiency+bureaucracy)) = Big Society.

For the non-mathematicians (including me) this translates as:

Big Society is the combined activities of unpaid volunteers and carers, multiplied by the actions of government and the third sector, minus their inefficiencies and bureaucracy.

I think Cameron would definitely have the equation this way around, with the actions of volunteers and carers coming first and the role of the state and the formal third sector coming second. And I think he would see the main role of the formal third sector (the bit that gets paid to be here) as a multiplier (perhaps magnifier or even facilitator would be a better word) of volunteer and carer activities, rather than as a provider of fully paid-for, contracted services like the corporate sector.

I think he shares the view of much of middle England that there is a lot of inefficiency and bureaucracy in the state sector (and perhaps in the charity sector too. We wouldn’t seriously argue with this, would we? Would we?).

A critical issue might be whether he sees the government 'x' as a big multiplier or a small one. How much positive effect does government really have on the activities of volunteers and carers? Doubling their output? Trebling it? Increasing it by only a small percentage? Is it in fact more of a brake than a boost, detracting from their effort (volunteers + carers x third sector - state = big society).

We hope to do some work on what the Big Society might mean for older people in particular in the coming months and are looking for partners. If you’re interested, let me know.

Council cost-saving leaves older people in the dark

Reports of a worrying new practice by local councils emerged today, revealing attempts to save costs by switching off or dimming street lights. This practice ignores the needs of older people in local communities, as do the comments of Matthew Lugg, Leicestershire County Council's Transport Director - that crime will not increase because, 'even criminals need lights to see what they are nicking'.

Not only are these moves of serious practical concern to those with visual impairments, disabilities or at risk of falling, but research shows that large numbers of older people are already fearful in their local communities, and avoid going out at as much as they would like, particularly in darkness. Reducing street lighting to an even greater extent will only enhance this fear. Good lighting is essential to enabling older people, many of whom are already at risk of social isolation, to get out and about in their local area.

Read more from the Daily Mail.

stock photo by sarka_s from www.sxc.hu