June 2007: <<< back to Downloads
In this issue:
Work – do we want to, do we have to, can we, should we? Questions about later life employment are wide ranging and, as the media and society as a whole are starting to realise, they won’t go away. Want or need is perhaps the most fundamental issue and this week research (from a Scottish Widows survey) underlined that many have no choice. It showed, to quote a Daily Mail headline, that due to lack of savings and pension provision, ‘Two thirds of women face poverty in old age’. Scandalous? Yes. Scaremongering? No. Regrettably, probably true. And, despite what some imply, it isn’t because women have been frittering away their money on shoes.
When asked to comment on the story on BBC Radio Cleveland, we pointed out that the situation has arisen largely from rapid demographical change resulting in the fact that for the first time we can now routinely expect to live 20 – 30 years past traditional retirement dates. However, other newly emergent factors also play a part, such as the increased financial responsibilities of midlifers who may have to make provision for parents and older relatives while still financing children’s university fees and getting them on the housing ladder. Family breakdown is also a big unforeseen issue, with the number of divorces being the highest in the 50+ age group.
Overall, society and pensions systems are just not set up for women to take career breaks to care for children and this is reflected in the types of jobs and lower remuneration that women often have to settle for. And then there’s human nature. Growing old is new to every individual, and we somehow think it won’t happen to us. But, it’s never too late to make changes and we shouldn’t be too swayed or dismayed by the media extremes of the highly affluent 'Saga generation' with pots of money at one end of the spectrum and the impoverished, lonely people with no prospects at the other.
If you’re one of those (male or female) who falls somewhere in the middle, you may take heart from a new report from Birmingham Midshires which showed that although more than a third of the UK workforce over 55 expect to work past 65, almost half will do so for the social interaction and fulfilment it provides, rather than just for financial reasons.
Work and its implications is a big issue with no single solution. Here at in my prime we aim to keep you up to date with some of the latest research and thinking.
Next month, our first in my prime book will be published: Primetastic! - 50 tips for life when you’re over 50. It’s a distillation of what we believe are some of the most important principles we need to remember to become the people we want to be. Not just ‘good for our age’, but Primetastic!
In fifty, bite-sized, practical tips Primestastic! encourages everyone in their prime to:
After all, this is the age to push the boundaries, live life to the full, and do all those things you’ve always wanted to do. This is a time for a relaxed, confident, assertive you.
Rethinking your life can be as wide-ranging as a new career or relationship, revamping your appearance or simply embarking upon a new hobby or holiday; the choice is yours. Primetastic! is here to help – re-defining what you should expect of yourself at this age and challenging you to make the most of today’s unique and exciting opportunities, whilst planning for a happy and fulfilling future.
Primetastic! will be published in July by Phosphorous Press, price £7.99. Click here to place your order.
“Malcolm Gladwell, in his book The Tipping Point, analyses how some ideas, trends and behaviours cross a threshold, ‘tip’ and take off, spreading like wildfire before eventually becoming recognised as a ‘phenomenon’. Certainly in respect of the future workplace and the role of older workers, everything is increasingly moving towards such a tipping point, to an extent where before too long the majority of employers will be scratching their heads in puzzlement and wondering ‘Why didn’t we see this coming?’ “
To read more about how employers can generate competitive advantage through employing older workers click here to read the full text of our article published in the Daily Telegraph Business Club earlier this month.
You can’t have failed to miss all the publicity about the Zimmers - 40 old people (upper age 100) who were brought together by BBC documentary makers to record The Who's ‘My Generation’. We were even asked to comment on ‘life post retirement’ for the Yorkshire Post where we were at pains to explain that the in my prime age group isn’t the same generation as that of the Zimmermen (and women). Once again it got us thinking and some familiar themes emerged:
Still the sentiment’s a good one. Let’s all hope we die before we get old – in attitude that is.
Enterprising business owners over the age of 50 are being invited to celebrate their success by entering the ‘Silver Fox’ Award, sponsored by Yellow Pages directories, as part of the 2007 Startups Awards.
The ‘Silver Fox’ award is open to business owners who set up in business less than three years ago, are aged over 50, employ less than 60 people and have a story to inspire others. Judges will be looking for unique and innovative business ideas, along with evidence of commercial success and sheer bravery and determination. To enter, click here and request an entry pack. All entries must be received by July 13, 2007.
In the first of a new feature section we look at things it’s never too late to do. This month, we’re focusing on writing, where perhaps many of us feel that if we wanted to be a published writer, we’ve missed the boat. Far from it, writing – whatever your preferred style or genre is a great pastime to focus on when you’re in your prime. For a start, you very probably have more time than you had in previous years, and a wealth of experience and wisdom to draw upon (this may not need to be reflected in your writing, but you will need it to draw upon in terms of the frustrations and rejections writers must endure).
A great example for many years was the hugely bestselling Mary Wesley (The Camomile Lawn, etc) who published her first novel when she was 70 - and went on to write 9 more bestsellers before her death in 2002 at the age of 89.
In the past few months a couple of other prime examples have come to our attention. Mary Cavanagh from Oxford has just had her first novel, The Crowded Bed, published by Transita at the age of 60. Her success comes following a full life spent as wife and mother to two sons, with the latter twenty years spent working in medical management and administration. She says she ‘still wants to experience life as if she’s twenty-five’.
Carolyn Kirk, also 60. is a freelance journalist who had never entered a writing competition before and has gone on to become the winner of Blinking Eye’s first short story competition. Carolyn from Uppingham in Rutland beat over 750 entrants who had to be over 50, to win. First prize was to have a collection of short stories published and 100 copies of the book.
We’d love to hear of your successes, over 50, in writing and every other area. Contact us and tell us what you think it’s never to late to do.
Are you underwhelmed by office life? Fed up with the factory? Tired of the treadmill? It’s a common feeling once we’re 50 plus. It’s a period when we’re usually too young for retirement, but often find our working day lacks excitement, challenge and stimulation.We may find ourselves dreaming of a more challenging role in the great outdoors. Interesting, then, to come across the US website American Cowman, where Noel McNaughton, contributing editor of BEEF magazine, advises ranchers on how to regain their focus in midlife:
“Many ranchers, when they hit middle age, reach a point where they can hardly stand to look after cattle another day. I've heard it referred to as being ‘cowed out’. Some friends told me about a ranching couple in Montana who sometimes talked about divorce when they had a fight. They don't anymore, however, because neither is willing to take the cows!
Suddenly being sick of your job or business is a common symptom among midlife men, prompting some to quit their jobs, sell the ranch or otherwise ‘kick over the traces’. Once in their 60s and looking back, these folks sometimes realize they acted too hastily; all they really needed was some time away — a sabbatical. A few weeks might have done the trick, but a few months would have been better.” More >>>
A great article. It just goes to show that the problems of our age group, though wide ranging, are universal!
Austerity Britain 1945-51, by David Kynaston. Published by Bloomsbury.
‘Britain in 1945. No supermarkets, no teabags, no lager, central heating rare, chilblains common… Four Indian restaurants’ So starts the cover blurb for this, historian David Kynaston’s first book in a groundbreaking series New Jerusalem, which will tell the story of Britain from VE Day to the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979.
With chapter titles ranging from ‘We’re so short of everything’ to ‘Christ it’s bleeding cold’, this is a book to remind us that yes, we really never have had it so good. And, crossing the generations, you could buy it as a token of gratitude to parents for what they endured, or a great example for children of how it was for us, and how quickly life can change (not always for the better).
Most of us grew up during this period and, in Austerity Britain, the majority of us will recognise how deeply affected we have been by the culture and attitudes of that time. We will recognise many of our own experiences, both remembered and from our parents’ recollections, in the astonishing variety of voices of all classes and stature – known and unknown - who tell their stories. Deeply researched, often amusing and always intensely entertaining and readable, this ambitious book offers an entirely fresh perspective on Britain during those six momentous years.