Hello Alive & Twitching,

We’re working with TalkTalk to help them connect with the UK’s 50 plus communities online.

In the run up to Christmas, perhaps the last thing anyone thinks about is internet speed – until Christmas morning and someone unwraps a brand new box or tries to use Skype video.
This year, it’s estimated that 16 million devices will be connected on Christmas morning.

We have some tips to share that can help:

One of TalkTalk’s BrightSpark engineers, a guy called Isaac, came up with a list of 6 simple things anyone can do in their own home (even if they’re not a TalkTalk customer) to help improve their speed. It’s in the TalkTalk blog here http://www.talktalkblog.co.uk/2011/12/22/top-tips-for-improving-your-internet-connection-this-christmas/, there’s a video that can be downloaded http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVHHbJdRBPE&feature=colike .

Thank you

 Catherine

Equity release allows home owners aged 55 -95 to unlock money from their home, which can be spent in any way. Perhaps you fancy taking a holiday of a lifetime? Maybe your home and garden could undergo a make over? Or perhaps cash may just come in useful to help with every day bills and expenses? Whatever your circumstances, visit the Equity Release Warehouse and use their free online calculator to see how much you could release.

Equity Release Warehouse’s online calculator works by using your age, or your partner’s age if they younger than you, and your property value to calculate the typical amount you could release. An equity release calculator is a quick and simple way to see if equity release could improve your finances. What an equity release calculator does not bear in mind is your health and lifestyle. Enhanced equity release plans, which take into account your health and lifestyle choices, can see you release even more money from your home. It’s therefore vital to seek expert advice after using the an equity release calculator so you get the full picture on how much you could release. Luckily, Equity Release Warehouse understand how important expert advice is, so one of their team members will contact you after you have used the equity release calculator to talk you through your options.

There are different equity release schemes available to suit people’s individual circumstances. Lifetime mortgages allow you to release an amount of money by way of a debt which is secured against the value of your home. The older you are, the more money you will be able to release, which is why an equity release calculator will ask for your date of birth. Drawdown lifetime mortgages work in the same way as traditional lifetime mortgages, but you can take the money in stages as and when you require it. An equity release calculator can give you an idea of both lump sum and drawdown releases. Home Reversion plans work slightly differently, and see you sell all or part of your home in exchange for a cash lump sum. You can generally release more money in this way. Home Reversion releases can be more difficult to calculate and an equity release calculator may require further information from you.

To find out how much you could release, visit www.equityreleasewarehouse.co.uk and use their free online calculator. Equity Release Warehouse search the whole of the market to find you the best deal.

By Equity Release Warehouse.

The Abbeyfield Week takes place between 10th and 19th June. A blog has been set up ( http://abbeyfieldweek.co.uk) to provide relevant information.

If a relationship in your thirties or forties ends, it needs to be nothing more than that: the end of a relationship. It is the affair that has ended and not a licence or ability to date.

There is a pressure – not just on the young, but on us lot too – to conform to social expectations. For us, this sometimes seems to involve a range of life insurance ads, a pleasant garden and a pair of slippers.

It’s a tragedy that we consider those who aren’t in the full bloom of youth as society’s extras; as peripheral persons, excluded from the joys of love and heartbreak. We want in too: with all our knowledge, wisdom and experience, over 50s are prime candidates for the dating circuit. Both parties can pay their way too, and dates don’t need to scrape the barrel of a student union bar. When you’re in your 50s, your pockets go a little deeper: you know good wine, good food, and where to go and get it.

Thankfully, we more senior members of society are being recognised and there are a number of websites available that cater for a more mature audience. Yoursdating caters for over 50s dating and makes that age bracket its focus; but nobody’s limited to their age group. A second soulmate in your later years, when your tastes have changed and your outlook on life is a calmer one, can be a recipe for lifelong companionship.

Since retiring, I have prepared a list of plans or resolutions each December to be implemented the following year. When I started this process, my lists were far too long and ambitious. Experience taught me to be realistic and now the lists are restricted to no more than ten items. Several of these are repeated each year and some are one-offs. The former category includes the following:

• To keep fit by exercising on average for at least 30 minutes, 5 days a week, unless unwell or on holiday. (Most of my exercise comprises brisk walks or strenuous gardening.)
• To read at least 15 books.
• To watch at least 60 films. (The vast majority of these will be on DVD. I use an online rental scheme.)
• To keep to my calendar of gardening jobs. (The preparation of the calendar itself was a new year’s resolution.)
• To cook dinner on average at least once a week, except when on holiday. (I know. This is not particularly impressive but it gets me Brownie points and, in any event, I am fortunate to be married to a good cook.) 

There is, of course, little point in making plans unless one keeps to them. I therefore review progress with mine periodically to try to ensure that I stick with them. I have never achieved a 100% success rate but generally fulfill the majority of them. Last year, for example, I substantially met or exceeded my targets in 8 of the 10 items on my list.

So, if you think you are tending to drift rather aimlessly in life, now is the time to sort things out.

Finally, I wish all my readers a happy and peaceful 2011.

Despite tremendous continuing research, most types of hearing loss are irreversible and can only be helped by modern amplified technology. This means that once the hearing loss has occurred, the body is unable on its own to bring the hearing levels to normal. The solution which is offered by hearing health-care providers includes a number of aids often referred to as Assistive Listening Devices or ALDs. Their goal is to help the hearing impaired overcome their hearing loss by providing amplified aids.

Here is a guide to the various aids which may help you if you suffer from hearing loss.

Hearing aids – Available privately or via the NHS, hearing aids are the most popular group of ALDs. These micro engineered marvels can amplify external sound and are useful in almost any situation. They work by replacing the work of damaged hair cells within the human ear.

Amplified telephones – Telephones are by far the most popular communication tool and one which a hearing impaired person will struggle to use. Often the ringer is insufficiently loud or the sound of the person at the other end is not clear or loud enough. Amplified telephones overcome these limitations by including typical amplification levels of up to 50dB (against 8dB or 10dB for a standard telephone) and adjustable receiving tone control.

Portable telephone amplifier – While amplified phones are great at the office or at home, they are not always easy to carry around. In addition, some people want to keep their existing telephone, but find the ringer insufficient. The solution is a portable telephone amplifier that can affix to the handset of most phones and amplify the sound of the person on the other end.

Extra loud alarm clocks – ALDs include a number of loud alarm clocks which are loud, vibrating and some even include flashing lights to give you a complete sensory wake up call. These are so effective that they are used not only by the hard of hearing but also by many a deep sleeper. They include alarm clocks and doorbells, some are even hearing aid compatible.

If you suspect that you suffer from hearing loss, talk to your local GP or health centre to get your hearing checked. It is important to investigate the reason for your hearing loss, so you are given the best possible solutions.

Guide by hearing aids sellers, Hearing Direct.

With this in mind, I was interested to read that a Senior Playground was officially opened in Hyde Park on 19th May. It contains six items of equipment to provide gentle forms of exercise for the over-60s. These include a cross-trainer, an exercise bike, a bench for sit-ups, a walking machine and two machines for improving flexibility. Alas, no swings. The hope is that older people will use the facility not only for exercise and a bit of fun, but also to socialise. Although it is intended for retired people, only the under-15s are specifically barred from using it. I suspect that vanity will deter younger adults from doing so.

Although this is the first such facility in London, one opened in Manchester in February 2008. The trend was apparently started in China and Japan. The photograph with this blog is of an outdoor gym for senior citizensa in Beijing.  

There are, in addition, an increasing number of outdoor gyms to be found in public parks in various locations in the UK. There is nothing to stop older people from using those, other than possibly their level of fitness.

Anything that encourages older people to exercise is to be welcomed. There is a growing amount of research that indicates that regular exercise is beneficial not only for one’s physical health and fitness but also for one’s mental health. See also my blog of 22nd January 2008 entitled Physical exercise during retirement.

Subject:  Britain’s population time-bomb?

The challenges and opportunities of an ageing society

Date: 16 June 2009

Venue: Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), London SW7 2AR

Tickets: £10 / £7 RGS-IBG members

Book online (www.rgs.org/whatson) or call 0207 591 3100

Panel:  Rosie Winterton MP – Minister of State for Pensions and the Ageing      Society

              George Magnus – author of The Age of Ageing (2009)

Chair:  Samira Ahmed – Channel 4 News presenter

Synopsis:  Britain’s 17 million baby boomers are fast approaching retirement age, with over 65′s now outnumbering under 16′s for the first time. What are the challenges and opportunities that this presents Britain?

Join the expert panel to explore issues such as the changing nature of retirement; the importance of older people in the workforce; the pressures on public services; and how Britain is adapting to an ageing society.

Full details: http://www.21stcenturychallenges.org