Francene - Views on news
  • BLOG
  • About
  • Contact

 “Let's grow old together”.

9/10/2015

5 Comments

 
 The saying 'Let's grow old together' is often depicted in movies and books as the epitome of happiness and love between a man and a woman. But what is the reality?

Switzerland was judged as the best place in the world to grow old, just ahead of Norway, Sweden and Germany. The UK entered the top 10 in the rankings for the first time just behind the United States.

A professor of the Centre for Research on Ageing at Southampton University, who led the development of the Index, said it is vital to compare not just people's pension income and health but also the age friendly environments in which they live. However, a number of countries still lack critical statistics of older people which should be included in a future report.

The annual Global AgeWatch Index, compiled by an alliance of charities using international data, singled out studies consistently showing that one in 10 older people in the UK describe themselves as being lonely often or all of the time. Source: The Telegraph. 

My father, who travelled to China when it opened its borders to foreign visitors in the 80s, brought back an impression of the ideal scenario for ageing people. Every adult had a job—some elderly people looked after children, others swept the streets. And, of course, parents lived with their family.

Sadly, that doesn't happen in most households in the western society. Our parents are put into homes for the elderly as soon as they become a burden. And there they sit, lonely and abandoned.
PictureStatue - en.wikipedia.org
 The genius in the lyrics of the song Eleanor Rigby shows loneliness and depression representing a departure from the Beatle’s early pop love songs. Here is an excerpt:

Beatles – Eleanor Rigby Lyrics

Ah look at all the lonely people
Ah look at all the lonely people
~
Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
In the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face
That she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for
~
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong? ...

Two theories about her face in a jar by the door are:

1) She doesn't express emotion because she never sees anyone.

2) She only puts on her make-up when she leaves the house.

In the song, the pastor mends his socks although no-one will see them.

And what of me? Born in Australia 73 years ago, I live with my husband in England. Our remaining children are scattered around the world. At least we have each other. We've grown old together. ...

What is your situation?





5 Comments
Alana link
9/10/2015 03:17:24 am

A sneaky (but nice) way to learn about your readers, Francene. I live with my husband of 41 years in a house near a village in upstate NY of about 15,000 people. My mother in law and brother in law are a couple of miles away. My son is about 20 miles away. I hope very much I can grow old together with my husband.

Reply
Roshan R link
9/10/2015 05:38:26 am

Doctor. In India. Still searching for that elusive soulmate even after 34 summers have passed me by... hope remains though :)

Reply
Bethany L. link
9/10/2015 08:36:36 am

Newlywed (two months!) living with my hubs. Hoping to grow old together. Will value every year i have with this guy.

Reply
Corinne Rodrigues link
9/10/2015 09:41:00 am

Such a haunting song, Francene.
Married at 41 (me) and 51 (my husband), we've been married 9 years - no kids. My husband has no immediate family. We now live very close to mine.

Reply
Nick #thisyearinmusic link
9/10/2015 10:29:18 am

I will be married two year in October. My family live in the South. My wife's family live in the North. She has a few brothers and one lives in London, but we never see him as we're West and he's East.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Francene Stanley
    From England, I use news items in my novels which you can see below, all linked to an Amazon near you.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    Categories
    news
    earth
    sea
    space
    environment
    people
    animals
    fish
    birds 

    experience 
    writing
    novels

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.