An unlikely relationship with poetry?

While Jim has enthusiastically written verse over the years, he admits he’s never been particularly committed to reading poetry, however acclaimed the writer might be. Jim was an evacuee during the Second World War, and while some classes were held in the nearby grammar school, he says he had a sparse wartime education, with no conventional English classes that would have introduced him to poetry in a formal sense, beyond a bit of Shakespeare.

Despite this, Jim and his fellow students were asked to produce poetry of their own, allowing them to be creative with rhymes. Jim isn’t entirely sure when poetry re-entered his life, but he thinks it might be when he had young children of his own who’d bring nursery rhymes back from school to read at home. When they did, Jim would take the opportunity to write versions of his own, replicating their metre, often with his tongue in his cheek.

At Christmas time, for example, he’d pen lines like ‘Jingle Bells / Jingle Bells / Santa’s on his way / But you can’t hear him in his new electric sleigh’, much to the amusement of his children.

“That might sound strange or silly as a way of writing,” suggests Jim, “but that’s what I did, and how my interest developed.”

Over the years, Jim has immortalised many events and family celebrations in verse – from the birth of his grandchildren to landmark birthdays. On his wife Daphne’s 90th birthday, for instance, Jim produced the following affectionate ode to the woman he’s now been married to for 75 years.

Source link

The post Poetry and emotion | Discover first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

• Click here to complete the survey online
• Call 029 2043 1555 for a paper copy of the survey, in English or Welsh and return via our freepost address: Age Cymru, FREEPOST RTZG-JHGC-RYJJ, Ground Floor, Mariners House, Age Cymru, Trident Court, East Moors Road, CARDIFF CF24 5TD

The post National survey of the current experiences of people aged 50 or over in Wales first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

The post Cylchlythyr y Comisiynydd: Chwefror 2026 // Commissioner’s Newsletter: February 2026 first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

If any members wish to make comments, they can do so in the following ways:

• Using the online portal https://valeofglamorgan.oc2.uk
• Downloading and completing a fillable consultation form, which can be found here https://valeofglamorgan.oc2.uk/docfiles/63/Deposit%20Consultation%20Form%20-%20ENG%20with%20text%20and%20check%20boxes.pdf  Completed forms can be emailed to LDP@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
• Sending us an email to the above address
• Filling in the hard copy of the form and returning it to Planning Policy, Vale of Glamorgan Council, Civic Offices, Holton Road, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, CF63 4RU
• Sending us a letter to Planning Policy, Vale of Glamorgan Council, Civic Offices, Holton Road, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, CF63 4RU.

All submissions must include a full name and either an email or postal address in order for them to be accepted.

The post V50+SF Housing focus grp. coffee morning first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

– Access to Carers Assessments needs to be improved and the numbers undertaken increased substantially

– Where services are required to support carers they should be provided without constraints

– The resources available to Councils to support Unpaid Carers is woefully insufficient and in future should be increased and “ring fenced” in budget allocations

– Kinship Carers often miss out on support and responses to their needs should be included directly in the new Strategy

– Young Carers must be identified and helped at an early stage so that they do not miss out on education and social interaction

– The Carers Allowance must be reformed and the “cliff edge” for hours worked made more flexible/transparent.

Grateful if you could consider and comment, particularly if you are an Unpaid Carer and can give examples of what is needed

draft-national-strategy-for-unpaid-carers-2026-consultation-document-2-26 draft-national-strategy-for-unpaid-carers-2026-02-03

The post National Carers Strategy first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

We are pleased to attach a copy of our submission to the Casey Commission – Independent Commission on Adult Social Care (England) https://caseycommission.co.uk/

The paper draws from the Ageism SIG online event held in December, and discussions with experts and input from the Steering Group, under the lead authorship of Dr Melanie Henwood. We had a very constructive meeting last week with Casey Commission officials where we discussed our analysis and recommendations and will be continuing to engage with them.

Our recommendations include:

• The Commission should make an explicit commitment to anti-ageist policy and practice
• There should be better data collection and analysis to document the impact of social care policy and practice on different populations and cohorts
• Access to social care must never be based principally on age criteria
• There should be improvements in access to social work for older people who are currently less likely to be offered such input
• Information and advice for people navigating care and support needs to be much improved and not limited to signposting
• Any future reforms must be backed with clear and enforceable entitlements for people of all ages
• Innovation in models of care and support must accelerate and be developed with people who draw on services

Next steps – please help

We are now asking for ideas and evidence, from across the UK and internationally, to bring together a report that looks at how ageism in social care can be prevented and combatted. We are interested in examples of good practice and what works in services, support, and systems as well as practical ways to guard against ageism in policy development and implementation. Please contact us with your ideas, evidence, and suggestions of organisations and individuals that may be interested in contributing to this work.

With thanks and best wishes,

Heléna and Jane

Heléna Herklots CBE (Chair)

Jane Minter (Vice-Chair)

BSG Special Interest Group on Ageism

The post Ageism and Social Care – Submission to the Casey Commission first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

20260203 COPA Forum Representatives Meeting

The post Forum Representatives meeting 03/02/2026 first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion

• Mens Club 60+ – Hive Guys Community Hub presents Men’s Club – Hive Guys are the Vale Youth Service and in partnership with Glamorgan Voluntary Service (GVS) are providing a space for male community members over the age of 60 to meet and socialise. The elders men’s group meet every month at Buttrills Community Centre where community members can also enjoy free bread and soup along with hot and cold drinks.

Please share the attached posters with your networks.

The post The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

I wanted to begin by saying thank you for the support you gave last year in helping Age Cymru to meet with groups of older people as part of Welsh Government’s evaluation of progress around Age Friendly Communities . Those conversations were incredibly valuable and wouldn’t have been possible without your time and goodwill.

I’m getting in touch now to ask whether you might be able to help with a further piece of work, this time with Public Health Wales, rather than Age Cymru.

Claire Thompson and Sonia Khoury, who work on the Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme with Public Health Wales, are keen to speak with people aged 55 and over about their views and experiences of the vaccinations recommended by the NHS for older people. This is likely to be through focus groups, ideally via existing community groups, either in person or online, and would take place across Wales.

In particular, they’re keen to reach communities and groups where evidence suggests uptake of vaccination is lower, so they can better understand the barriers and motivators. The insights gathered will directly inform future vaccination information resources and communications.

If you’re aware of any local groups, networks, or forums that might be interested in taking part – or if you’d be willing to help make introductions – they would be extremely grateful. There’s absolutely no expectation, but any support you’re able to offer would be very much appreciated.

If this is something you think you could help with please directly contact Claire.Thompson@wales.nhs.uk  and Sonia.Khoury3@wales.nhs.uk

Thank you again for all your support.

With best wishes,

Chris

Christopher Williams National Partnerships Manager

The post Thank you from Age Cymru – and a further request for support from Public Health Wales first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

]]> https://vale50plus.org/thank-you-from-age-cymru-and-a-further-request-for-support-from-public-health-wales/feed/ 0 144954 https://vale50plus.org/a-day-of-celebrations-discover/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-day-of-celebrations-discover https://vale50plus.org/a-day-of-celebrations-discover/#respond Tue, 17 Feb 2026 10:00:35 +0000 https://vale50plus.org/2026/02/17/a-day-of-celebrations-discover/ 11am Our first stop of the day was Age UK Barnet’s annual Silver Sunday celebration, where residents of the Barnet area were once again congregating at Middlesex University for a…

The post A day of celebrations | Discover first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

]]>

11am

Our first stop of the day was Age UK Barnet’s annual Silver Sunday celebration, where residents of the Barnet area were once again congregating at Middlesex University for a lively day of activities. Remarkably, this year’s event proved to be even bigger and more popular than last year, with some 800 people coming together to enjoy an afternoon of live music, health checks, talks and much more.

Fresh from his recent appearance on the red carpet interviewing the stars of The Thursday Murder Club, Age UK’s Chief Executive Paul Farmer reflected on what the film, and the books that inspired it, are reminding the general public about older people in our society.

“They tell us a story about older people not being invisible and contributing to our society,” explained Paul in his opening remarks. “That’s what today is all about as well – bringing older people out into the community.”

There was plenty for older community members to explore at Age UK Barnet’s event, with stands featuring information on the local Age UK’s many services, as well as stalls celebrating the area’s diversity. These stands acknowledged the contributions of the African Caribbean and South Asian communities, illustrated with clothing, food, musical instruments and more. Plus, the nearby Disco Room provided a space for people to cut loose – especially during a freestyle dancing session.

One of the day’s dancers was particularly recognisable. Strictly Come Dancing’s Katya Jones made a special appearance, getting everyone to their feet for a spot of salsa, including the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Danny Rich, who enthusiastically threw himself into proceedings.

Katya explains that she’s witnessed her mother benefitting from embracing new things – in her late fifties, after decades supporting Katya’s dancing, her mum decided she wanted to give it a go herself.

“She’d brought her children and helped bring her grandchildren up, and decided it was her time now,” explained Katya, proudly. “So she took up Argentinian Tango.” Now aged 62, Katya’s mum now travels the world to dance at a competitive level. Inspirational stuff!

Source link

The post A day of celebrations | Discover first appeared on Vale 50+ Strategy Forum.

]]> https://vale50plus.org/a-day-of-celebrations-discover/feed/ 0 117019