Age

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!

Age on stage

Celebrating age really is at the heart of tonight’s gig, with 4 out of 5 of its comedians aged 50 and over. The inclusivity of the line-up is something that was particularly important to Dani Johns, Age UK Bristol’s Project Coordinator for their Friends Ageing Better (FAB) department. The FAB team manages a range of social activities for over-50s across the city, but it was Dani’s own experiences in comedy that inspired her to organise Laughter Lines.

“I work at Age UK Bristol part-time and then on the weekend I do stand-up comedy, so this is my two passions colliding,” she explains. “I wanted to host Laughter Lines because comedy is for all ages, but I think age representation in comedy is something that a lot of organisers forget about.

“A comedy promoter might book a line-up with an equal gender split, without realising that everyone is actually under the age of 27. They think they’re being diverse, but they’re not. And you really do meet people from all walks of life at a comedy club, so it’s important to have that reflected on stage.”

As the gig gets underway, the diversity of the line-up’s life experiences is soon highlighted: librarian and comedian Mark Hurman brings literary gags, while the audience laughs at material about Liverpool from the city’s own Ian Murphy. Jo Frank, meanwhile, muses on the allure of mobility scooters, before Jack Campbell manages to mine laughs from his time working at a coronavirus testing centre.

Louise Leigh is at the helm of it all, as the compère for the evening. “The majority of comedians on the scene are young, white, straight, middle-class men,” she tells us. “But if we only have those perspectives it can only be bad for the art form. Stand-up comedy is about saying stuff that only you can say. Nobody else has your magical way of looking at things.”