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.”

A warm embrace

Sandra, 74, was born in Jamaica and has lived a stone’s throw from the centre for almost 25 years. She would come here to buy her lunch when she was in her sixties, but didn’t have the need to embrace the other services on offer. Having since developed health conditions that have affected her mobility, Sandra now comes to the exercise classes here. “But this is my first Christmas party experience,” says Sandra.

When she was younger, Sandra was a touring singer who rubbed shoulders with the stars of the day, recalling the time she danced with Jimi Hendrix in a club on Carnaby Street in the 1960s, unaware of who the superstar guitarist was. These days, though Sandra has family in Jamaica, she lives alone and when at home tends to spend most of the time playing games on her mobile phone. “I’m a loner and I enjoy my own company, but I also know that it’s important to socialise, and the atmosphere to meet people here is very good.”

It’s not just other older people from the community here today, though. Sandra is joined for a plate of food by eight members of the Millwall Lionesses Football Club, who have volunteered to come and help out with serving food and chatting to everyone – providing an important intergenerational element.

“I strongly believe that learning is for every day, and if you just stay with the same people, you can’t have your circle be influenced,” explains Katrina. “So if you have people from different walks of life, different communities coming together, we are only going to grow and evolve. So, with the Millwall ladies coming in, they’re going to be able to talk about football, as well as their other interests and what they’re up to.”

It’s certainly an opportunity that proves beneficial to Sandra, who’s enjoyed the chance to meet new people of all ages. “It’s been a great time,” smiles Sandra. “And it’s allowed me to see the many other services available so close to my home.”

Meanwhile, for Katrina, once Christmas celebrations are complete and the New Year arrives, she’ll already be planning next year’s festivities with her team.

“We’ll look at what worked and what we can change to make it even better,” says Katrina, though there are some elements that remain essential. “You need bubbles, you need good music, you need good vibes, and you need nice aesthetics. Because when people come here and feel that it’s been planned with lots of love to a high standard, they encourage their friends and people they know to come too – so we can give even more older people in this community a happy Christmas.”

The Centre for Ageing Better was launched in 2015. Dr Aideen Young, Senior Evidence Manager at the Centre, highlights some of the challenges facing older people.

She said: “Older people are a highly diverse group in terms of health and wealth, and within that group there are people very much in need – who are living in poverty, in poor housing and in poor health. Their precarious situation has been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis. They are the people that we really need to pay attention to.

“We have the oldest housing stock in Europe so there are many people living in non-decent and inappropriate homes. These homes are simply not suitable for people who are older or who have disabilities.”

Age UK’s Dr Webb said: “Our responsibility at Age UK is to be there for the older people who need us. We know there are an awful lot of older people who don’t need us. There are plenty of people aged over 65 who are in great health, have excellent incomes and good housing. Everything is working well for them. These people often are our volunteers or donors but at some point, later in their life, they may become our service users.”

Analysis of 2021 Census data will give us the most up-to-date, detailed picture of the differing circumstances of older people living in England and Wales.

David Sinclair said that one of the main challenges of an ageing population is how to support people to age well.

He said: “We start ageing in the womb so we need to be looking at the young. We need to be thinking about access to education and learning across the whole life so that we can make sure we are prepared for the 100-year life, even if that doesn’t end up being everyone. We also need to change the narrative and debate around supporting people to work longer. We need to address challenges like pensioner poverty, shortages in housing and inequalities in health and life expectancy.”

Dr Young echoed this theme. She said: “At the Centre for Ageing Better, we have primarily focused on people in mid-life because by creating change for people in this age group we can enable them to have a good later life when they get there.”

Census data provide a snapshot in time of the characteristics of people of all ages. A 1% sample of census records are also linked through the once-per-decade censuses back to 1971 in the ONS Longitudinal Study. These data – together with events data including deaths – allow researchers to examine changes in people’s attributes and socio-demographic characteristics as they age.

David Sinclair said the UK had been ageing very slowly when compared with places such as South Korea, Hong Kong or Singapore.

He said: “That also means our society has been a bit slower to adapt. We need to use the data we have to plan better for the future.”

Dr Webb added: “If we had more accessible public transport and public toilets this wouldn’t just be good for older people, it would help people on lower incomes, people with disabilities, and parents and children too. A lot of our interests align.”

Angele Storey said a census provides one of the best sources of data for planning:

“It can also be combined with administrative-based data or survey data to build a greater understanding of complex populations and their needs,” she added.

Zafar Kayani is 65 years old and lives in Bradford. He has three sons, four grandchildren and works full-time in community engagement for a voluntary group for dads and young children. He is also a yoga teacher.

He said: “When I was younger, I thought 65 was a long way away but now I have reached that milestone, it didn’t take that long. Being older does mean you get a lot more respect from other people. It reminds me I am an old man when people call me uncle.

“I am blessed to be able to move about and do the things that I want to do. Other people my age or older may not be as mobile and need to rely on other people. Losing my independence would really bite into me.

“To keep well, it’s important to have the opportunity to talk to other people and socialise in groups. Keep your mind and body active. You tend to have more time when you are older and can lose focus, so you need to create things to focus on.

“I started a walking group in my local area about a month ago. After we walk, we have tea and biscuits and talk. The youngest person in the group is 50 and the oldest is 85. They say it has given them a purpose and something to look forward to. They feel part of something. You should celebrate what you have got and enjoy life.”