Participle

School photo of Sandra Drummond grabbed from the Channel 4 documentary “Watch me Disappear”

In the UK around 200 funerals a month are unattended, a figure set to rise as it is estimated that, by 2010, 16 million people in the UK will live on their own, often the deceased’s ashes are disposed of in unmarked graves.

A Channel 4 documentary this Friday (Friday Aug 22, 7:35pm) sets out to tell their story. Read a preview courtesy of the Observer

Thanks to the marvels of medical science, our parents are living longer than ever before. Adults over age 80 are the fastest growing segment of the population, and most will spend years dependent on others for the most basic needs. That burden falls to their baby boomer children, 77 million strong, who are flummoxed by the technicalities of eldercare, turned upside down by the changed architecture of their families, struggling to balance work and caregiving, and depleting their own retirement savings in the process.
The New Old Age, a new blog from New York Times, explores new financing options, gay elders, thoughtful depictions of old age on screen and in literature, and the experiences of those in the ‘sandwich generation’, caught between the needs of ageing parents and their own children.

Alice Rawsthorn in the Herald International Tribune illustrates ‘design and behaviour’ with a current Participle project as she explores contemporary definitions of design.

New York Times article on a programme to sensitise organisations to older people - simulating impaired senses and putting people through a series of everyday tasks - such as planning a road trip..

The Audit commission report ‘Don’t Stop me Now’ found local authorities ‘woefully unprepared’ for the increase in the ageing population.  They’ve pulled out some examples of good practice too - including this council-funded community radio station for older people in rural Cornwall.

A few weeks back this Thai Community radio station caught our eye.

“Bangkok’s ‘quality of life’ radio station provides a lifeline in a city where public services are haphazard at best. The all-talk format of RDCK is a call to action and an attempt to solve problems via the community and its bulging Roladex. Lawyers, doctors, bus drivers, midwives and snake catchers are glued to the frequency. Monocle’s Bangkok correspondent David Fullbrook tuned in for the day.”

Spend three minutes with the video here if you can...

HOJO is a health an wellness store for seniors.  They recently opened in Lyon and have plans to spread across France.

Whereas many existing senior-focused merchants tend to focus on disabilities - ElderDepot.com is one example - HOJO offers a more holistic variety of about 400 lifestyle products dedicated to keeping senior citizens happy, healthy and independent for as long as possible. Inspired by Spain’s SeniorStore, HOJO groups its products into categories including wellness and health, daily living, leisure and comfort, communication and security…

Read the full article on Springwise

According to a recent report by the Ministry of Justice, more and more elderly Japanese are turning to crime out of poverty and isolation, suggesting a breakdown in traditional family and community ties. With nowhere else to go, more elderly inmates serve out their full sentences, instead of being released on parole like younger prisoners. What is more, recidivism is higher among them.

“There are some elderly who are afraid of going back into society”, said Takashi Hayashi, Onomichi’s vice director. “If they stay in prison, everything’s taken care of. There are examples of elderly who’ve left prison, used up what money they had, then were arrested after shoplifting at a convenience store. They’d made up their minds to go back to prison.”

Read the full article in the International Herald Tribune

In a case of a real life less ordinary, El Inglé, a Matador from Salford, has announced that he is returning to bull fighting aged 65 after retiring “too early”. (Aged 62) This is despite a recent heart bypass and an artifical knee…

Full article in the Guardian