Advantage magazine - autumn 2022 - edition 63

Age Scotland is the national charity for older people. Our magazine, Advantage, provides information, inspiration and ideas to empower Scotland’s older people, their friends, families and carers.

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Email: advantage@agescotland.org.uk

Telephone: 0333 323 2400

Write to: Advantage, Age Scotland

Causewayside House, 160 Causewayside Edinburgh EH9 1PR

Advantage is part funded by a grant from the Scottish Government. Age Scotland aims to ensure information is accurate at time of production and cannot be held liable for any errors or omissions, or for the content of any third party advertisements.

Age Scotland, part of the Age Network, is an independent charity dedicated to improving the later lives of everyone on the ageing journey, within a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in Scotland. Registration Number: 153343 Charity Number SC010100. Registered Office: Causewayside House, 160 Causewayside, Edinburgh EH9 1PR.

Welcome to Advantage magazine!

Welcome to the latest edition of Advantage. I hope you enjoy reading the magazine, but first I wanted to share some personal news.

After ten wonderful years with Age Scotland, I have decided it is the right time for me to leave and I will bid my farewells at the end of January 2023.

Brian Sloan, Chief Executive

Age Scotland is in the best place it has ever been, representing and supporting the older people of Scotland in its broadest sense whilst being financially secure.

The future has never looked brighter for the organisation and every single colleague, both past and present, should be immensely proud of the part they have played during my ten-year journey.

Age Scotland is a fantastic charity representing the most rapidly growing sector of our society who regrettably are undervalued, misrepresented and discriminated against despite contributing so much to Scotland.

I will always support Age Scotland and know it will go from strength to strength and never lose sight of its responsibility to ensure the older people of Scotland are always empowered and their voices continued to be heard.

Brian Sloan, Chief Executive

Celebrating the return of the Age Scotland awards

After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we were thrilled to celebrate the return of the Age Scotland awards. Once again, we received nominations from amazing groups and individuals across the country who are doing inspiring work to support older people, tackle loneliness and isolation and offer a range of activities to improve older people’s lives in their communities.

winners

The judges were impressed with the high standard of entries. It seems like the challenges of the past two years have resulted in our groups and members redoubling their efforts to bring joy and purpose back into the lives of older people who suffered so much during the pandemic and that was reflected in the strong nominations.

This year’s worthy winners, who come from communities across Scotland, received their awards from broadcaster – and Strictly Come Dancing contestant - Kaye Adams at a ceremony in Glasgow last month. What a pleasure it was to be able to meet the proud recipients face to face and say thank you for the tremendous work they do daily for older people.

On the following pages we introduce our Age Scotland award winners for 2022. Well done everyone!

Kaye Adams presented the awards | Kaye with Wing Hong Chinese Elderly Centre

Anne wins the Jess Barrow Award for Campaigning and Influencing

The winner of the Jess Barrow Award for Campaigning and Influencing is the inspiring Anne McCreadie, chairperson of the Merkinch Community Centre in Inverness.

Anne began her volunteering career as a young single mum to four children in 1976 when plans for the community centre were being drawn up. Now aged 82, she still puts in a 40-hour week and is a great role model to everyone around her.

Anne took over as chairperson of the Inverness Community Centre in the 1990s and despite being shy, she rose to the occasion and has flourished in the role. She has embraced change and overseen the development of the centre into a welcoming place for older people, people with disabilities, and younger people attending after school groups.

Regulars at the centre describe it as somewhere with strong community spirit which helps them feel less lonely and isolated.

During Anne’s time in charge, the centre has been renovated and modernised and now boasts 62,000 visits a year - a testament to her dedicated work.

In 2015, Highland council earmarked the centre for closure but after a strongly worded defence by Anne at a packed public meeting, the council shelved its plan, and the centre was saved.

The Cowal befrienders tackling loneliness among older people

The Cowal Elderly Befrienders (CEB) are deserving winners of the Patrick Brooks Best Working Partnership award for the work they do to support older people in Dunoon and the wider Cowal peninsula.

The group engages with older people in their local communities through group activities including reminiscence, crafts and singing. CEB also support individuals and groups of older people to go out for coffee and lunch and they pay home visits too.

Many of the older people who are helped by CEB are living with dementia and the group visits them at home, as part of their valuable work to tackle loneliness and isolation in the community.

The service offered by CEB provides much-need respite for carers, giving them an hour or two a week to take a break from their caring responsibilities.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, CEB provided a lifeline shopping and prescription collection service for older people who were shielding.

Like many organisations supporting older people, CEB sometimes struggle to meet demand, receiving an average of two or three new referrals a week. The men and women of the CEB rise to the occasion and deliver a service that makes a real difference to the lives of older people.

Harlawhill Day Centre offers the hand of friendship

The winner of the award for Services to Older People is the wonderful team behind the Harlawhill Day Centre, a long-established charity based in Prestonpans.

For 30 years, the Harlawhill centre has been the go-to place for older people in the East Lothian community in need of advice, guidance and assistance. The charity has fostered a strong sense of community spirit supporting older people, those living with dementia and offering respite to carers.

The team, from the manager to the drivers, are described as natural carers for whom nothing is too much trouble. From fundraising at the weekend to providing emergency respite at short notice, the Harlawhill team work tirelessly for their clients.

The centre’s closure due to Covid was a blow for the older people of Prestonpans but the staff continued to offer support through care, friendship, and practical and emotional assistance for those in need.

The team also organised a network of telephone buddies to relieve the boredom of lockdown and ensure everyone had someone to talk to. The grateful feedback from clients, families and carers showed how important these services were.

Reopening the centre in 2021 was a landmark moment and the team continues to enrich the lives of older people throughout the community.

Celebrating 50 years of Age Concern Hurlford

Age Scotland’s Member Group of the Year award goes to Age Concern Hurlford which has been providing services, friendship and community spirit to older people in Ayrshire for 50 years.

What began with a chance encounter in the local Co-op in the early 1970s between a councillor and a church minister, where they voiced their concern that there wasn’t anything in the village to engage older people, has grown into a popular and very active club.

There are now more than 100 members from the village and beyond who get together to play bowls, knit and natter, enjoy live entertainment and have a cup of tea and a blether. The club also organises bus trips, a Christmas dinner and lunches for special occasions – there’s a big lunch planned to celebrate the group’s 50th anniversary later this year.

Aware of the importance of keeping people informed, Age Concern Hurlford holds information days to talk about issues that affect older people, such as the recent introduction of integrated fire and smoke alarms. The group arranged installation of the alarms too.

In the past 50 years, Age Concern Hurlford has become a place to make memories, share friendship and have fun. Here’s to the next 50 years!

Margaret is our Volunteer of the Year

The Age Scotland Volunteer of the Year award goes to Margaret Berry from Larbert and Stenhousemuir Age Concern who has dedicated herself to helping older people in the Falkirk area since 1978.

In the early days, Margaret, a working mother of two, began by calling round older people in the area to find out if they required disability aids.

For the past 15 years Margaret has been Larbert and Stenhousemuir Age Concern’s treasurer – a role that made good use of her skills as a professional bookkeeper.

Margaret is also an excellent baker and has provided catering for many of the group’s most popular events, including the weekly Social Hour. An annual highlight is the Christmas party where Margaret always brings meringues – one for everyone, plus a few extra which never go to waste.

She is the person who buys, wraps and arranges distribution of Christmas presents for all the group members, a service that is greatly appreciated by the recipients.

During the pandemic, the group sadly lost some members to Covid-19. Margaret attended as many of the funerals as she could, which meant a lot to the bereaved families. She also kept spirits up among group members by delivering books and jigsaws and calling them for a chat.

Award for the ‘inspiring’ Wing Hong Chinese Elderly Centre

The Wing Hong Chinese Elderly Centre in Glasgow (WHCEC) is the winner of Age Scotland’s Inspiration award.

Established in 1989 to enhance and promote equal opportunities, the charity helps older Chinese people to access social care, health, welfare and housing services.

Through its provision of day care and community services, the centre also reduces loneliness and isolation and supports older Chinese people to live independently. It advocates for its service users too, by raising awareness of the specific needs of older Chinese people.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the centre helped its members overcome language barriers to stay fully informed about the fast-changing Scottish Government regulations. The charity team also provided hot Chinese meals to ensure older people were receiving nutritious and familiar food when they were unable to shop.

Service users found the language support, phone calls and the Chinese meal deliveries invaluable. One older person told the charity he had noone else to turn to during lockdown, as his family lived in England and couldn’t travel. He didn’t know what he would have done without them.

The WHCEC forged strong bonds with its members during the pandemic and word must have spread, because the charity received 60 requests to join once events resumed in 2021.

Check in, Cash out – don’t miss out

Every year, older people in Scotland are missing out on hundreds of millions of pounds worth of social security payments – such as Pension Credit, Council Tax Reduction and Attendance Allowance. 123,000 eligible Scottish households are estimated to be missing out on Pension Credit alone, adding up to a whopping £332 million which is not getting to the older people on lower incomes who are entitled to receive it.

As the cost of living rises, ensuring that older people claim every penny of social security they are entitled to has become even more vital. Not only does this put extra money in their pockets, but it could open the door to them receiving further financial support from the government to offset the cost of living.

Our Check in, Cash out campaign aims to raise awareness and increase take-up of the social security available to help older people live well. We can help you to find out if you might qualify – and it could take as little as 10 minutes to get an idea of this using our online benefits calculator.

How you can check in to find out if you can cash out

Contact our helpline for a free benefits entitlement check and advice on how to claim – call 0800 12 44 222, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm

Find information on social security payments, including eligibility and how to apply, using our free guides at www.age.scot/benefitguides

Sign up to one of our free training workshops to find out more about social security at www.age.scot/benefitworkshops

Use our online benefits calculator to find out what you could be owed. It’s free to use and the details you provide are kept anonymous. Visit www.age.scot/benefitscalculator

Even if this isn’t relevant to you, please share these resources with friends, family, and others in your community to help us ensure no older person misses out on what they are entitled to.

If you work with or support older people or if you attend a group who you think would benefit from resources to boost awareness of social security, get in touch today by emailing campaigns@agescotland.org.uk or call us on 0333 323 2400. Find out more at www.age.scot/checkincashout

and stumbles trips, slips How to avoid

As the weather takes a turn for the worse, we enter the season of slippery pavements, wet paths and, by winter, the unpleasant thought of ice or snow stopping us getting out and about.

However unappealing that sounds, the good news is that this is the ideal time to take action to reduce your risk of slips, trips and stumbles during the autumn and winter.

In Scotland, more than 18,000 older people are admitted to hospital annually because they’ve lost their balance – it’s the most common cause of an ambulance being called for an older patient.

However there are steps you can take to stay as strong and steady as possible, to walk with confidence, and to make recovery more likely if you do have an accident.

If you are not immediately worried about accidents but would like to get tips on how to stay on your feet, our new Keeping your feet in later life guide is for you. It includes suggestions for routines that can help you stay confident and steady on your feet.

If you have fallen, or had a close call, its partner guide, Worried about slips, trips and stumbles can help. It has advice on staying safe and includes support available from health services to keep you on your feet. Staying physically active is vital if you want to remain strong and steady. Long periods of inactivity can lead to loss of strength, flexibility and, most importantly in this context, balance. Sometimes exercise can seem like a chore.

That’s why we’ve launched a free exercise video to make the Super Six strength and balance exercises, recommended by experts, fun to do for groups and individuals.

You can read about the Super Six in our advice guide or watch them on our DVD. In the meantime, here are some taster activities. Try introducing them into your routine at least twice a week if it is safe for you to do so.

As with any exercise, take care and go at your own pace, remove any trip hazards before you start and have something nearby to hold on to.

Changes afoot in the benefits system

After the independence referendum in 2014, plans were made for some powers over social security to be devolved to Scotland. Eleven benefits are being transferred, and the Scottish Government can also create new and top-up benefits.

The Scottish Government set up a user experience panel of over 2,400 people with experience of claiming social security, to work out how the new system could work better than the old one. They have said that the new agency, Social Security Scotland, will treat people with dignity, fairness and respect and will make every effort to be accessible to people with different communication needs.

Social Security Scotland is based in Glasgow and Dundee, with local staff across Scotland who can advise people about Scottish benefits. The agency has one main phone number, 0800 182 2222. People who need help to make a claim because they are living with a disability can be supported by taxpayer-funded advocacy from the charity Voiceabilityvisit www.voiceability.org for more information.

Benefits delivered so far include:

• Benefits that reduce child poverty

• Carer’s Allowance Supplement to top-up Carer’s Allowance

• Funeral Support Payment to help with the cost of a funeral

• Adult Disability Payment to replace Personal Independence Payment.

Next steps

2022: Adult Disability Payment is replacing Personal Independence Payment. People already receiving Personal Independence Payment will automatically be transferred onto Adult Disability Payment by summer 2024; they will receive letters from the Department for Work and Pensions and Social Security Scotland to confirm the change. Our Adult Disability Payment guide explains more.

2022/2023: Low Income Winter Heating Assistance will replace the £25 Cold Weather Payments that were paid to people receiving Pension Credit if it was below freezing for a week locally. Instead of being linked to weather, this will be a one-off payment of £50 in February 2023.

2023/2024: Scottish Carer’s Assistance will start to replace Carer’s Allowance, with a Scotland-wide rollout and existing claims being transferred from 2024.

2024: Pension Age Winter Heating Assistance will replace the Winter Fuel Payment – the automatic payment made every autumn to people over 66.

By 2025: Pension Age Disability Payment will start to replace Attendance Allowance.

Order copies of our free information guides

Call the Age Scotland helpline on 0800 12 44 222

Sign up for our online workshops www.age.scot/benefitsworkshop

Benefit and pension changes

April 2022 AdultPaymentDisability

New partnerships offer more support for veterans

The Swiss Army knife is a multi-purpose tool with a knife, corkscrew, scissors, and more, beautifully folding into to a pocket-sized handle. The Unforgotten Forces partnership aims to be a similar all-in-one solution for men and women in Scotland aged 60 and older, who have served in HM Armed Forces, and who could do with a little extra support.

This year, three charities have joined the partnership, adding tools to our kit. SSAFA, the oldest tri-service charity in the UK, offers practical and financial support to ex-service men and women in need of physical or emotional care through a Scotland-wide network of branches and volunteer caseworkers. Blesma provides life-long support to serving and ex-service men and women with limb-loss and loss of use of limbs, including widows and widowers. Additionally, Veterans Tribe Scotland offers creative and wellbeing events and activities where veterans and their families can relax, have fun with creativity and build friendships. These activities are suitable for all ages and abilities and are delivered face-to-face and online.

The new partners join 14 others that collectively offer support for sight loss, transport, physical and mental health, dedicated information and advice, and opportunities for group and one-to-one friendship.

Partner volunteer case study

I volunteered as a SSAFA caseworker a couple of years ago and became branch chair in March 2021.

I make sure we stick with SSAFA’s values, helping in a non-judgemental manner, and within the financial, regulatory, and other guidelines set by our charity.

It’s also about having a rigorous process of assessing individual need. Sometimes it’s quite complex to assess needs, as beneficiaries get older, and their circumstances get more difficult. We can advise clients to get a welfare benefits check and, if necessary, refer to debt management counselling.

Caseworkers offer support to get goods and services, and make recommendations on the support needed. It can, for example, be white goods, brown goods, wet rooms, ramps, or other mobility aids. Dignity is important, so we ensure individuals have some choice. We also distribute emergency funding for food and utilities as appropriate.

We always welcome new volunteers. We’re looking for people with communication and IT skills and an interest in helping other people. It’s not essential that volunteers have a background in the armed forces. What matters more is the ability to listen and empathise, and to be non-judgemental.

Get in touch to find out what Unforgotten Forces can do for you. Visit www.unforgottenforces.scot

Walter Gallacher works with an SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association) Edinburgh and Lothians branch.

Help available during cost of living crisis

Scotland is in the grip of a cost of living crisis, which is set to be one of the worst in living memory.

Soaring energy bills, the rising cost of food, fuel and inflation have combined to make life very difficult for huge numbers of older people. Unfortunately, the situation is expected to become even more challenging over winter and into the new year.

Energy use will increase to cope with much colder weather and longer periods of darkness, coinciding with a further surge in its cost.

Hundreds of thousands of older people, in particular those on low and fixed incomes, are unable to cope with these costs today, never mind in the future.

The impact on the health of the nation, and great numbers of older people, will be severe if they cannot stay sufficiently warm or eat well.

In September, Age Scotland welcomed the UK government’s energy price guarantee, describing it as ‘some mild relief’ but warned that freezing it at such a high level will not offer protection against surging fuel poverty levels, ill health, financial insecurity, and debt for millions of households.

On average, people will be paying about twice as much to heat and power their homes as they did last winter. We still face catastrophic consequences.

The statistics speak for themselves:

150,000 Scottish pensioners live in relative poverty

Before this crisis, an estimated 218,000 older Scottish households were in fuel poverty – of whom 116,000 were in extreme fuel poverty

83% of couple pensioner households to be fuel poor by January 2023

Energy bills were the biggest financial concern for respondents to Age Scotland’s Big Survey

63% of older households in Scotland live in homes rated EPC Band D or below

Around 40% of pensioners in Scotland don’t have incomes high enough to pay income tax

Now, more than ever, it is vital that older people on low incomes claim every benefit to which they are entitled.

Across Scotland, hundreds of millions of pounds of social security goes unclaimed by those in need every year. It is sitting in government bank accounts instead of in the pockets of older people in need.

Age Scotland can help older people navigate the benefits system. Call us on 0800 12 44 222 or visit www.age.scot/benefitscalculator

Golden Friendships group flushed with success

Community Development Officer

Ann Yourston recently visited the Golden Friendships Club in Clydebank and spoke with Jim McLaren who runs the club.

sink

Golden Friendships is a popular club for older people serving its local community in many different ways. There are a variety of activities on offer including a lunch club, karaoke and bingo.

More than 200 older people from Clydebank community attend each week and everyone is made very welcome. Now, with the help of grants from various organisations – the Robertson Trust and the local council to name just two - this club has refurbished and revamped a very important part of their facilities – the toilets.

Toilets and continence aren’t subjects we generally feel comfortable talking about. It can feel embarrassing, but having hygienic and fully accessible toilet facilities is vital and offers users dignity and safety when they are visiting a venue.

In fact, the lack of clean and accessible toilet facilities can sometimes stop an older person going somewhere, which means they also miss out on social activities, meeting friends and staying connected to their community.

Golden Friendships’ lovely new toilets are more accessible and inclusive, especially for those who have a physical disability or continence issues.

j

They are fully accessible for wheelchair users and one of the toilets has a spacious changing area which allows the user to get clean and change their clothes if they need to and to do so in a comfortable, private and well laid out area, before returning to the main hall to enjoy the rest of their day.

As Jim says: “No need to go home – they can re-join the party.”

The club has also received donations of a hoist, a trolley bed and a privacy screen from a local company, W Munro (Rehab) Ltd in Clydebank, who also supplied the height adjustable sink at cost price.

Jim told me that their aim is to be included on the map on the Changing Places website, www.changing-places.org. Changing Places is a consortium of not-for-profit organisations that aims to see Changing Places toilets installed in all public venues, so that everyone, regardless of their access needs or disability or reliance on the assistance of carers or specialist equipment, can use a toilet facility with dignity and hygienically.

Golden Friendships are rightly proud of their new toilets, which not only look great but will make a huge difference to older members’ enjoyment of their day out.

Find out more about the Golden Friendships club on www.facebook.com/GoldenFriendships

tion of a trolley bed was gratefully received | The accessible entrance to the Clydebank Cl

6,000 years of experience in one room

Our About Dementia Project is supporting the Deepness 100/6000 conference, run by Ron Coleman of Deepness Dementia Media. The conference is designed entirely by and for people living with dementia. Ron spoke with us about the project.

Where did the idea for the conference come from?

Normally when we go to conferences, it’s professionals speaking, and we’re meant to sit and listen. They speak in a language not many of us understand. Then people wonder why people with dementia wander off and think “well, it’s their illness” but it isn’t, we’re just bored!

So, I started thinking, what would happen if we had 100 people with dementia in a room and nobody else? That’s a minimum of 6,000 years of experience. Imagine if we got people with dementia to answer questions from that shared 6,000 years of experience? What would we get? And that was the idea behind it.

Why is it important that professionals don’t speak at the conference?

I remember going to a dementia conference a few years back. The professionals wanted us to rehearse what we were going to say. The narrative was not ours. We wanted people to have the freedom to speak, which is why we restrict the number of professionals.

What inspired this year’s theme of unconscious bias?

I think everyone has unconscious biases and it’s about accepting that we do, naming it and then dealing with it.

This year, we’ve got some speakers from different ethnic communities. I’m hoping people will see there’s a double whammy when people have dementia and come from a non-white/Scottish background. The other group we wanted to include was the LGBTQ+ community. A lot of people living with dementia have been gay all their lives but come from a generation where homosexuality was hidden.

My daughter is nineteen and for her, sexuality doesn’t matter at all. Everything’s fluid. I want us to discuss that in connection with people with dementia, who might be a bit older, and how difficult it is for us to discuss our sexuality.

How do you think the conference ties in with human rights for people living with dementia?

I think unconscious bias can be seen as a practice of violating human rights. Once people see it this way, I think they will be much more likely to change, because nobody wants to be seen as denying people their human rights.

Learn more about our dementia work at www.age.scot/dementia

Mike Cheung and Ronald Amanze | Ron and his wife Karen during a conference discu

Food, friendship and kindness – why I love the T Club

In this personal reflection, Marilyn Rodgers tells us why she is a regular at the T Club.

What do you do on Tuesday afternoons? I go to the T Club in Maidens Church Hall. I’ve done so since I made the historic village on the south Ayrshire coast my home 11 years ago.

That’s T for Tuesday, tea and talk.

Maidens, bounded on one side by the majestic Culzean Castle and on the other by the Trump Turnberry Estate, has infrequent public transport. Public amenities are few and there is no community hub.

Fifteen years ago, motivated by the grief of losing her husband, a local woman used that energy to galvanise a few friends into action. Together, they spread the word that a Tuesday afternoon gathering was starting up. It would be open to everyone. A venue was identified and rented, an official constitution drawn up, a chairperson and treasurer were voted in and hey presto, the T Club was up and running.

There were no membership forms, a nominal yearly subscription and 50 pence on the collection plate each week to cover refreshments. I make it sound easy, but it wasn’t. A lot of hard work was involved.

Over the years T Club has been lucky enough to receive monetary grants from government and non-governmental agencies. This has been used to buy equipment and games as well as fund days out.

Among our memorable outings have been trips to Dumfries House, the Burrell Collection and Ayr’s Gaiety Theatre. We quiz, recite poetry, enjoy guest speakers and play sheet football (don’t ask!).

Food makes us happy and usually ensures maximum attendance, so we use this as an excuse to celebrate everything. Now, however, we tend to outsource our menus rather than cater in house (Jean, how we miss your tattie scones.)

Having said that, we still cherish our special occasion home bakers and continually drop hints. Lockdown was hard. More than a third of our members live on their own. The weeks stretched out. We lost some of our club friends and sadly could not share our respectful farewells.

As soon as government guidelines allowed, we were back in the church hall, masked and distanced, planning the way forward. In October we celebrated the T Club’s fifteenth anniversary. It, of course, involved food and good company. We reflected on friendships formed, advice shared and quiet ongoing kindnesses. Mission accomplished.

T Club regulars enjoy tea and a chat each Tuesday

Artistic talents of Erskine veterans revealed

Scotland’s largest veterans’ charity, in partnership with creative organisation Luminate, has launched the Erskine Sculpture Trail in the leafy grounds of the Erskine Veterans Village in Bishopton.  The trail consists of 10 sculptures, created by artists in residence Gill White and James Winnett in collaboration with Erskine residents. Nestled among the trees in the tranquil surroundings of the Erskine Estate, the Sculpture Trail is testament to the creativity and joy residents experienced working alongside the artists to create a lasting display. The sculptures draw on nature, and the memories and stories of the Erskine residents, to create an interactive experience.

The Luminate project was devised with the aim of engaging with residents in new ways and bringing artistic talents to the fore. Luminate

and Erskine have worked together since 2017, originally as part of the Unforgotten Forces partnership. James and Gill were the first resident artists and worked closely with Erskine residents on a wide range of creative activities, from photography to poetry and from soundscapes to painting. Although interrupted by the pandemic, they returned to Erskine in summer 2021 to complete the art trail project.

Creative activities, such as those Gill and James brought to Erskine, play a valuable role in residents’ care. Those taking part revelled in the true sense of accomplishment that these new pursuits brought them.

Derek Barron, director of care at Erskine, said unveiling the sculpture trail reminded him of the happy hours residents experienced during their time with the artists in residence. “Our residents all have different abilities and live with things that impact on those, whether that is living with dementia, reduced mobility or loss of independence or confidence. Working with Luminate, Gill and James have brought such a full and colourful range of artistic activities to Erskine which our residents loved,” he said.

For more information, visit www.luminatescotland.org

James examines one of the sculptures on the trail | Gill basks in the reflection of a sculpture

More than just a planner – the Age Scotland calendar is back

We’re delighted to say that the hugely popular Age Scotland calendar is back for 2023. Filled with information, advice, entertainment and tips to see you through the year, the calendar is your one-stop place for everything you need, including contact details for useful organisations and services.

Friendship, energy efficiency and social security claims are just some of our services that are highlighted in the calendar, as we endeavour to make sure older people in Scotland live well and receive every benefit they are entitled to during such challenging times.

There are tips on topping up your Vitamin D by walking outdoors, how to get a good night’s sleep and where to get advice on driving in later life.

So, don’t delay – get your order in for an Age Scotland calendar now. It does a lot more than tell you what day of the week it is!

To get a copy of the calendar call 0333 323 2400 or email publications@agescotland.org.uk

Visit us at www.agescotland.org.uk

Practical advice on staying warm and well at home this winter

That’s why we have been so delighted to team up with SGN, who distribute gas across Scotland, to offer energy support and advice for older people through our ongoing partnership – which celebrated its first anniversary in the summer.

By funding services such as energy advice via our helpline, online energy workshops, and supporting engagement with frontline SGN engineers, SGN have joined us in helping more older people across Scotland access the help available to them and identifying where further support is needed.

Our Heat Your Home for Less workshops offer practical advice to help older people stay safe and warm at home and cover a range of topics including using energy affordably and efficiently, energy tariffs, and accessing benefits and financial support which could help with energy costs.

Staying warm is central to older people’s health and wellbeing, but, even before the current cost of energy crisis, our helpline regularly heard from callers facing unique challenges in managing this at home. Upcoming workshops: Thursday 1 Dec 10am-12pm Wednesday 14 Dec 10am-12pm

To sign up to our energy workshops, visit www.age.scot/energyadvice To speak to our expert energy advisers, call our helpline on 0800 12 44 222

Remembering Queen Elizabeth II

The very sad news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II brought back memories for many of our member groups who got together to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee just a few months earlier. Here, in tribute to Her Majesty, we’re sharing some of the events that took place to mark the 70th anniversary of her coronation. The sheer number of parties and Jubilee gatherings that took place are a testament to the popularity of the Queen in Scotland, especially among the older generation who grew up with her and mourn her loss.

BeFriend in Bellshill, had a Jubilee party and a sumptuous afternoon tea at the Orbiston Neighbourhood Centre – complete with a VIP guest!

A group from Special Treats Blairgowrie enjoyed a royal day out celebrating the Platinum Jubilee. They attended a service in Dunkeld Cathedral, a ‘photo shoot’ in the cathedral grounds, followed by a carvery lunch and games on the lawn.

Members of St Andrew’s Church, Carluke congregation and Dementia Hub held a Jubilee lunch in a hall suitably adorned in red, white and blue and Union flags. There was a game of ‘hunt the corgi’ – knitted ones! – a Jubilee quiz and a rousing rendition of the national anthem.

In Kinross, 97-year-old Peggy Lamont, the oldest resident of Whyte Court Sheltered Housing, planted a Jubilee tree in the grounds ahead of a celebratory afternoon tea.

In Buckie, the Buckpool, Findochty and Cullen Be Active Life Long (BALL) group met for a Jubilee party with entertainment, dancing and excellent home baking.

Members of the ROAR Connections for Life Health & Wellbeing

clubs in Johnstone were treated to a Jubilee afternoon tea, with musical accompaniment. Some dressed up in Union flag colours and one member wrote a poignant poem for the Queen:

A unique queen

Whilst many lives have altered Still our spirit will not be broken Our majestic queen has never faltered Showing a promise given by one so young reach perfection. This dedication given to us in no small measure Became the emblem of our great nation This royal lady has been our treasure Unequalled by any other worldly nation To Her Majesty, we wish her well So, raise your glass and say Congratulations to a task well done May our adoration to a life so willing given We say GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

A surprise visitor to the Bellshill celebrations | Peggy planting her Jubilee tree

Poem written by Agnes from Johnstone

Photo: Jacob King/PA Wire/PA Images

Scoring a win with a partnership to tackle poverty

We teamed up with the Rangers Charity Foundation for the 2021/22 football season to tackle pensioner poverty in Scotland. And what a season it was!

The Rangers Charity Foundation’s mission is to be a force for good in the community for people of all ages. They understood that older people had been more impacted than most by Covid-19 and felt strongly about supporting our drive to alleviate poverty and help those experiencing loneliness.

At Age Scotland, we work to ensure older people receive all the support they are entitled to. Last year, our helpline identified £565,000 of unclaimed support and benefits for older people. This might sound like a large amount but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. £332m in Pension Credit payments goes unclaimed in Scotland every year.

Funding from the Rangers Charity Foundation enabled us to continue to offer this service. More than that, the foundation offered us the opportunity to share our message and to raise funds ourselves.

They kindly invited us to do a bucket collection at the stadium in February. The players warmed up for the match in Age Scotland t-shirts alongside

club mascot Broxi Bear, who was also delighted to show his support for Age Scotland. To highlight our work, a film focused on our helpline was shown on the screens inside Ibrox too.

In celebration of a season of partnership, our friends at the Nan McKay Community Hall in Glasgow invited Age Scotland and the Rangers Charity Foundation along for a morning of fun, exercise, food and camaraderie in May. Our healthy active ageing trainer, Cara McGurn, delivered a fantastic session of Body Boosting Bingo and it was great to see former Rangers player, Alex Rae, and Age Scotland Chief Executive, Brian Sloan, take to the floor and give it their all. Not to be outdone, Broxi Bear did a superb job of doing each of the exercises demonstrated by Cara, dutifully replicated by those who attend Nan McKay on a regular basis. Our thanks go to Bill Lawns and the team for hosting us with such good humour and efficiency.

So, a fantastic partnership delivered much needed funding for Age Scotland. We hugely appreciate the support given by the Rangers Charity Foundation. It gave a tremendous boost to our efforts to help alleviate the financial challenges faced by older people all around Scotland.

To find out more about the various ways in which you can help us raise vital funds, visit www.age.scot/fundraise

cKay Community Hall | Brian Sloan shows us how Body Boosting Bingo should be done

Does your local authority have an Older People’s Champion?

Our campaign to have every local authority in Scotland appoint a councillor as an Older People’s Champion is gathering pace.

Working alongside the Scottish Older People’s Assembly (SOPA), we are seeing the impact of our campaign. There are now 16 local authorities who have an Older People’s Champion, compared to just a handful when we began. We also know of several other councils considering an appointment or reappointing a councillor to take on the role, but we want to see an Older People’s Champion in all 32 local authorities.

An Older People’s Champion is a councillor within a local authority who is tasked with ensuring that older people’s voices are heard. Older People’s Champions raise awareness of issues affecting local older people and work to seek solutions on their behalf. How each champion approaches the role will differ depending on the needs of their local community, but they are all united in their goal to act as a link between councils and older people.

Local authorities are responsible for providing and supporting many services which older people use frequently – including public transport, health and social care provision, and community services. With a growing older population across Scotland, it is vital that local decision-making meets the needs of older people and that they can have their voices heard.

As part of our campaign, we are building up a network to which all Older People’s Champions are invited. This network is a forum for older people’s issues to be raised at both a local and national level and a space where councillors can work together on shared challenges and collectively influence change at both a local and national level.

Let’s get an Older People’s Champion in every council

To the best of our knowledge, the following local authorities have an Older People’s Champion:

Angus Argyll and Bute Dundee City East Ayrshire East Dunbartonshire East Lothian Falkirk Highland Inverclyde Midlothian Moray North Ayrshire Perth and Kinross Scottish Borders South Lanarkshire West Lothian

If you think we have missed your local authority from this list in error, please get in touch.

If your local authority does not have an Older People’s Champion yet, please contact your council leader to ask them to create the role.

We have drafted a template letter, which you can download at www.age.scot/opcletter or to request a digital or paper copy, get in touch on campaigns@agescotland.org.uk or 0333 323 2400.

Small grants help member groups get back on track

After two years of lockdown, many community member groups were in need of some assistance to get them back up and running when pandemic restrictions finally eased.

To help with that, we handed out £90,000 in small grants to 81 member groups to help with running costs, staff training, transport costs, outings and get-togethers. The money also allowed groups to buy materials and equipment, provide lunches and refreshments, hold celebration events, pay for fitness or IT tutors and cooks for lunch clubs.

For those still responding to lockdown, there were grants to provide telephone and online services and doorstep deliveries.

The typical grant award was less than £1,500, but Age Scotland members made a little money go a very long way. More than 4,550 older people benefitted from the activities funded through the grants programme.

Over the past few months, members have been telling us how they used their grants.

Older people attending groups that received a grant spoke of improvements to their mental health, once they had something to look forward to, and said they felt more connected and less isolated. Building – or rebuilding – connections post-pandemic has been a vital part of the grants delivery programme.

People enjoyed learning new things, the chatter, and the activities. Physical well-being also improved through activities such as yoga, keep-fit classes, fitness and balance sessions, and walking groups.

Age Scotland member groups themselves also report some benefits over and above receiving much needed funds to keep their services and activities going. Some have been able to secure additional funding from other sources as a direct result of their Age Scotland grant. Others have forged new partnerships with local stakeholders or piloted different ways of working to improve the quality of their work and respond to increased demand for their services.

Well done to all our 2021/22 Resilience and Recovery grant holders, and very best wishes to all those member groups who have just been awarded funding through the 2022/23 Age Scotland Support Good Connections Grants Programme.

Contact Age Scotland’s Community Development team if your group needs information or advice to raise funding for your services and activities. Call 0333 323 2400 or email us at members@agescotland.org.uk

l and District gardening project | Taynuilt Fitness & Balance group’s grant paid for a traine

Eat well for less

With the cost-of-living crisis biting hard, frugal cooking is a new trend making more from less and saving energy whilst enjoying a good wholesome diet.

Age Scotland caught up with Scottish chef Tom Kitchin to ask him to come up with a balanced meal for an older person on a tight budget.

Smoked salmon, pea & red onion frittata

Everyone seems to enjoy this quick and easy dish, says Tom. It tastes just as good when it is cold the next day. Smoked salmon and dill give the frittata distinctive flavours, but you can adapt the recipe to showcase seasonal vegetables or use up whatever you have in the fridge or the freezer – peas and broad beans are used in this recipe, but you can add asparagus, or broccoli etc. You can vary the herbs and cheese too.

Have fun creating your own versions!

Ingredients:

• 150g smoked salmon

• 2 red onions, peeled

• 1 courgette

• ½ large red pepper, cored & deseeded

• 100g freshly podded peas / broad beans

Method:

• 8 free-range eggs

• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tablespoon chopped dill

• 100g cheddar, grated

• Olive oil for cooking

• Snipped chives to finish

Heat the oven to 160ºC / Gas 2-3. Cut the smoked salmon into strips. Cut the red onions, courgette, and red pepper into small, even-sized dice.

Add the peas or broad beans to a pan of boiling salted water and blanch for a couple of minutes, then drain and refresh in cold water; drain and pat dry.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a fork until lightly foamy. Season with salt and pepper then add the peas or broad beans, chopped dill, smoked salmon and grated cheese.

Heat a little olive oil in a non-stick (or well-seasoned) overproof frying pan, about 23cm in diameter, over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook gently for 2-3 minutes to soften slightly, then add the courgette and red pepper and cook together for 2-3 minutes.

Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables in the pan and cook over a low heat for 3-4 minutes. Now transfer the frying pan to the oven and cook for 6-8 minutes until the egg is set and golden on the surface. Sprinkle the frittata with snipped chives and serve with a salad.

Community Connecting is back –join us!

As we find ourselves in the ‘new normal’, we are pleased to announce that our Community Connecting service is back.

This service aims to reduce loneliness and social isolation in older people across Scotland by connecting them to organisations that offer friendship, social activities, health and fitness groups and events. Anyone aged 50 and over can call our free helpline for information on groups and activities in their local area.

We are also recruiting volunteers to help support the service. If you or anyone you know has a passion for tackling loneliness and making a difference, please get in touch as we would love to hear from you!

Our community researchers support the service by researching opportunities and help keep our database and information sources up to date. Community connectors support older people over the phone by finding out their interests, providing them with local social opportunities and calls of encouragement over a few weeks.

If you’re part of an organisation and would like us to refer potential new members to your group or service, please get in touch!

You can find out more about our Community Connecting service by calling our helpline on 0800 12 44 222 or emailing: helpline@agescotland.org.uk

Ace tennis coach at 82

At 82 years old, Eric Flack is a passionate and dedicated tennis coach who loves to support people of all ages in learning and playing tennis.

Eric Flack has been coaching tennis for more than 50 years

The Drumchapel Tennis Club has been a part of Eric’s family’s life for generations. His grandfather, father, and now his grandchildren have enjoyed playing on the well-kept courts near the Drumchapel railway station.

Eric began in an organising role in the 1970s and has been proactively supporting the club for more than fifty years.

While no stranger to health challenges - two hip replacements and a heart attack - Eric continues to play tennis when he can.

However, he explained that he has adapted his playing style to reflect the doctor’s orders, making sure he takes opportunities to rest when he needs to.

The Drumchapel Tennis Club serves a variety of people in the community. Eric explained that their oldest club member is around 85-years-old, with their youngest being 4-years- old. Eric is still involved in a coaching capacity, offering his coaching skills to anyone who needs them. His advice to anyone who has never played before? “Just turn up and we will give them a racquet” he laughs.

Seeing life through a different lens

Business Development Manager Jonathan Park explains how virtual reality technology can help us gain a deeper understanding of dementia.

As a keen mountaineer, I recently returned from my first summit attempt of Everest. The climb is terrifying, with many dangerous obstacles to overcome.

I traversed the Khumbu icefall, the Hilary step and two base camps, and 15 minutes later I placed my flag at the summit. I was both ecstatic and exhausted as I removed my Oculus Virtual Reality headset and collapsed into the safety of my comfy couch.

Virtual Reality (VR) is the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment, usually viewed through a headset.

Immersing ourselves in new and unfamiliar surroundings through VR is a fantastic way to feel like we are experiencing something first-hand. It can also allow us to see our surroundings through the eyes of someone else. This can be particularly insightful when it’s through the eyes of someone who doesn’t see their environment in the same way as we do.

A person living with dementia, for example, may have an altered depth and field of vision, and colours and contrast can blend into each other and may contribute to confusion, anxiety and trips and falls.

Imagine if, using VR, you could change your perception and understanding of the simple changes that could be made to an environment which could make it easier for people with dementia to navigate.

Age Scotland’s new Virtual Reality Dementia Experience workshop is helping people to do just that using a platform created by software company VR-EP. The platform transports users into a real-life environment such as a care home, kitchen or their own house to allow them to experience a familiar

environment through the eyes of someone who might see it differently. The tool was initially developed to help architects understand how to design dementia friendly spaces. Our Age Inclusive Workplace team is delighted to offer this immersive training to organisations such as care homes, housing associations and universities as well as to carers and families of those living with dementia. The technology enables users to be more empathetic when supporting someone living with dementia. It demonstrates how more considered design choices can improve daily life. It also allows them to identify any potential challenges and implement minor changes that will be more dementia inclusive.

This positive impact on design was recognised at the recent Herald and GenAnalytics Diversity Awards where our training tool won the Design for Diversity Award.

The feedback from participants who have taken part has been fantastic and we’re looking forward to continuing to share the experience with many more organisations and individuals who could benefit from our VR dementia experience workshop.

For more information visit www.age.scot/dementiaVR

Attendees at the VR dementia experience training session

Taking steps to keep the doors open

Earlier this year, we invited our community member groups to take part in a survey to identify the main challenges they are facing and find out more about their experiences over the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

As groups return to the delivery of a broad range of services and activities for older people, we wanted to ensure we had a fuller understanding of the support they need to keep their doors open – and could share this with funders, local authorities, and others.

The survey included questions about attendance levels, meetings and services delivered during the pandemic, current circumstances and challenges for the future.

Almost 100 groups responded to the survey, which was available to complete both by paper and online. There were many positives, including the fact almost 90% of groups were currently meeting or providing activities and services. The wide range of ways groups stepped up during the crisis to continue to help support people in their communities was clear too.

However, the responses also shed light on the many challenges which groups are facing and how this will impact their futures.

These include rising energy bills for premises, difficulties in securing core funding, operational and transport costs, drops in the number of members or service users, and a reduction in the number of volunteers and committee members.

As each group’s circumstances are different, the overall picture was of a wide mix of concerns and priorities.

Respondents also told us in their own words what they think are the benefits of attending older people’s groups for local people and their communities – including tackling loneliness and isolation, helping people to remain active, educational activities and learning, improving mental health, help for people living with dementia and unpaid carers and access to information and signposting.

While the rich insights captured in this survey are likely to be familiar to those involved with older people’s groups, combined with the rest of the report we hope they will underline the importance of older people’s community groups and how we must help them with the challenges they are facing.

We plan to share our report and recommendations with local authorities, funders, the Scottish Government, politicians and others.

Read the full report at www.age.scot/reports.

Find out more about becoming an Age Scotland member at www.age.scot/membership

Enjoying meeting face to face again | Men’s Sheds carried out valuable community

UN recognises contribution of older women

The United Nations International Day of Older Persons is celebrated each year on 1 October. The day aims to celebrate the contributions of older people globally and raise awareness of the issues which impact their lives.

This year’s theme was the resilience and contributions of older women –a theme chosen to highlight older women’s participation in society, while acknowledging the continued inequalities they face, including the double discrimination of ageism and sexism.

To mark this, we have looked at some of the topics which impact the lives of older women in Scotland. Older women are a broad group, and some of these issues will have a disproportionate effect on certain groups.

Caring

Women make up the majority of unpaid carers, and around 1 in 3 women aged 55-64, and 1 in 5 aged 65-74, are thought to be carers. Many older women may even be caring for younger children and older relatives at the same time. Grandmothers also play an important role in providing care. Caring responsibilities can affect women’s participation in the labour market and contribute to pension inequality and levels of poverty.

Fair work

Older women in the workplace are often impacted by inequalities in pay and progression and would benefit from increased flexible working. Ageism in the recruitment process, skills gaps, and menopause are other workplace issues which affect older women. It is important that older women are included in workplace support measures.

Older women can live longer but in poor health

Health

While women have a longer life expectancy than men, they are predicted to live more years in poor health – women aged over 55 are more likely to have a long-term condition than not to have one.

Housing

Due to their longer life expectancy, more older women live alone meaning they can be more at risk of experiencing social isolation and loneliness – though research suggests older women feel a greater sense of involvement in their local community than younger women.

Poverty

While women tend to live longer, they earn lower pay on average and are more likely to experience interrupted careers. This contributes to the gender pension gap, which is thought to be around 38%. As a result, women make up the majority of low income pensioners and the majority of Pension Credit claimants.

To find out more about our influencing work to highlight older women’s needs visit www.age.scot/ourimpact

ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, GO!

Age Scotland will launch its first Run Your Age challenge in January 2023.

Sponsored by SKY Cares, Age Scotland is inviting you to set your own running challenge throughout January – perfect for fulfilling those New Year’s resolutions while raising money to support older people across Scotland.

You can run your age in miles, minutes, kilometres or even steps. For example, if you are nine, you could run nine minutes a day in January. Aged 30, run 30 miles over the course of the month or aged 60 and run 6km a day throughout the month.

How you set this age-based running challenge is completely up to you.

Interested in taking part?

Contact the fundraising team on fundraising@agescotland.org.uk or visit age.scot/runyourage to sign up today and know that you’ll start 2023 by making a difference to older people who need us most.

When the time comes, don’t forget to share your challenge online and tag @AgeScotland on social media using #RunYourAgeScotland. We can’t wait to see all your pictures!

This challenge is sponsored by SKY Cares. SKY Cares have supported Age Scotland since 2019 through various activities such as providing volunteers for our friendship line and supporting our member groups small grants programme.

50 Visit us at www.agescotland.org.uk

Sponsored by SKY

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