Monday, June 30, 2008

Old at 65 - is there life after 64?


Yesterday’s Observer had an interesting and amusing article about the trauma/delight of reaching 65.

Once you had got over the much-used example of Mick reaching 65 and onto 'ordinary people', some you might have heard of, most who will be a mystery, it became very amusing. There is the full mix of emotions of what it is like reaching retirement age (in the UK).

I was struck by the total mismatch between the way these people feel and the stereotypes of 65 year olds that still litter the world of marketing.

When you have a spare 5 mins have a look.

People you might have heard about on reaching 65
Jonathan Aitken “I actually feel a slight relief that I'm not 25 anymore... I've found peace”
Rose Tremain “I suppose 65 is considered retirement age, but writers don't retire”
Des Lynam “Age definitely matters; you can't roll the clock back”
John Eliot Gardiner “I feel happier now and more on course than I did at 45”

People you probably haven’t heard about
Anne Jones “I would dispute the idea that 65 is elderly”
Margaret Ellison “people of my age have had a wonderful period of history to live through”
Ramesh Verma “It makes me angry when people ask when I'm going to retire. Why should I?”
Dave McManus “I thought I'd be retired by 60”

Dick Stroud

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