Sharpie Al

Jerwood Gallery in Hastings plus a specials board outside an...

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:20:09 +0000

Jerwood Gallery in Hastings plus a specials board outside an eaterie a few hundred metres away. There are some mighty interesting discourses of ageing going on here.

An illustration agency named after this man: Handsome Frank....

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:37:00 +0000

An illustration agency named after this man: Handsome Frank. Good call.

Ping Pong was my favourite film of 2012. No contest.

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 00:12:34 +0000

Ping Pong was my favourite film of 2012. No contest.

Photo

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 00:05:19 +0000

One of the photos from Katherine Rose’s Lunch is Served...

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 11:20:00 +0000

One of the photos from Katherine Rose’s Lunch is Served collection, which appears in The Guardian. The caption under this image reads:

Great Croft day centre for the elderly, London.

Prawn cocktail, roast turkey, cheese and crackers, Christmas pudding, mince pie, Irish coffee.

Abul Choudhury, centre manager: “Christmas lunch is our big party of the year. We are a day centre for vulnerable elderly people. Many of our 60 guests have nowhere to go over Christmas, and 89% of them have no access to hot food. That’s why a Christmas meal is so important. “The atmosphere is always very buzzy and lively. We’ll have a piano and a singalong, and enjoy a few drinks. A lot of them tell me afterwards that it’s the best party they’ve been to in years.”

I recently discovered the work of Peter Baynton at a workshop...

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 23:35:00 +0000

I recently discovered the work of Peter Baynton at a workshop about Nutrition & Food Environments of Older Adults run by New Dynamics of Ageing. In addition to his fresh and non-patronising design for Hospital Foodie, a food and nutrition management system intended to be used in hospitals to help combat malnutrition, Peter has made some truly excellent animations about older people, of which Over The Hill is one. A powerful tale against institutional abuse, without exception I would recommend Over The Hill to everyone who works in health and social care. It’s the Belleville Rendez-Vous meets Panorama of the care sector. You’ll see what I mean.

What’s that you say, an older woman making music with...

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:04:00 +0000

What’s that you say, an older woman making music with household objects? Yup.

Very much looking forward to seeing Grandma Lo-Fi, which is being screened as part of Brighton’s very own CINECITY.

Watch the trailer. At least.

Beautiful, honest photo story by Alejandro Kirchuk about his...

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 19:59:00 +0000

Beautiful, honest photo story by Alejandro Kirchuk about his grandfather Marcos, who cared for his grandmother Monica, in her final years with Alzheimer’s.

Inspirational 91-year-old Iris Apfel: challenging almost...

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 22:36:00 +0100

Inspirational 91-year-old Iris Apfel: challenging almost everyone’s perception of old age, one outfit at a time. Go Iris!

(An aside: Dazed & Confused missed a trick, surely? Why not The Old Aesthetic)?

I watched Featherhead (2006), a sensitive - and devastatingly...

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:58:59 +0100

I watched Featherhead (2006), a sensitive - and devastatingly sad - short film, at dementia awareness training a few months ago. The film was made by Bridge and Tunnel Productions:

Featherhead is a moving tale of a lifelong love that is tested to the limit. John is forced to watch helplessly as his wife’s Alzheimer’s progresses and he is barely able to cope. Portraying the heart-breaking consequences of this confusing and frustrating disease, John’s emotions become visibly aggressive as he loses control. Arathi, an elderly Asian neighbour sees the situation decaying from across the fence. She must consider the boundary between help and interference, as the tragedy of the situation escalates.

Stunningly filmed by internationally renowned cinematographer, Brian Tufano (DP of Billy Elliot, East is East, and Trainspotting), ‘Featherhead’ leaves you with a unique empathy and a powerful understanding of a subject that is rarely discussed.

The Elders is an independent group of global leaders chaired by...

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 22:54:00 +0100

The Elders is an independent group of global leaders chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu who work together for peace and human rights. They were brought together in 2007 by Nelson Mandela, with a little nudge from Richard Branson and Peter Gabriel.

Elders all over the world are largely unsung superheroes. Let them not be invisible or silent. We need to acknowledge them and listen to what they have to say.

Illustrations by Chris Piascik via The Elders.

Great quote about The Amazings, and almost certainly true of...

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 23:47:00 +0100

Great quote about The Amazings, and almost certainly true of senior citizens in most town and cities across the world. Amazingness in elders is everywhere, we just have to recognise it.

Knitted Lives gave 40 women between the ages of 60 and 93 the...

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 00:02:00 +0100

Knitted Lives gave 40 women between the ages of 60 and 93 the opportunity to work with Fiona Rutherford and Jenny Burns, textile artists, and writer Carol McGuigan. Over a year the knitters produced a total of 125 three-dimensional knitted objects representing stories from their lives.

“A fantastic experience for older people to contribute their expertise and experiences in a creative, empowering and supportive project.” Fran O’Brien, Quality of Life Partnership.

Or in other words, knitting narrative.

I like it.

As Time Goes By: Thoughts on Well-Being in Later Years is a...

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 00:16:55 +0100

As Time Goes By: Thoughts on Well-Being in Later Years is a document produced with older people as co-researchers. It’s a good idea, of course. And by good idea, I really mean it should be common practice.

An old man, his beard, owls, yellow typography, wordplay. A...

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 23:24:00 +0100

An old man, his beard, owls, yellow typography, wordplay. A pleasing combination.

Wisdom from Jewish Care Pearls.

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 22:39:42 +0100

Wisdom from Jewish Care Pearls.

Jacky is the new (old?) face of American Apparel’s new...

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 23:49:46 +0100

Jacky is the new (old?) face of American Apparel’s new range, Advanced Style.

Oldsters are the original hipsters.

film,My favourite film of the year so far is a documentary about...

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 23:27:00 +0100

film,My favourite film of the year so far is a documentary about octogenarian (and older) ping pong champions. Need I say more? Probably not. But here’s more anyway, from the Ping Pong website:

8 players with 703 years between them compete in the World over 80s Table Tennis Championships in Inner Mongolia.

Terry (81) having been given a week to live, gets in sight of winning gold. Inge (89) has used table tennis to train her way out of the dementia ward she committed herself to. Australian legend Dorothy deLow is 100, and finds herself a mega celebrity in this rarefied world and Texan Lisa Modlich, a new-comer at 85 years old, is determined to do whatever it takes to win her first gold. This film is as much about the tenacity of the human spirit as it is a meditation on mortality.

Ping Pong: Never Too Old For Gold.

So it turns out that biscotti are easy to make, and much cheaper...

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 22:00:00 +0100

So it turns out that biscotti are easy to make, and much cheaper than shop bought (but that’s no surprise, of course).

They are also miniature crumb factories. Seriously.

Recipe from BBC Food.

Old people in love = the best.

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 20:07:59 +0100

Old people in love = the best.