Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Thought for the day (Black humour warning!)

Dean you are to young to remember song from Zagger and Evans in the year 2525 from the 1960s how true it starting to look .

Philip - I'm sorry to see about your father. Jill and I both lost our parents a number of years ago so have "dealt" with that loss already.

At aged 51 my perspective is that there are relatively a small number of people and businesses making vast amounts of money which with that comes power and collusion with the politicians.

The other worrying situation is that a friend of mine who is very well informed claims that a child has already been born that during their life time will reach 150 years old. My aunt who recently reached 100 years old and sadly died 10 days after was apparently one of 700 people of 100+ in the UK. Apparently, during the time this person gets to live to 150 it will not be uncommon for people to live to 120 and 130 years old with improvements in lifestyle and healthcare - if you can get it!

Which all begs the question how can many "normal" people afford to live to that age and even if we are all in a better state of health until later in our life will there be enough jobs in B&Q for 90+ year olds to keep us all alive!

The thought of spending years just existing in a "home" is doesn't bear thinking about. Perhaps I need to change our holiday cottage business into a "Cocoon" Club for Morgan owners!

Meanwhile - take every chance of getting out in the Morgan....

I was going to type a tongue in cheek reply to the original post but find I cannot.

My mother died in early February this year aged 98. She was a biology teacher and for many of those years in Malvern.

In her latter years she regularly used to say that she was living too long. She broke her hip when 95 and came close to refusing surgery but was persuaded by the excellent Plymouth Surgeon she should.

We often talked about euthanasia and I concluded that I could not ever make that decision as long as a quality of life of some sort remained. It is often said that it is easier with pets, well I would disagree with that as I am still haunted by my golden retrievers head in my lap being stroked as she left this world.

If euthanasia was to be come available by law I personally would want many checks put in place. To die with dignity is a wish we all have for ourselves and our loved ones but as a previous poster has said people have to be protected from the unscrupulous.

I spent many many hours with mother in the very good care home in Kingsbridge in her final months and treasure every minute, including walking her out to see the mog starting the engine so she (and all the other residents - she was a tad deaf so much revving) could hear the twin pipe music.

To those of you who have aged relatives make the most of your time with them.

Pete

My parents died in 2000, both after very short periods in hospital. So they lived in their home doing exactly as they pleased until the end. So a great way to go. But of a shock for us, Mum went after 2 days in hospital and 6 weeks later dad dropped dead as he got out of bed. I think he wanted to. They were married for 56 years and he was hopeless on his own.

My only sadness is that they were only 74 and 77, their lifes shortened by their lifestyle choices and refusal to listen to anyone.

But the population timebomb is a real concern: my daughter expects and wants nothing from the state, she already has built up a reasonable investment portfolio and owns 25% of her house. Not bad at 28. But she understands both the value of work and how to manage money. Her concern is that "they" will tax the hell out of her wealth to support the growing underclass.

A very contentious statement: from the 1600s to the 1950s we culled many through disease, war and dangerous manual work.
This has all stopped, we call it progress Now we don't know what to do with the surplus who are often nice enough, but have and are not able to develop the skills needed in our ever more complex society.

Suggestions?

Those in their 50s and 60s are today's new middle aged. As a society we have to have a major culture shift that people plan for their twilight years and that includes healthcare, the US model is not perfect but goes further down the route than the UK model. There will always be those who cannot / will not be able and they should be looked after in a basic way and not the generous handouts we have in the UK again a culture shift. I think that families need to take more responsibility of their elderly members - easy for me to say being single with no immediate family, but I have made my own arrangements....

rant over

As a "younger" member each day I am further away from retirement and any (??) state pension than the day before.

I'm developing plan B, not least that my final salary pension scheme closed a while back.

In Australia each employer must pay 9.5% (up gradually from 9% to 13% over several years) in to a fund. This is your money so what is not spent in retirement goes to your estate. There are tax incentives to put money in and to take out (above a certain age). You can invest your superannuation fund in to many things, such as property, art etc. BUT you must gain no enjoyment from them. So a garage of AreoMax's anyone?

Richard - one of us on here enjoy our Morgans at all. Do we? Any of us? ...

Meant "none" not "one"!

What the tax man doesn't see ...

Maybe this is the answer?

Gov sponsored women and pies to see off "men of a certain age"?