Dear Prime Time member,
Hmm – what a change in the weather. I’m rather regretting having introduced the topic of ‘Flaming June’ in last week’s letter as the orange hues of Frederic Leighton’s painting have been replaced by the grey and damp of a stereotypical British summer. On the plus side though, I won’t be needing to water the plants for the next few days – every cloud has a silver lining…! And the rain will do our gardens, parks and other outdoor spaces a lot of good by helping to keep the verdant green shades and prevent plants and trees from prematurely turning brown. Having said that though, I for one am hoping that the sunshine, once rested after its endeavours earlier this week – returns soon.
The glorious weather we enjoyed over last weekend was not just a blessing to us, but of course showed off the natural beauty of St Ives to perfection as that little Cornish town had the world’s media spotlight shone on it as it hosted the summit of G7 leaders. I love seeing places that I’ve visited feature on TV. I like the experience of thinking ‘I recognise that place; I’ve walked there!’ or ‘I remember that shop!’ The news coverage of last weekend’s summit brought back many happy memories of summer holidays spent in Cornwall. I’m assuming that St Ives marauding seagulls were somehow kept at bay for the duration of the G7 summit. I didn’t hear any stories of Boris Johnson or Joe Biden having had had their lunch stolen out of their hand by a seagull as was my experience as I sat on St Ives beach a few years ago! The seagulls of St Ives have actually become such a nuisance, that there are now official street signs placed at regular intervals all around the harbour advising people to sit with their back up against a wall if they are eating so that seagulls cannot swoop at you from behind and steal your food. Pity I hadn’t noticed the signs before I started eating my lunch…!
As I watched the news coverage of last weekend’s summit as well as reminiscing about happy holidays past and with the reports very much focusing in on Joe Biden’s first trip to the UK as US President, I found myself viewing the media reports with something of a professional eye. Why? Joe Biden’s age. At 78, Joe Biden is Prime Time age. Whilst at the summit, the President of the United States was introduced to another very well-known face representing the Prime Time generation; Her Majesty the Queen. Joe Biden is the oldest person ever to assume the office of President of the United States and at 95 years of age, Queen Elizabeth II is the longest lived British sovereign. Why I am telling you this? To encourage.
After church last Sunday morning, we hosted a welcome event for people new to the church. All of the team here were asked to introduce ourselves and as briefly as possible explain a little as to what we do. Obviously I mentioned Prime Time as well as the Hearing Aid Clinics and our Befriending Scheme. I also talked about all of our shared activities with local schools but I ended by saying that a lot of my role is about encouragement. I am in the privileged position of being able to go to events like these and stand there and say that society has created quite a negative view of older age which can lead to a situation where we do not tend to celebrate this stage of people’s lives. As a church we recognise that and are doing what we can to encourage self-belief and self-esteem in individuals as they journey through this stage of life and in so doing, hopefully fostering a sense of self-value within people as they age. By getting this message out there, not only to the Prime Time generation, but importantly to the wider community – it is our hope that locally at least, much greater value will be placed on people living through older age. This is why we give such priority to our intergenerational work. Today’s young people are the leaders of tomorrow and we hope that by introducing the concept of value in older age to these young people, as they grow up and take their place in society, they will not only value older people but value the contributions people of older age are still able to make to their families and communities.
Last month at the age of 81, Sir Tom Jones topped the UK album chart with his latest album and of course we will all remember last year’s fantastic achievement by Captain Sir Tom Moore who a few days before his 100th birthday claimed the No. 1 spot in the UK Singles Chart with his rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone. In so doing, he became the oldest ever artist to hold the UK No. 1 spot. Now I’m not suggesting that Prime Time members need to try their hands at becoming recording artists or running for high political office (unless you want to that is…!) But I would encourage everyone as they age to not see age in itself as a barrier to achieving; or if not achieving, to just ‘doing’ or ‘participating’. Be warned, if you’re chatting to me and I hear ‘I can’t do that at my age!’, you’re likely to receive the response ‘Why not?!’ If there is something you would like to do, but feel that age is preventing you either physically or because you just feel the activity is not open to you on the grounds of age – please do feel you can talk to me about it. I may not be able to help make those aspirations happen, but I’ll give it my all in trying to help you get there; whether ‘there’ is learning a new skill, volunteering or making new friends and socialising (or anything else that is on your ‘bucket list’ but you have previously thought you couldn’t openly say because you felt it might not be appropriate for your age). As well as running groups and activities to enable older adults to stay connected, I’m here to help challenge and break down barriers – be they real or perceived and to encourage a change of attitude toward ageing. Life doesn’t stop at retirement, 70 or even 80. There’s a lot of life to be lived in older age; and if you’ll let me, I’d like to help you find it.
‘They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green’ (Psalm 92, Verse 14)
The Queen is a fantastic role model of someone ‘still bearing fruit in old age’. Next year will be the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne – her Platinum Jubilee. We are in the early stages of planning some Prime Time Jubilee celebrations, some of which at least we hope to be able to share with the children at local schools; in a similar way to the World War II event we were able to enjoy together a few years ago. Once we have plans firmly in place and dates we will let you know. I realise that the Jubilee celebrations are many months ahead, but I wanted to let you know that we are thinking of the future, past Covid and our current socially-distanced existence. There will be events before next year’s Jubilee I assure you, but we wanted to let you know that we are working behind the scenes and making plans for the future. We will be back, but when we are we want to make sure we get it right, do it well and keeping everybody as safe as possible. Above all we want to ensure that Prime Time is meeting your needs. Over the next few weeks you will be receiving an invitation to come along to the Old Rectory and in a small group spend time chatting with me and other members of the team which will give us an opportunity to get a feel of where all our members are at both individually and collectively; so that future events and activities that we plan are more likely to hit the spot and be what is needed.
I quite often get asked where I find my inspiration for the content of the weekly emails. The answer is that I keep my eyes open; in the media, online and even when reading advertisements, for content that might be relevant to the Prime Time generation. This week’s inspiration came from a page on the BBC website entitled ‘13 proverbs and quotes to help you in times of need’. No. 12 on the list was a quote from Ancient Greek Philosopher Plato. ‘He who is of calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age’. I cannot guarantee a life of constant calm and happiness. Being a Christian does not protect you from the bumps in the road along life’s journey; sometimes they feel more like rather big pot-holes if we’re being honest… But what being part of a church community such as Prime Time does give you is upgraded suspension which helps keep going on along that road and knowing that you are not journeying on your own.
A glance out of the window confirms to me that it is still raining. I’ve just looked on the calendar; apparently today is International Picnic Day. Oh dear, soggy sandwiches again… (But maybe picnicking in the rain is the solution to having ones sandwiches stolen by seagulls…!)
Wishing you a dry and happy week ahead.
With every blessing,
Penny x
Penny Naylor
Seniors’ Ministry Lead