Hello. My name is Heather and I have joined the Mabels team primarily as a researcher.

 

I am over 50, but not yet retired from full-time employment, so I have an interest in many issues that may be in common with your own. However, the intention of the Mabels site is to bring information and help to anyone in "our" age-bracket, so my interests may differ from yours. Please take the time to let us know of any particular item we can help with and we will try to find the web-sites that may help or research the topic to bring you up-to-date information. Obviously, though we are a small committed band (some might say we should be committed) we are only human - so please allow us some time to do the research we may need to do! If you have any information that you think might benefit others, let us know and we will incorporate it if we can. Obviously, we will not put any items on the Mabels web-site that could be construed as prejudiced or be of a pornographic nature.

 

I have just read about the recent outbreak of bird flu and, whilst we must be vigilant, am somewhat disappointed to see that wild birds will be killed on entering UK airspace if they have migrated from anywhere where the bird flu virus is known to exist. People's health is important and the possible loss of 50,000 people in the UK alone would be devastating if the virus should mutate with the human flu virus - especially as the most vulnerable will be the very young, very old or those already suffering from a health complaint. But the culling of birds will further reduce the species we now have left on our planet, so I hope the authorities will not jump too quickly to this task. Perhaps more should be done to produce a vaccine for the birds bred for food and to allay the fears people will now have on eating their Sunday roast chicken! But it is the facts that we need to know, not scare-mongering by newspapers in order for them to sell more copies! Whilst I am not a paid-up member of any organised environmental group, I do believe that we have an obligation to care for our world. Many of the life-saving drugs that are now used as a matter of course had their beginnings in the "natural" world. Plants, flowers, trees etc have been the start point of many drugs that are now manufactured - but what else might there be that we have not yet found in our own backyard? If you have any health issues you'd like aired, please let us know. We have recently added some information on asbestos diseases.

 

As to our backyards - gardening is a joy to many and a burden to others, so perhaps more information on labour-saving tools would be interesting. A day working in the garden certainly has its drawbacks as we get older and a soak in a hot bath can be a real luxury. But if you have mobility problems you might not only want tools that help do the jobs in the garden, but also the right help to get in or out of the bath. Many items to help the less able are available from local councils or charities, but finding them might be a problem.

 

So often the facts older people need to know are not broadcast. There are many benefits that are available to the elderly that have to be claimed when perhaps they should be issued as a right when a person reaches the age or circumstance that means they are eligible. I fail to understand why the Council Tax should have to be such a burden to those who have the least ability to pay it. If you live in a reasonable home and are managing on the basic pension, the Council Tax can take up about ¼ of your "income". The facts, though, show that there are more of us living to a greater age than there were and there are fewer young people earning sufficient salaries to pay the tax and insurance needed to fund our pensions. But there may be ways that pensions can be better invested or alternative ways of "stretching" the pension to meet the needs. Pension funding information may be what you need. Also, Jo Godden (our features editor) has many ideas that are very sound on a day-to-day basis, so I hope you take the time to read some of her suggestions - and please let us know of any tried and tested ideas you may have that might help someone else.

 

After a lifetime of working or raising a family - retirement should be the time to do all those things you've put off, so if holidays or hobbies are your interest you may have ideas that would appeal to others, so please let us know.

 

In the meantime, we will continue to add information and articles that we feel may be of interest and please don't forget about the winter flu vaccine you can book through your GP. Take advantage and protect yourself from the usual flu that goes around during the winter. In fact this would have protected me from the flu I've been suffering for the last week if I had taken my own advice!

 

To contact me, Just click here …………

Heather

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