Compilation Holding Back the Years

Today there are more people over the age of 60

than under 16...

You're 83.

100 years on this earth.

We've got some amazing volunteers here - 80s and 90s.

..but what does growing older mean for you?

Difficult, um, sometimes more than other times.

I don't think you should be nervous about getting old.

-Yeah.

-It's a wonderful stage.

Our team is getting to the bottom of the key ageing concerns

YOU'VE told us about.

Deciding WHEN to retire.

Being more sociable.

Keeping healthy.

Making your voice heard.

-AINSLEY:

-Or the cost of happiness.

And even if you haven't reached your own golden years,

it's never too early to start planning.

So whether you're an old dog or a young pup,

get ready to learn some new tricks...

-Oh!

-..as we lift the lid

on holding back the years.

Coming up, Angela Rippon investigates pensioner poverty

and how to find out what YOU'RE entitled to.

If you're on an income of less than £155 a week,

come to us, get in touch.

Actress Maureen Lipman celebrates the anniversary of a club

that's been helping older folks stay connected and combat loneliness

for 75 years.

We've got two tins of baked beans -

don't eat them all at once cos you know what will happen.

Arlene Phillips discovers the revolutionary way

that modern cities are dealing with their ageing population.

When you see older people stand up at meetings and say,

"This work has transformed my life," then it's fantastic.

-It's champagne time!

-Ooh!

And Ainsley Harriott uncovers the secrets of how to live to 100.

100 years on this earth.

That is remarkable.

-But first, perhaps I should tell you how

-I

-fit into all this.

Well, as a journalist for almost 40 years myself,

I can't help wondering if we, in my profession,

haven't contributed to all this doom and gloom about getting older.

So I thought it might be time to balance things up a bit.

I've also got a bit of a personal reason.

I turned 60 myself last year and it led me to think a bit more

about staying in shape,

looking after myself and the state of my health,

and what the process of ageing holds in store for me.

So this is a perfect journey for me to be going on.

OK, let's get this show on the road.

And I want to start, as we journalists often do,

with a bit of an exclusive.

I'm about to show you a place that is unique.

The Centre for Cognitive Ageing at Edinburgh University

studies the minds of old people - quite literally -

all in an effort to understand what causes good ageing and bad ageing

in the human brain.

I'm meeting some octogenarians who've come in to get

their fundamental cognitive skills tested today.

Or, to put that in everyday language,

seeing just how well their minds are working.

First up, Margaret,

who's using a piece of equipment that's checking her reaction skills.

-Excellent.

-I'm scared to blink.

TESTER LAUGHS

-You try very hard, don't you, Margaret?

-I do.

I mean, you do take it very seriously.

-LAUGHING:

-I do!

-I try to second-guess, so you're thinking, two must be...

-Uh-huh.

-Oh! Four.

-Cos you want to do as best... As well as you possibly can.

-Yeah, and you get a bit...

-How is she doing?

Splendid. That's a very good time.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

Patrick is completing a test on his spatial awareness,

something we use every day to get ourselves around.

OK, that's your time up, so we stop there.

-Nearly!

-That's fiendishly difficult, that one.

-Yeah.

-Particularly difficult one.

Yeah!

That last one caused a wee bit of a problem, I knew it would,

but, um, I think I did not too bad.

And George is having what we all worry about losing in later life -

memory - put through the mangle.

-Great.

-It's confusing, George, isn't it?

Terrible.

If you can't lock on...

-..with the image, you lose it.

-Yes.

To you or me, this may look like

a few pensioners doing some puzzles,

but it's actually producing some interesting scientific insights

about how the older mind works.

-Hi.

-Hi, Ian.

-Mr Turnbull. Hi, I'm Ian Deary.

To explain more about this research and what it could mean for us,

I'm meeting Professor Ian Deary.

What we're trying to find out is, why is it that some people get to

a particular age, the same as others, but are actually different?

They're healthier or they can think better.

So is ageing more a thing of the mind than the body,

does it work like that?

For me and my team, we don't think of them as separate.

The brain is another organ of the body and it does stuff.

It does thinking stuff and other stuff as well.

And think about it, the brain has a blood supply,

it's got cells and tissues that age like other aspects of the body,

and, of course, that's reflected in our results.

We're finding that people who have healthier bodies tend,

it's not a strong association,

but tend also to have healthier thinking skills.

So we don't separate them.

Perhaps the most important piece of research they do here

is an experiment that uses a unique set of senior citizens

to analyse the effect of ageing

on the human mind, and its origins are fascinating.

In 1947, something happened in Scotland

that was quite extraordinary.

A national intelligence test

was carried out on all 11-year-old children

and the results survive to this day.

Those children are now in their 80s and they've been tracked down

and recruited to be part of something called

the Lothian Birth Cohort.

By contrasting how their brains work today

compared to when they were kids,

the professor and his team have discovered some interesting things

about how our minds age and perhaps what can be done to preserve them.

We've looked at everything,

from genetic factors to health and medical factors,

biochemical factors and social ones as well,

and in each of those different areas, we have found things that are

interesting with respect to whether people are ageing well or less well

compared to their colleagues.

So, for example, we found one or two little genetic effects -

some of the genes that appear to affect whether or not

one gets dementia also affect normal cognitive ageing.

We've also found that the people who don't smoke are ageing in thinking

skills slightly better than others.

As are the people who are fitter

and those people who also take more exercise.

We also found some interesting more social things,

so, for example, people with more education,

people in more professional jobs and people who can speak more than one

language have small advantages in this cognitive ageing.

Their thinking skills are slightly better

than we'd otherwise expect in older age.

So don't smoke, get some exercise and even learning a language

seem to be key pieces of advice.

And the reason is because all these things can affect the way

the brain connects together,

as the professor is showing me now.

This is an anonymised brain from the Lothian Birth Cohort of 1936

and what this shows are the brain's connections.

So most people have heard of the grey matter of the brain

and broadly speaking, that's on the outside of the brain,

the thinking stuff.

But the thinking stuff works because it's connected

with what's called the white matter, which lies underneath,

and what we've found is that

the people whose white matter is healthier, more intact,

tend to have better thinking skills than other people.

What's so exciting about a place like this

is that the research they're doing here

could one day help lead to cures for the illnesses

that often accompany old age, like Alzheimer's.

But I get the feeling there's a lot more to learn

from the golden oldie guinea pigs,

so I've gathered them together

to conduct my own somewhat less scientific survey.

Well, may I say, you're all looking marvellous?

ALL LAUGH I hope I look as good as you

when I get to be the age of 80, if I actually get that far.

First of all, are you all happy to be at the age that you are?

-ALL:

-Yes.

Yes. 80's a good year?

-Yeah.

-A great year.

When you're 80, in your head you're never more than 50.

-You're not frightened of what other people might think about you.

-Yeah.

You're... You're free, you're more independent,

you can say and do what you like.

So you're special people, aren't you?

Because you're part of the Lothian Birth Cohort.

Have you enjoyed the process?

-ALL:

-Yes.

-Oh, yes. Very much so. Yes.

What's been the best part of it?

-Resitting my 11-plus.

-ALL LAUGH

-And getting more marks for it.

-Yes!

-Getting very good marks!

I found out that I wasn't as stupid

as my big brother always told me I was.

LAUGHTER

I got a free MOT at the hospital.

-Health.

-Health check.

-Health check. Marvellous.

To think that the group I'm talking to now were the kids who took

the national intelligence test 70 years ago is truly remarkable.

But while their minds and bodies may have changed quite a lot,

inside they are the same people,

who must have learned a great deal over the course of their lives.

So what better way to end our conversation

than by getting some top tips.

Now, for younger people...

got any tips about how they might age as gracefully as you have?

To be confident and to enjoy

the times in which you're living.

-I think it's important to continue to learn.

-Yes.

I think it's important to be looking around ourselves at the world

and the people of the world, obviously,

and to be learning and asking yourself questions.

It's probably helped, though,

hasn't it, taking part in the study, hasn't it?

-ALL:

-Yes.

-Oh, yes.

I've thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it very, very interesting.

And it's quite humbling, in a way, that we're being able,

through our brains, to do good for other people in the future.

Hear, hear. But I suppose while I'M here,

I, too, should lend my brain to science.

So I'm having a go at the dreaded memory test.

Wish me luck.

Hmm.

-Great. That's brilliant.

-Was that good?

I wouldn't want to try doing that when I'm 80 years old.

I don't think I'd do nearly so well.

HE CHUCKLES

Still, it's good to know that my brain is doing OK.

And this place has brought us the good news that perhaps we shouldn't

worry quite so much about getting older.

It's really lovely to see

some of the smiling faces from these photographs

still bright and engaged here 70 years later.

Ageing is such a complicated subject

but the work they're doing here in Edinburgh

gives us great hope for the future.

From Edinburgh, we head now down the coast to Hull,

where Maureen Lipman has arrived just in time

for a very special anniversary.

Now, don't laugh,

but the stop I'm taking you on our grand day out

is a place that provides an invaluable service

for older people who want to get out of the house

and have a bit of company -

the Darby and Joan Club, which has been around for a while.

-NEWSREEL:

-The grand old people of Streatham,

the old-age pensioners of the district,

have been provided with a snug little refuge all their own

with the opening of the Darby and Joan Club,

believed to be the first of its kind in Great Britain.

Today, these clubs are run by Her Majesty's Royal Voluntary Service,

helping over 100,000 people a month to have a lovely time.

But here's the twist - the volunteers are almost as old,

if not older, than those they serve.

So I'm meeting a few of them,

like 81-year-old Jennifer, who's in charge.

She's been a volunteer for an incredible 39 years.

Well, I get a lot of pleasure from meeting all the people

and I also find it really...

The structure of my week, if you follow me.

-Yes.

-The Friday.

-Yeah.

-And, yes, it's... It gives me a purpose in life.

-Yes.

-Yes.

I notice, of course, that the ratio of women to men is a bit staggering.

-Yes.

-I've counted six men so far.

-Yes.

-Do they get mobbed?

No.

Dorothy, meanwhile, has been here even longer.

Dorothy, I know that you're... just over 90.

-Yes.

-And that you've been here for how long?

-40 years.

-In a way, it's a panacea.

-It is a sort of a therapy, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Yes, well, you realise that you may have problems but they're not nearly

as bad as a lot of the people that come here.

And Joyce even longer still!

May I ask how old you are?

I'm 92.

So a lot of people might think,

"She should be sitting there having her dinner brought to her,"

but you're doing the work.

But these three are only the tip of a very big iceberg.

At last count, the Royal Voluntary Service

boasted over 35,000 volunteers,

dedicated to helping senior citizens remain independent

whilst staying social.

And whether it's visiting them in hospital,

going down the shops or popping around for a cuppa,

every year they make some 90,000 journeys

on behalf of Britain's elderly.

But get this - it benefits them, too,

because there is evidence to suggest

that volunteering is good for your own health,

as the Royal Voluntary Service's national boss is keen to stress.

I mean, you've got some amazing volunteers here today,

-but they're, like, 80s and 90s.

-They are.

You think, "They should be sitting down,"

but they're not, they're serving others.

Well, they're not, but I'm not sure I agree that the answer is young

volunteers cos, for me, the people who are in their 70s and 80s and 90s

that are coming here and volunteering,

-that's as important as those people who are being served lunch...

-Yes.

..by our volunteers, cos there's very, very clear evidence, uh,

from a professor in Manchester, that being a volunteer

helps you live longer, be physically better and mentally better.

# Don't let's be beastly to the Germans

# When our victory is ultimately won... #

There is something of a wartime spirit about this place

and that's no real surprise given its history.

The Royal Voluntary Service started off

as the Women's Voluntary Service, back in 1938

and it was part of keeping the home front going.

Their first line of defence - a good cup of tea.

Wherever men work over here, it's tea they want.

The WVS brings the tea to them.

Next to blood, it's Britain's most precious liquid.

Over the years, they've evolved into an organisation that helps

older people stay in touch with wider society,

especially through its pioneering meals on wheels service.

There is a private, as well as a public conscience,

about old people who live alone.

For the few the short-handed meals on wheels volunteers can visit,

the brief company of someone they know and a meal ready to eat

are a double godsend.

Today, using food as a way into people's lives

is a philosophy that David believes

is still at the heart of their mission.

About five years ago, we started the campaign to end loneliness

because it's a kind of hidden disease.

We know there are very clear medical stats

that say chronic loneliness

is as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

And that sounds slightly strange, but if you think about it,

we're sociable people, we are programmed to be with others.

There's a lot of talk at the moment

about the NHS and social care and funding,

but the reality is, most older people don't need nurses,

they don't need social workers, they don't need care homes,

they need somebody to talk to.

They need a reason to get out of the house in the morning.

OK, well, I think it's time I stopped chatting and got serving.

Who knows, it might take a few years off me as well.

-AMERICAN ACCENT:

-My name is Maureen and I'm really happy to serve you.

Oh, lovely.

-And...

-I don't think I'm supposed to be eating here, am I?

-Yes, you are.

Have a nice day!

At last, it's time for me to take the weight off my feet

and have a natter...

which is the REAL reason for being here.

So, come on, gang, tell me,

what do you get out of coming here every Friday?

It means it's somewhere

I can bring my wife out to

because I'm more concerned about HER

mixing with people.

Right, which one of these gorgeous women is your wife?

-No, she's sat at the next table.

-Oh, she's...

So you want her mixing with people but not with you?

Do you come here, Edna,

for the food or the company or both?

Both. Yes.

You have a feeling when you're here,

you're being well looked after

during that period of time

that you're here.

Do you think it's harder to make friends when you're older?

Yes. I think it is and if you're in a flat on your own, um,

it can get a bit lonely

and I don't like to say it in front of these gentlemen,

but you can get a bit fed up with television.

LAUGHTER

Lunch over, time for the dishes to be done,

which, not having brought my rubber gloves with me,

I'm quite keen to avoid, if you don't mind!

So give me the microphone, there's a raffle to be run!

Number 16.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am your raffle drawer for the day.

-ALL:

-Ooh!

-Ooh!

We've got tuna chunks and we've got a packet of biscuits

and what's that blue tin over there?

-Some pork.

-Oh, a tin of pork?

Oh, I'm not talking about that, I don't do pork.

Ooh, you can feel the anticipation in the room!

Right, and the winner of any of these fabulous prizes is 188.

While my glamorous assistant, Veronica, hands out the prizes,

strangely, not even the lucky winners seem to want the sardines.

She doesn't want the sardines.

She's going to give her the sardines whether she wants them or not.

I think my presentation skills have won them over, you know?

Someone even wants my autograph.

I do hope they don't think I'm Angela Rippon.

But do you know something?

This has been an afternoon I really won't forget for a long time.

That was so enjoyable.

Um, volunteers, some of whom are older than their guests,

who go away feeling as if they've contributed...

..to society, as if they've had a laugh.

It's quite wonderful what they're doing

and I just wonder who are the next set of volunteers?

Where are they going to come from? Because we're all working longer and

longer hours just to stay where we are in life.

And how do you put it across to people

that Darby and Joan used to be Jack and Jill?

Thanks to Maureen and all the gang at the Darby and Joan.

From Hull, it's over to Devon now,

where Angela Rippon has the lowdown

on how to find out what YOU are entitled to.

For most people, affording luxury retirement simply is not an option.

Indeed, for those living on the basic state pension,

survival is the name of the game.

I'm meeting up with former nurse Julie Ellis, who,

despite having worked for over 55 years,

at the age of 78 lives on her own

without any occupational or private pension.

How difficult is it for you to manage on your money?

It is difficult, um, sometimes more than other times,

depending when all the bills come in.

And sometimes it's four months at a time, each quarter.

How anxious are you about your financial situation?

Um... I do get anxious, but I try not to.

Um... So I think,

"Well, if I haven't got it, they'll have to wait."

And if I've got it, I pay it straightaway

cos they put on the bills -

"Please pay this by such and such a date."

So I pay it bang on the date, but if I haven't got it, they have to wait.

-Yeah.

-You know.

So you just live on your old-age pension,

you have no other income at all?

-No.

-Do you not have any of the other benefits that you're due or not?

No, cos there's no other benefits, Angela. None at all.

Um, as far as I know...

you've got the state pension and that's it.

-That's it, really.

-Have you ever looked to see whether or not

you're eligible for other money?

-No, I haven't, actually. No.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-So there might be more money out there that you could have.

-There might be, yeah.

-Yeah.

I've...I've not gone into it, put it that way.

You know, cos nobody's ever asked me that before, so I wouldn't know.

Yeah.

And Julie is NOT alone.

According to official figures,

there are up to 1.6 million pensioners

currently living in poverty throughout the UK.

That's a shocking one in seven,

with a further 1.2 million living just above the poverty line.

I want to get beneath the statistics to see what this means in stark

day-to-day terms for people like Julie.

When you've paid all of your bills, how much are you left with?

Well, they all come at different times.

So your bills are what?

-Um...

-Your rent?

The rent, the water rates, the council tax...

um...

the electricity and I think that's about it.

Yeah, that's about it.

But how much are you left with when you've paid all your bills?

About £50.

£50 a week.

£50 a week?

-Something like that, yeah.

-That's not very much, is it?

-No, no.

-No.

So, you know, I try to be careful with my shopping etc,

and going to charity shops for my clothes.

Just gently stretch the arm...

The idea of pensioners like Julie being able to afford Pilates classes

or swimming lessons is clearly fanciful,

but it's also the basics that she struggles to afford,

things as fundamental to health and wellbeing as food and warmth.

Now, what about food?

Because that's just as important as everything else.

-You don't want to go without food, do you?

-No, no.

I, um... I go to the cheapest places, supermarkets,

and I buy food for one and if it's food for one,

like beef,

then I get a dish of mashed swede and carrots for £1

and that lasts me two days.

I have, like, pork tongue,

that's £1, and you get six slices and I have that with Italian pasta,

but that lasts for a few days, so I buy like that all the time.

It's another reminder that the quality of your retirement

is fundamentally affected by what you can afford.

But what's also extraordinary about Julie

is that she doesn't feel sorry for her situation.

In fact, she's even come up with some rather unique tips

for saving money!

Well, first of all, I don't have a washing machine.

I wash by hand and if I have sheets and duvets,

I put them in the bath and put hot water on

and sometimes I stamp up and down.

If people saw me they'd think I'm crazy.

Anyway, I dry them in the bathroom

and if it's the summer and the spring,

I put them outside on the clothesline.

I always buy uncreasable so I don't have to iron them,

so I don't have to use the iron.

Obviously, a couple of things in my wardrobe I have to iron,

but not very much.

About once a year, if that!

If I run out of shampoo and I need to wash my hair,

I use washing-up liquid and it's great.

I keep my electric lights off

and I've got the light from the television and the street light.

-JULIE LAUGHS

-So...

When I... I bring my bedding,

pyjamas and dressing gown in here and I change when it's warm,

and as I've only got to go next door,

I run in and go straight into bed.

I've got no... I've got a duvet, I've got no electric blanket,

I've got no hot water bottles...

I just get in there and cuddle up and that's it,

and I don't even put the light on in my bedroom

cos I can see the lights from outside coming in.

-JULIE LAUGHS

-So...

I'm saving all the time, yeah.

-You do live a very frugal life with everything that you do.

-Mm.

Are you constantly aware that you just don't have enough money

to live life the way you might want to?

I try not to think about it.

I'd like to do more, but I can't and it's no use worrying about it,

cos you'd get ill.

So I try and do what I can through the week and through the months

and I leave it at that.

I try not to dwell on it.

That's the word I'm looking for - dwell.

Pensioner poverty, of course, is nothing new and, in many ways,

is a lot less prevalent than it once was.

Back in the really bad old days,

if senior citizens couldn't afford to look after themselves

or have family to do it for them,

they were often put in the poorhouse or poor farms in rural areas.

Thankfully, these are now a thing of the distant past.

And yet, meeting Julie has shown that the situation

is far from perfect.

So I want to know if anything can be done to help her and those like her.

So I'm meeting Martin Rogers, who's head of Age UK in Exeter.

And right away, he seems to have some good advice

for pensioners like Julie.

-And, of course, the old-age pension is round about £119 a week.

-Yeah.

Now, the Government has a top-up system

to bring everyone up to a level

so that no-one should have less than £155 a week coming in.

But the problem is, so many people don't claim that,

so nearly 40% of people who are eligible for pension credit

don't claim it

and the difference that could make for people, on average,

is something like £42 a week.

So a huge thing that Age UK is doing is saying,

if YOU think, if you're on an income of less than £155 a week,

come to us, get in touch.

We can easily do a benefits check - it's very simple -

and we can find out whether you can improve your income

and therefore, your standard of living

and the choices you can make in your life.

Well, that will be music to Julie's ears

and to anyone else who didn't know

there were top-up benefits to be claimed.

But why aren't they applying?

I think we're talking about a group of people who have been

self-sufficient, very self-sufficient in the past.

They are proud, they're not used to asking for things and they certainly

worry, I think, about saying,

"I think I should have this," and then getting knocked back

and almost being seen as though

they're trying to get something they shouldn't have.

And when you add that into sometimes...

Even in this day and age, there's something of a stigma, maybe,

about going to a charity to get advice,

even though it could be, you know,

Citizens Advice, it could be Age UK...

There's still a barrier and that's what we have to get over.

We have to be much better at communicating to people

that this is not a luxury for you, this is your right,

this is how the Government's been set up, because at the moment,

every year, we have something like £3.5 billion of unclaimed benefits

-for older people.

-Mm.

3.5 billion! It's crazy!

All of which is great advice, but, for Martin,

the ultimate lesson to be learned

is for tomorrow's generation of pensioners.

We've got an ageing population.

Things, presumably, can not only, perhaps not get better,

they might even get worse,

so what is the challenge for the future?

I think one of the worries is now that it feels as though we've gone

beyond occupational pension schemes.

They can't... If they can't be afforded,

we all need to take more responsibility ourselves

for putting money into a pension pot.

But annuities aren't paying very much,

interest rates are very low, so that is a worry for people.

We don't know quite how that's going to play out,

about whether people are going to be in a better or a worse place

in the future.

So, what I'd say to people is,

you need to start thinking about this now, whatever your age,

and plan ahead,

because you're not suddenly going to be somebody different when you hit

65, it's you and you're going to want to do the same things.

So think about how you can make provision.

Get advice, think about...

Look at your finances and see how much can go into that pot

that is going to give you the quality of life that you want

when you decide to retire.

It's going to be really difficult to get over to a 20 or 30-year-old

that if they want to maintain their lifestyle into their 70s,

their 80s and maybe their 90s,

that they're going to have to start thinking about it now...

-I know.

-..not when they're 64½.

I know, and I think about my own kids

and how difficult it is for them.

And they're struggling at the moment, never mind thinking 40, 50,

60 years ahead.

But the really problematic thing is, I think, if people think, "Oh, well,

"it's so gloomy, it's not worth doing anyway, cos who knows?"

and they don't make any provision,

then I think we are riding for a fall,

and I think that could be very difficult.

So here's the news -

there are top-up benefits out there for the likes of Julie.

And back on the high street,

I'm meeting up with her again at the local charity shop,

where she's undoubtedly the queen of spotting a bargain.

Did you get that lovely coat here?

Yes, £1.50.

-What?!

-£1.50, yeah.

Blimey! That's the bargain of the year. What about anything else?

Yeah, the trousers was, I think, 50p or £1.

I'm not absolutely sure on that one.

-Yes.

-And the scarf was...

-50p, but not from here, it was from another charity shop.

-Yes.

I try and shop and get all my clothes from charity shops,

cos they're cheaper.

-You are a star of the charity shops, clearly!

-I know, eh?

It's a jolly nice coat, that, isn't it?

Places like this, of course, have always been vital in

filling in the gap that's left in some pensioners' finances,

between those with a private pension and those who rely solely on the

state pension, which is why I guess they're called the third sector.

Indeed, charities are absolutely vital for the estimated 26%

of over-60s who claim to be just getting by,

and, since I'm here, well, I've been roped into doing a shift.

-Isn't that beautiful? Have you got somewhere special to wear it?

-Yeah.

Thank you very much. Do you need a bag for that?

-Are you looking for a bargain there?

-Yeah!

Well, yes.

That was going to be for you, was it, Pauline?

Yes, yes...

-A belt with leggings underneath it would look magnificent.

-Oh, wow.

How long have you two been volunteering here?

13 years.

-Wow.

-Five.

-Five years?

-I couldn't cope with more than one afternoon a week.

With all these women!

True.

It's enjoying being here, and being with people,

and really having a good time, and it's fun.

Well, I suppose we should keep on going filling up the book shelves,

-cos we've got rather a lot of books here, haven't we?

-Yes, please.

It's clear that places like this

offer not only bargains to older people,

but also a place where they can feel useful and, yes, work,

which I guess is why I'm having such a great time.

-I'll put them there as well.

-Hello.

And pretty soon it becomes clear that I'm helping in

more ways than one.

Where did all these come from?

-What? Oh, look at that!

-ANGELA LAUGHS

Now, what price may I put on that one?

-£1.50.

-Thank you.

-CASH REGISTER CHIMES

-There you go.

-Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Of course, it's not just personal finances that influence

how we can hold back the years -

money spent by Government and local councils does, too.

One place that's leading the way in this is Manchester,

a city Arlene Phillips knows and loves.

This place has the honour of being the UK's first-ever

age-friendly city,

according to none other than the World Health Organization,

which means it's recognising that senior citizens need to be front and

centre when it comes to facilities, access and things to do,

but more of that later.

First and foremost, I'm proud of coming from here,

because this is where I started life 73 years ago,

as a chubby little girl.

I lived in the Manchester area for the first 22 years of my life,

and it's a place I'll always call home.

Back in the 1940s and '50s, however, it looked quite a bit different.

Manchester - it's big and black,

and often a pall of smoky mist hangs over its maze of mean streets.

It was a typical northern industrial city back then.

Coming out of the Depression, war and industrial decline,

life expectancy was barely above 60, making old people a rarity.

I, on the other hand, have very fond memories of these old days.

We were a family of five -

my parents, brother Ian and my sister Karen.

I lived in Prestwich and eventually moved to Didsbury,

where my father opened a barbershop.

-CAR HORN HONKS

-This is him,

and this is my mother standing outside the shop,

sadly, before she passed away when I was 15 years old.

But for me, here in the middle,

the person I became is really down to the times in which

I did most of my growing up, the '60s.

# People try to put us down Talkin' about my generation... #

We all know this was an age of great music and fashion,

but it was also a decade of massive social and cultural change, too.

It's when we fought for our civil rights,

and we weren't afraid to shout about it.

It helped inject into us a certain attitude -

one that I certainly brought to my choreography

after forming the dance troupe Hot Gossip.

You've been described as the woman who put the bump and the grind

back into seductive dancing.

What's a bump and a grind?

Oh, that's two hip moves.. The bump goes...

A bump goes bump and a grind goes around.

-LAUGHTER

-Yeah. Yeah, you could say that.

Decades later, my generation has carried on this rebellious spirit

into our old age.

We're just not ready to conform to the stereotypes of

being a senior citizen,

which brings us back to Manchester and its pioneering status

as being Britain's first age-friendly city,

joining some of the world's greatest cities, like Sydney,

Tokyo and New York.

But what does it all mean?

I'm meeting a man who has been instrumental in making it happen -

Paul McGarry from the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub.

So, Paul, tell me, what is an age-friendly city?

Well, an age-friendly city means rethinking

how we think about cities,

and it means redesigning cities for people as they get older,

so we think about housing, transport, our health service,

and the physical design of cities.

We have to think about the cultural services,

the local communities and so on,

so it's a really big job that we've got ahead of us.

We've come a long way from when reaching a certain age

meant you were expected to pack up your bags

and move to the coast or countryside,

when the city was a place for the young and trendy.

Today's considerable number of older people want to stay in the heart of

where the action is,

but Paul's ambitions aren't just about things like improving

work opportunities and parks -

he's thinking about older people's social lives.

He's even got a nightclub opened.

Have you been to the nightclub or are you too young?

Like all the members of my team,

I've been to the age-friendly nightclub,

had a great time with people from across Greater Manchester,

because one of the things they said was that they'd love to go out

in the city centre in the evenings, like they did when

they were listening to the Beatles and the Stones,

and once every couple of months,

the My Generation nightclub has live bands, live music,

people dance their night away and have a great time,

and reclaim part of the city centre that was always theirs.

How can older people engage with the process?

Well, in 2004, we set up our first Older People's Board,

which is a representative group right across the city.

The other thing that we have each year

is an Older People's Parliament,

where over 100 community organisations gather together

in this building and tell us what they think about

the progress that we've made.

When you see older people stand up at meetings and say,

"This work has transformed my life,"

or when you get letters from people who say,

"I hadn't spoken to anybody for a month," and they say,

"The work that you're doing is making a brilliant difference,"

then it's fantastic.

So, why do age-friendly cities matter,

not just to the old but everyone?

The changes in progress that we make now

will benefit everybody eventually,

and if you think of the, kind of, progressive gains

that people in their 60s, 70s and 80s have made

over the last 50 years, whether it's women's equality, race equality,

lesbian and gay equality,

adding age equality to that would be a fantastic success.

# Highs and lows... #

That tolerance is one of the things I love about Manchester -

its openness and diversity helps make it the great city that it is.

There's every type of person in this place,

living their lives exactly as they want to.

From those of a certain age, however,

maybe brought up in different times under different circumstances,

this freedom is something they've missed out on,

and the result is often an old age filled with regret,

unhappiness and even anger.

So, what should you do?

Well, the person I'm meeting next has a life-changing attitude

to how she wanted to grow older.

Jenny-Anne was born as Paul in 1946, and spent her younger years living

a very run-of-the-mill life.

Yes, that was me as a youngster, and then when I went to university.

But it was only when she reached the age of 62 that she felt able to tell

the world a secret she had been keeping all her life -

the person many knew as a he was actually a she,

and in 2007, she began to live the life she'd always wanted.

In a society where older people struggle to have their voices heard,

Jenny-Anne is using her story to make a real difference,

and thankfully people are wanting to listen.

People like the Manchester police force,

where today Jenny-Anne is giving an interactive Q&A

to highlight the importance of organisations listening to everyone.

There's gender identity in the way you present yourself,

and it's the way people see you,

and the way you send the message of who you are

and how you want to be seen.

While Jenny-Anne finishes her presentation,

I'm speaking to Divisional Commander Rich Jackson,

who values Jenny-Anne's role in teaching his officers

a new way of looking at the world.

I feel that it's so important to get people such as Jenny in

to speak from their first-hand views,

where they've obviously...they've gone through a journey themselves,

they've experienced all sorts of negativity and hostility

through a transitioning period,

and they can explain themselves exactly what they've gone through,

so that the officers and staff that are present can have a real empathy

with the journey that they've been on.

Jenny isn't just speaking on behalf of the transgender community,

she's also a representative of Manchester's senior citizens,

who also need to build bridges with the police.

Up to half a million people over 65 are believed to be victims of crime

each year, such as abuse, neglect and street crime,

yet many go unreported.

But now, I want to find out more about how Jenny-Anne can be

an inspiration for us all when it comes to holding back the years.

It's fair to say your story's pretty unusual...

-Yes.

-..but do you think it has wider lessons for older people, too?

I think it does,

because it means you can be whoever you want to be in older life,

and you can do whatever you feel you want to do.

It's very important just to be yourself, whatever that is.

You said it, Jenny!

How did growing older help you come to terms with your decision?

And did this decision help you hold back the years?

Yes. Erm...

I delayed being myself for family reasons, for work reasons...

I lost my job lots of times.

And when I got older, it meant I could please myself.

The kids were grown up, we'd looked after my parents,

and unfortunately they'd died,

so I really had that freedom to do what I wanted to do

and to be myself,

and by doing that, it made me feel so much younger.

I behave like I'm 30!

So, you certainly held back the years!

Yes, but unfortunately, every so often,

my body says, "Enough is enough!"

Yeah. Do you find it more difficult being old or being a woman?

Ah, being a woman is easy, because that's who I am.

Being older sometimes is annoying,

because it limits your physical energy,

but I try not to let that worry me,

because I just have so much left in my life to do.

I have enough left for ten lifetimes!

What message would you like to give to anyone

who is a similar age to you about what life they should live?

Oh, my message is just, be yourself and do what you want to do,

because it'll make you so much happier, so much more confident,

and it'll help you live longer as well.

Thanks to Arlene and her friends in Manchester.

Well, I hope you're seeing some of the great work being done

right around the country to help us hold back the years,

but, before we end, there is time for one last stop -

in the capital,

where Ainsley Harriott gives us the insight on how to live to 100.

Now, I think you'll all agree that I'm a sunny-side-up type of guy.

-APPLAUSE

-Oh!

-Whoa!

Yes, I like a good laugh,

but this year I'm turning 60, and I'll be honest -

I'm a little bit concerned about it.

I mean, where has all that time gone?

Do you know? I have to say, there are so many questions in my mind,

so many questions about whether I'm now officially old, you know?

Will I act differently? Will I behave differently?

What have I got to gain? What have I got to lose?

These type of questions,

I think the only way of resolving them, actually,

is to go out and meet people who have been there before,

people who have become 60 or are older than 60,

and maybe I'm looking for some reassurances.

-CORK POPS

-According to stats,

we might have loads more years left once we retire.

Life expectancy today is an incredible 85 for women...

Ho-ho! Look at them legs!

..and 82 for men.

That's compared to less than 60 before the Second World War.

But how do you get to live into your very old age?

Well, I'm going to find out from a woman who's been there and done it.

Mum, this is Ainsley!

-Oh, hello!

-This is my mum Helen.

-Hello!

-Mwah! How are you?

-It's nice to see you!

Lovely to meet you, too.

Lovely to meet you!

-Do have a chair. There we are.

-Oh, thank you very much.

Helen Clare was born in Bradford in November 1916

in the middle of the First World War.

It was during the Second World War, however,

that she became a real household name on BBC radio,

and a touring star for British troops stationed all over the world.

Today, she's 100 years young,

but if you don't believe me...

This is the 29th of November 1916.

-Yes.

-So, in one hand, I've got this -

this is the birth certificate of Helen.

And then in the other hand...

-Ah-ha-ha-ha!

-I've got a birthday card from the Queen!

-Yes!

-100 years on this earth!

That is remarkable.

-Oh, can I read it out?

-Of course!

"I am so pleased to know that you are celebrating your 100th birthday.

"I send my congratulations and best wishes to you

"on such a special occasion."

Of course, turning 100 used to be a slightly bigger deal than it is now,

even making national and international news back in the day.

It's always been a cause of great celebration.

"It's never too late to ascend" might be the motto of

Mrs Hannah Kettlewell, who is celebrating her 102nd birthday

by having her first joy flip.

There she goes on a flight she'd waited for for over 100 years,

but the first 100 years are always the worst!

And reporters have always turned up to see what lessons can be learned.

Well, sir, you've reached a very great age -

how do you feel about it all?

Well, I can't believe it myself,

what with all this fuss made about me.

I don't feel old.

There have been many scientific discoveries -

which ones do you think have been the most useful to you?

Television and the electric blanket.

Throughout the decades, the number of centenarians has soared,

creating some real national treasures along the way.

At last count, there are over 14,000 people over the age of 100

in the UK.

That's an incredible four times what it was just over 30 years ago.

But it's those little moments I'm interested in,

and, boy, has Helen had some of those.

This is amazing. This takes you back a bit, doesn't it?

It does - that was in Weston-Super-Mare.

I was staying in a hotel there one night, we heard a plane coming,

and we rushed into the garden to see,

and we got ourselves machine-gunned!

You got what?!

-He missed!

-Oh, he missed? He missed?

Oh, wow!

I have to say, wonderfully elegant there, wonderfully elegant.

That was taken after the war.

It was lovely to have the lights on and...

Mind you, for a long time, you know, after the war,

we were still on rations, and life was still a bit difficult...

Sure, sure.

..but it was lovely to think we weren't being chased up the road

-with a dive-bomb.

-Yeah.

But, of course, in Helen's long life, there have been lows too,

like losing her husband Frederick 22 years ago.

Yes, I miss him tremendously,

and probably always will.

Ah, but there's some lovely photographs of him all over.

Oh, yes, yes.

-A handsome man, eh?

-He was, yes.

Whoa, look at that, eh?

-But he was a wonderful musician.

-Mm-hmm?

It's fair to say that Helen is an inspiration.

She's living proof that you can be happy in old age

by being a true survivor,

but what's the secret of getting to 100?

Well, there isn't a secret, you just...

You have to be interested in things.

You have to not just have your little circle -

you've got to be interested in what's happening in the world,

and what's happening in business and...

-just keep your interests going...

-Yeah.

..and keep your sense of enjoyment going.

Just be positive?

-Yeah.

-And that's the secret, is it?

Well, if there is one, yes, it is.

So, what can we take away from meeting Helen?

Well, at 60, it would seem that the chances are

we still have plenty of years and life left in us.

But I've one last surprise for her before I go -

it's a very rare recording of her singing in 1937.

Now, if this doesn't put a smile on your face, nothing will!

Take it away, Helen!

# You like potato

# And I like pot-ah-to

# You like tom-ay-to

# And I like tomato

# Potato, pot-ah-to

# Tom-ay-to, tomato

# Let's call the whole thing off... #

HE MOUTHS

I'll tell you what, you've had the most extraordinary life,

so there's one favour I'd love to ask you.

Will you have a date with me?

Oh, yes!

Didn't have to ask much, did I?

I didn't even have to cook you dinner!

I'll come and see you later.

OK!

Do you know what? That was truly inspirational.

To think that I might have another 40 years left in the tank...

I'll tell you what, that woman has really given me a zest for life.

I think I might plan a bit of a party.

I've arranged for a very special treat in her honour.

First, though, I'd better make myself look presentable.

Do you know? Helen has a real zest for life,

and I've arranged a little party for her

that I hope is going to reflect that.

Oh, there you go!

Let's go get her.

-Why, hello, Helen!

-Ah!

-What do you think?

-You look fantastic!

Oh, thank you, thank you...

Now, I would never have been able to arrange this date

without the help of the general manager here

-of the Grosvenor House Hotel.

-Ah!

This is Stuart. Stuart...

Helen, it's an absolute honour and a privilege to welcome you back.

-It's been nearly 80 years since you've last sung here.

-Thank you.

On behalf of the team, many congratulations.

Oh, they're beautiful!

-Our pleasure.

-Oh, they're lovely!

Now, this might be a date, but I've also invited some others along.

They're far from gooseberries - they're Helen's family and friends.

Now...

This is lovely.

You actually performed here in this very room 71 years ago.

You sang in this room.

-Yes.

-Your first gig in London.

So, we thought we'd get a fabulous '30s band,

-the Alex Mendham Band, Orchestra...

-Oh, wonderful!

..to play a little bit of something.

-That's marvellous!

-Take it away, guys!

Ah!

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday

# Dear Helen

# Happy birthday to you. #

WHISTLING AND APPLAUSE

And here we are, Helen.

Hey, guys, everyone seated?

Look at that.

I've got a lovely cake over there for you,

and it says, "Helen, happy birthday, 100 years and three weeks!"

And each candle - there's ten candles -

each candle for each decade. Eh?

How about that? Everybody going to help blow it out?

Ready? Stand up, stand up... Ready?

One, two, three...

THEY EXHALE

-Hooray! Fantastic!

-CHEERING

Everyone's getting excited now.

-It's champagne time!

-CORK POPS

And no 100th birthday would be complete without a glass or two of

centenary bubbles.

Cheers, everyone. Let's clink those glasses!

-Cheers, Helen, happy birthday!

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

And there are two people here

who are particularly excited to see Helen -

her great-grandchildren Jeremy and Nathan, along with mum Amanda.

Nana's 100 - what do you think of that?

Do you think that's special?

-Yes!

-Yeah?

-Yep.

-It's very, very special.

What do you think, more importantly?

I... Oh, it's... It's absolutely amazing.

It's wonderful to have reached that age,

and for Nana to be able to see her great-grandchildren.

-I know, isn't that amazing?

-It's really wonderful.

-Yeah.

-And for them to get to know her as well...

-Sure.

-And they're actually very close to her,

-so this is really wonderful.

-Yeah.

-It's wonderful.

-Yes, yes.

-Wonderful that you could all come along.

I'll be honest - the chance of having grandchildren in the future

is one of the main reasons I'm looking forward to turning 60,

because, according to a recent study,

being active with your grandkids decreases the risk of Alzheimer's,

keeps you fitter, and - get this -

produces a so-called love hormone that boosts your immune system.

Oh-ho, yes!

But the main reason I've organised this party is to

make Helen feel young again,

which is ultimately what holding back the years is all about.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Yeah, Helen, we've got one more treat for you here.

-Yes?

-Yeah, one more treat. This is Alex from the band.

-And the two girls.

-Hannah and Serena Dunlop.

-Hello.

Yeah, Hannah and Serena.

And I don't know if you remember, when we were talking,

you said that one of your favourite songs was

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off,

and you probably performed it in this room...

-Probably did!

-..over 70 years ago! Yeah?

And the band here, Alex and the girls, and the wonderful orchestra,

they're going to perform it for you.

-Ah, lovely!

-Yeah!

Lovely! Alex, take it away.

MUSIC: Let's Call The Whole Thing Off by George and Ira Gershwin

-# I say either

-We say ey-ther

-# I say neither

-We say ny-ther

-# Either

-Ey-ther

-# Neither

-Ny-ther

# Let's call the whole thing off

# Now, I say tom-ay-to

# And we say tomato

-# I say potato

-We say pot-ah-to

-# Potato

-Pot-ah-to

-# Tom-ay-to

-Tomato

# Let's call the whole thing off. #

Well, it's nearly time to wrap up our whistle-stop tour of

ageing in Britain.

As I look back, though,

there's plenty of work to be done, of course,

but there are some amazingly positive stories.

In fact, I'm tempted to say, there's lots to look forward to!