So the question I asked myself
last Friday was: 'what does one do on a freezing December night in a small coastal village in deepest, darkest Scotland?' There was nothing on the TV worth watching, I had caught up on all
the catch up programmes missed during the week, and with the Grand Tour Series
2 being spectacularly unspectacular it was down to playing a DVD. A quick look
through the collection of unwatched films filled me with gloom. Twitter was quiet
and so I contemplated an early night with a cup of Ovaltine.
Then I remembered I had a ticket
to the annual village Carol Concert, to be held that very evening in the
Village Hall. Mulled wine and mince pies were promised as was the presence of the
Kings Grange Singers. They came last year but unfortunately I had missed the
concert. I did recall however, that they had received very good reviews. So it was a quick
change, which for me these days, means choosing a different colour of clogs, and putting on a warm top. Then it was out into the cold and a short walk to
the village hall.
It was packed. The room was warm
and there was a general hubbub of chatter as people waited for the evening to
begin. Taking a seat I looked at the carol sheet and my heart sank. There were 23 carols and Christmas songs. I thought it might be a very long evening and
there was no sign of the promised mulled wine or mince pies. However, I could not have been
more wrong. What an evening! The first few carols and songs were sung by the Kings
Grange Singers, and then it was our turn to join in. The audience were asked to
sing ‘While Shepherds Watched their Flocks’, but asked to sing it to the tune
of that Yorkshire anthem, ‘On IIkla Moor Baht’at’. Sounds peculiar I know, but
once you have sung it, the version will remain in your mind for ages.
The interval, and the mulled wine
and mince pies came far too soon! The second half was just as good. The
highlight for me was listening to the Kings Grange Singers version of the ‘Christmas Hallelujah’.
If you've not heard a version of this adaptation of the famous Leonard Cohen song, have a
listen here (or if you prefer the original listen here!). It was a fabulous experience,
and I left feeling very happy and inspired. There was a spring in my step,
which was just a little risky given I had already slipped over on the black ice
– thankfully sustaining only some damaged pride.
During this cold weather I have
been extremely cautious about not falling and injuring myself. I’m not as young
as I once was (more of which later) – not that I should perhaps worry. Researchers
from University College London and the British Heart Foundation published the
latest outcomes from their longitudinal study of ageing. The research involves
6,500 older adults living in England. It follows a previous research study that explored the link between happiness and having a sense of purpose in life, with a
lower risk of death. Participants were asked to say how old they felt and then their health was studied over an 8 year period. There were some interesting findings.
People’s judgements about how old
they feel can be influenced by factors such as general aches and pains, serious
illness, the kind of activities they do, their networks and so on. In the study, these
factors, along with people’s actual health state, their mobility and general functioning, were taken into account. The outcomes showed there was an association between feeling older than
ones real age and there being a greater risk of an earlier death. Thankfully I fall into the 70%
of the group whose average age was 65.8 years but whose average perceived age
was 56.8 years. Just as well as over the 8 years of the study, their death rate
was some 14.3% compared to 18.5% in those who declared they felt their actual age. It went up to some
25% for those who felt older than they actually were.
Apart from maintaining a healthy
weight, drinking sensibly, not smoking, and taking exercise, other factors said
to be influential in feeling younger than you actually are included having
greater mental and emotional resilience, a sense of mastery and a will to live.
This outcome seemed to be reinforced by another study released last week. Researchers
working in the Humboldt-University in Berlin, along with 3 other prestigious
German academic institutions, published a report of their research which showed
that on average, those aged 75 years old are cognitively much fitter than 75
year olds of 20 years ago. The study showed that those who are aged between 60
and 75 years old today have much higher levels of wellbeing and greater life satisfaction.
And it was ‘Back to (my) Future’,
courtesy of my parents last week. They reminded me that I am no longer as young
as I once was. In a Facetime conversation last Sunday my Mother had mentioned
coming across a press cutting of mine, something about me having a cup of tea
with a Virginia Bottomley. I asked her to send it to me, which she duly did. The
Virginia involved was one Virginia Hilda Brunette Maxwell Bottomley, Baroness
of Nettlestone. At the time she was the Secretary of State for Health and I was
fresh faced corporate manager aged 39! I had won a competition challenge she
had set, and part of the prize was having a cup of tea with her at the House of
Commons. My recollection was that 23 years ago that cup of tea was very much as satisfying as the mug of
mulled wine I had last Friday at the carol concert.
No comments:
Post a Comment