To be frustrated by Gransnet comment?

I agree youcantchoosethem. There seems to be a general, outdated concensus that older people sit at home knitting shreddies and making flapjack 24/7. In fact many of us are still working in responsible jobs, contributing to the economy and adding to our skills base to further our careers. It's lazy stereotyping.

I agree it does seem those of us who go out to work and are key workers are often in the minority when it comes to stereotyping time on your hands is a luxury when your a working Gran

I used to hate the assumption that I couldn’t possibly be working, firstly due to disability and later due to age. It’s such lazy stereotyping. I retired a year ago and still don’t have much time on my hands.

I’ve just had a run of telephone physio appointments and my therapist was checking how much range of movement I’d got back in my shoulder. The last question was And can you still do your knitting?. I can’t imagine she’d have asked this if I was 20 something! I did refrain from replying that yes, it’s a miracle, as I never could knit before...

Maggiemaybe

Maggiemaybe I would not have been able to let that comment go unchallenged. I started and stopped knitting around the age of 8. If I could not finish something in two hours I was not interested.

Haha! If only you had said that Maggie ?
Perhaps next time she would ask ‘ and can you still do your rock climbing?’

Knitting? Really? Ooooo the temptation to be really sarky. Yrs ago a friend who was a grandmother many times over was told at her post op appointment (major bladder surgery) that she could resume normal life. She replied that was a good thing as they were hay baling the following week and she would be shifting around 500 bales - the medic went beserk. He could not compute that as a farmer her 'normal' life did not entail sitting in a rocking chair and knitting. He learnt a valuable lesson in not making assumptions.

It surprises me greatly that many people don't live in the real world----in fact it's quite scary to think how these people would fare in a crisis.

I worked at home for a number of years long before lockdown. People seemed to assume that I wasn't doing anything and was therefore available for whatever they wanted. Yes, my time was more flexible, but I still had the same amount to do.

People working from home during the pandemic are often working harder than usual (e.g.teachers) and are usually obliged to stick to office hours.

Even those of us who are retired don't necessarily have time on our hands. We're busy with DIY, but also with running various projects that are keeping other retired folk occupied while stuck indoors.

Following up on the 'knitting' comments, when my mum reached 70 she had a visit from the district nurse for a health check.

Eventually the nurse got round to asking what she did about cutting her toenails, Mum had never had a problem with that and was getting a bit fed up with the questions, so she replied "I bite them" !

Ooo I do wish you had said that Maggiemaybe.
I would love to have heard her reply.

I wonder what the question would be to a 20+yold?

And can you still do .........?? Answers on a postcard please!

Septimia That's made my day!

At least you get an email! I have requested one twice, but it has never arrived!

Do you think that GransNet is trying to narrow the posters to the over 75s?
this is why the interference by the moderators is so silly, treating us all like old people who aren’t able to stand the odd debate that gets heated, this was referred to in a thread recently.
Maybe they want stay at home , knitting Grannies to stay here and be targeted more accurately by their advertisers? Anyone too young for these adverts can presumably find a place over at MumsNet.

Chewbacca

I agree youcantchoosethem. There seems to be a general, outdated concensus that older people sit at home knitting shreddies and making flapjack 24/7. In fact many of us are still working in responsible jobs, contributing to the economy and adding to our skills base to further our careers. It's lazy stereotyping.

And please note, Gransnet, we do all these things as well as knitting shreddies and making flapjack!

youcantchoosethem I was thinking the same myself yesterday when a similar comment was made on the TV.

There are thousands of people who are still working. Probably their working day is much harder and more anxiety provoking now. It must be really annoying for them to hear of people de-cluttering, re-decorating, pursuing their hobbies, etc.

Septimia I agree that working from home, especially when having to supervise children's learning, is not easy and may well be more stressful than being at work. However, some people are neither able to go out to work nor work from home and they are furloughed.

I think the worst position to be in is someone who can neither work nor claim any financial assistance. For them it must be really hard and, from what I read, some people are at risk of suicide.

It happens to all groups, how many times have you read about irresponsible young people never wearing masks and congregating in groups or young mums constantly on their phones.

When I was young I assumed old people sat and knitted or complained a lot.

I am sure when asked everyone would say they are not judgemental, we all are to some extent.

Maggiemaybe

I feel I really must defend your physio.

My daughter is an NHS physio who usually works in Chronic Pain Management along with health professionals from various other disciplines. They hold several clinics a week in different areas of her Health Authority. These are attended by up to 20 patients and, if appropriate, their carers or partners. Because of Covid, these clinics can no longer take place and she is working alone from an office in her local hospital, dealing with patients with many different problems, not just chronic pain.

Face to face consultations have been scrapped and during the first lockdown she and all her fellow physios were told to discharge as many patients as possible on the understanding that when things were back to normal, their treatment would be reviewed.

Since about last May/June she has been doing telephone consultations. Many of the patients are pleased to have the chance to actually talk to a health professional. Indeed, some of the patients are just glad to speak to another human, and tell her all sorts of things not related to their clinical needs! The majority of these patients are not known to her.

When she is able to see her patients face to face, she remembers them from week to week and also remembers the little things they tell her. (It might be incidental things like their dogs, their children, their parents or whether they are no longer able to do their knitting or sewing because of their pain.) When she consults with people she hasn’t previously met, on the telephone, she tries to build a mental image of them and remember the little things they have previously told her. Sometimes she gets it wrong!

I’m sure your physio wasn’t being patronising to you. Perhaps she got you mixed up with another patient with a similar name or similar symptoms. Please remember, the physio could be chatting to 8 different patients a day, 5 days a week, so mistakes will happen. They are only human and as my daughter told me, when she qualified as a physio, the last thing she expected was to spend every working day sitting in an office on her own and trying to give patients advice over the telephone.

I hope your shoulder is getting better. Keep doing your exercises if appropriate.

Recently at the Marks and Sparks checkout the lady who was no spring chicken herself asked if I had a sparks card. I said I’d lost it so she said you can get it replaced by going on line and reordering one.She then asked if I had anyone who could do that for me?? I’m 74 and a business owner and normally don’t shy away from saying something. But had I responded and said what I wanted to say to her I would have been banned from the store!

Oopsadaisy are you inferring that we over 75 Gransnetters are in fact old people who can't stand the heat of the GN kitchen ?

Not at all, but there has to be a cut off date somewhere, I can’t see them having a website just for over 85s!
75 seemed to be an age when most GNers would be at home rather than still working, therefore having more time.

I don’t find the questions patronising. I don’t know anyone my age still working apart from the odd charity shop when lockdown not in place. Everyone I know is getting really bored with it all now and running out of craft projects.

Goodness, NannaLyn, what a lecture! It was a light-hearted comment, not a denunciation of all physios!

Mine was lovely - I just thought the little story might amuse others, as it did me.

Jeez.