Live webchat with Baroness Joan Bakewell: 11am-12pm, Wednesday 7 March

boudoirbabe

Dear Joan,

Has it been difficult, being dogged by the "thinking man's crumpet" tag your whole career? Have you now reached the age where you quite like it?!

Hi Boudoirbabe,
I guess with a name like yours 'the thinking man's crumpet' seems mild stuff. But at the time - the 60s - it seemed very cheeky. And it stuck....and stuck...and stuck. Only now are people forgetting. And I'm pleased. I was in a dilemma: I wanted to be thought glamorous and fun, but I also wanted to be taken seriously. Many women do....and why not? But the crumpet side appealed more to the men who editted newspapers. So I was stuck with it.

Thanks for the sympathy: I've always believed women should have it both ways if they want.

Joan

Carol

Further to Maniac's comment about being denied contact with children, can you suggest how Gransnetters can bring this issue to the forefront with politicians/MPs who give lip service to the many letters we send them about this issue. How do we get them to listen? Thank you.

Hi, Carol,

This is a really serious issue. I have known grandparents absolutely wetched at losing contact. They certainly should have rights of access.

I'm learning in the House of Lords how difficult it is to get laws changed. So you - and other grandparents - face an uphill struggle. You will have to sustain a campaign of lobbying or a long as it takes. It pays to have an figurehead person who can speak out regularly about this. Grandparents denied access should write off as many letters as they can - to MPs, Local councillors, Citizens Advice Bureaus, newspapers - and, yes, members of the House of Lords. We are inundated with stuff sent in by people but many of us do take it very seriously and DO read it. Then when the chance arises we speak out about it.

The law will have to change, but it will take real persistence to get it changed, Women are good at that!
Joan

Mamie

Hello Joan
It seems that hardly a week goes by on Gransnet without a thread about the latest half-baked idea from a politician, "think" tank, policy foundation, delivery / nudge unit about terrible old people. We are told that we have stolen our childrens' future, should move out of our homes, take in lodgers, lose bus passes because they don't contribute to the economy, feel guilty about our pensions etc etc
Is it inevitable that everyone over 60 should be portrayed as a complete waste of space? What can we do to counter this very negative image of older people?

Just ignore them! You know your own worth, and they don't. I was furious when David Willetts wrote that book suggesting we had stolen our children's future. How dare he. We have, on the whole, been caring and generous parents, cherishing our families and trying to match work with babies. Men don't do that....they simply complain when the system throws up problems. Parents and grandparents didn't cause the banking crisis,

Ignore, them and be proud of your generation!

Joan

poppyseed

Did you resign as the Voice Of Older People because you didn't believe the Coalition would take your advice?

What do you think their record has been on older people?

No, Poppyseed, I gave it up because I realised I wasn't qualified to answer the multitude of different problems people wrote to me about. They needed help with housing, pensions, health...even outdoor loos. I could only pass on their problems to people who were experts.

I realised that what is needed is a full time professional Commissioner for Older People. I was an amateur, working part time, and it wasn't enough. That;s why tomorrow I am proposing an amendment to the Health and Social Care Bill in the Houe of Lords calling for the appointment of a Commissioner for Older People in England. (Wales already have one) I am told my the goverment minister they think quite well of the idea. So we will have to see what happens. But I shall be keeping up the pressure.

Joan

roseatbuzz

have just read Joan Bakewell's ' view from here'. Brilliant and have ordered her more recent autobiography from the library

I watched her on the programme about grammar schools which inspired me to read more about her
would have made a better pm than Margaret Thatcher!

Hello, Roseatbuzz,

I'm so pleased you are enjoying the book. And I was happy reminiscing about by grammar school days. But, no, I would never have been any good as a politician. I couldn't stand the naked ambition, the rudeness and back-biting that goes on in the Commons.

In the House of Lords things are much more civilised: we are there to advise and improve the government's legislation and there's often shared agreement as to how that should be done. Also, because we don't depend on being re-elected every 5 years, we can take the longer view and not have to insult our opponents. But now they want to change the Lords to make it more like the commons. Although I'm a democrat, I'm not sure that will be entirely an improvement. We shall see what happens.

What do you think?

Joan

granddame

Joan, I have been admirer of your journalism for years. Have you had to use your femininity and your sexuality to survive and prosper in such a male-dominated environment? And what do you think about the fact that although the lower rungs of journalism are full of women, there are so few at the top still?

Dear Granddame,

I haven't actually made a habit of seducing editors or television producers! But, it's often hard to deny your own temperament and I think I have always been quite a chatty and smiley person. A more reliable way to the top is to do a thorough job, research our subject, improve your prose style, deliver on time and don't create problems. In my experience women probably try harder to o all those things than men. Men have a greater sense of entitlement to the top jobs.

There are some terrific women reporters and broadcasters these days and plenty of women execs at the BBC. What I don't see are enough women editing newspapers and serious magazines. Follow people like Linda Grant and Lisa Appegnesi on Twitter and they give lots of facts figures.

Things can only get better....I hope!

Joan

oldbones

Dear Joan,

I see you described yourself as a 'grumpy old woman'. What are you grumpy about?

Dear Oldbones,

You know, I actually refused to take part in the programme Grump Old Women! I told the producer I thought it sent out the wrong message about the old.

In fact I'm rather a cheerful person....but, of course, I have plenty to be cheerful about. Still have my health, a nice home and a good family. That;s enough to be going on with when you get to my age.

If I have any grumps they're about rudeness, people's indifference to each other, and not being able to open modern packaging.

Joan

goldengirl

I didn't know she'd resigned! I didn't hear about her activities much. I wrote an article once on the effect of public toilets on older people and she was asked to give her opinion. She seemed to suggest that she'd never thought of the impact of public toilets on inclusivity in the community - and didn't seem to give any opinions but she got her photo in the article all the same

Hey there, Goldengirl,

You've got me wrong. Once I realised the need for public toilets I wrote it up in my annual report to the government. You now have the right to go into any pub and department store and use their loo without buying anything. And I do!

Joan

frankengran

I understand that you are in favour of a Commissioner for Older People. Older people are very diverse and resist being seen as vulnerable - I wondered if you felt confident that someone could do this job without stigmatising older people further, reinforcing the public perception of the old as incapable of speaking for themselves?

Yes, i think a Commissioner for Older People would answer a real need. When I was Voice of Older People I realised the variety of peoples' needs and the sorts of help they need.
Wales already has just such a person. I know her. She is called Ruth Marks. She goes round Wales meeting people, in clubs, old peoples homes, and at focus meetings, churches, everywhere. She listens to everyone, collates their problems and takes them directly to the Welsh government in Cardiff. I am sure that does some good.

Of course, many old people are resilent and self-reliant, and that's fine. But many of the very old really need someone to speak up for them.

We;ll see what happens.

Joan

thistle

You have been important in pushing at the boundaries when it comes to talking about sex - I seem to remember you watched a couple making a pornographic film for television. But you have also objected to the sexualisation of our culture and in particular girls. Do you think the two things are related - or not?!

Dear thistle,

Like your name this is a prickly problem.

I did make a series called Taboo in which I basically argued that on the whole sex was benign and pleasant, whereas violence was always wrong.
I believe people should be free to determine their own sex lives and enjoy them.
The problem is how free are small girls bombarded as they often are with cheap and nasty advertising and goods that imply that at the age of 10 or 12 they are already sexual beings. Not free to make wise and imdependent choices of their own. I concerns me that commercial motives result in the marketting of innapropiate ooods to small children.

Sorry I cant spell!!

Joan

frangipane

What was it like to see your affair with Harold Pinter turned into a play and a film? - It is an extraordinary thing to happen (though perhaps only what you have to expect if you have an affair with a writer?)

Dear frangipane

It was really strange ad disturbing. The play came long after our affair was over and we were both happily remarried. But it was still odd for him to recreate almost exactly so many of the incidents....yes, I went to Venice, yes, we had a flat and met at midday whenever we could

I have learned since that writers - and i am one myself now - use shreds of their lives all the time. I've done it myself in my two novels. But I always take care not to hurt those who are still alive. I can't claim to have been hurt by Betrayal but I was shocked.

Joan

Annobel

Pedants, pardon my grammar in the last sentence of that post. 'You' should read 'one'.

Der Annobel,
An important subject> I don't think society had much choice. There aren't enough younger people to work and pay for the rest of us living in retirement.

So I think employers will need to rethink how they use their workforce. I think plenty of women over 60 would welcome part-time work and a little extra cash. Work helps avoid isolation ad keeps you in the swim. But no one over 60 can be expected to work at full throttle as they once did.

Joan

rosiemus

There are things I quite like about getting older - but many I do not. Sometimes I feel as though society is trying to usher us out of the way as one might an unwanted guest. An example of this (much discussed on Gransnet) is the idea we should give up our homes for younger families. I wondered what your view on this was. Thank you

Dear rosiemus

I'm never sure how this is supposed to work! Are we meant to move out and let a family with children move in? But thats not how the housing market works. If you put a house up for sale anyone has the right to buy: so it could go to another single person or a couple or even a buy-to-let. What benefit is that to the situation.

The suggestion is just an easy way to dump the blame on us: resist it!

Joan

rosiemus

Actually if I may ask another - are there any things YOU like about getting older? (always good to have some consolations to cling to )

Oh, I really enjoy not having to work so frantically, to find time to enjoy my family and friends, to walk in the country, take weekends away. Recently friends and I have started having away-days....we take a return rail ticket to an interesting destination - an art gallery, say, or a museum, visit for the day, have lunch, then come back home. It's like a mini holiday, when everyone is at work!

Joan

Time for me to be off, now. Thanks for talking to me. I've enjoyed it.

Goodbye

Joan