Edwina Currie live webchat 23 July, 7pm

I'll be watching this thread closely tonight... be interested to see what Edwina has to say about retirement and whether she's just being a puppet for McCarthy & Stone!!

No one seems to have asked about the eggs controversy so I will. Do you regret what happened? And do you eat eggs?

Just thought of another question. Edwina, how do you think the current government compares to the days of Thatcher?

Dear Edwina

What is your view on universal benefits?

Thank you

Janette

What are you like as a grandmother?

I just saw your photo on facebook and have to say I love your jacket!!!!!

One of the things (actually the thing) I find hardest about getting older is the attitude of other peopl. They see gray hair and automatically seem to dismiss me as an old dear. I am the same age as you and still think of myself as 40 something most of the time. Have you encountered prejudice such as this and what are your suggestions. 66 is hardly old!!!!

PS is this why you have decided not to go gray yourself?

I read above that you have moved back to your roots. But has this entailed moving closer to your adult children? This is the conundrum for us. Not only whather we should leave an area where we have friends and places that we know but also which of our two children we should move closer to if we do. What is your experience?

I just saw this on twitter.

I'd like to ask about your experiences of downsizing. It's something we have thought about often but we are just not sure. Will we feel confined in a much smaller space? Will we have room for visiting family? Is it a mistake to leave the home we love? Financially of course it makes sense but it's not that simple

Edwina, do you actually live in a McCarthy and Stone house?

Of all the questions that I would ask Edwina Currie, retirement planning wouldn't be one them

Oooh heck! It's tomorrow and I can only see four questions!

Keep expecting the 'quite frankly this has turned into a bunfight' comment [even though I still haven't figured out what the aforsaid 'bunfight' actually is].

Perhaps GNHQ will have to submit some questions under pseudonyms...

OMG!!!

Won't leave much if they do.....

I wonder if Gransnet manages to edit out the bad bits of these threads before the person comes calling.

Hi Edwina. What do you think about universal benefits - do you think they should be scrapped?

I'd like to know whether Edwina did anything while preparing for retirement that she would advise people not to do with hindsight?

Hello Edwina

On the subject of budgeting for retirement, I remember hearing you on Radio 5 in April declaring that it was possible to live on £53 per week after rent & bills, and that you could prove it.

Did you do it in the end?

No thank you.

I agree with GlammyP. EC came out and said what she thought particularly about salmonella in eggs. She was right but it was not liked by her colleagues or the food industry but so what! Full marks to her for standing her ground there. Yes the tell all story was not good but she is intelligent and funny. I heard her on the radio sometime ago and was impressed by her good sense. (That is despite her political views.)

I wonder if she still wants to come?

Can I just say that all the good that she 'might' have for women in politics was wiped out by writing a 'kiss and tell' afterwards. Is there any regret for doing so or was it worth it for the publicity it generated?

Edwina Currie has always come across as a confident and strong-minded women to me. I think that is something sadly lacking in our society today. We don’t seem to be instilling confidence or positive attitudes within our young people especially girls. I find Edwina a very interesting person to listen to and she may have made the odd faux pas during her time in parliament and beyond but at the end of the day she’s done some good along the way and that can’t be a bad thing. I think the younger generation need as many strong women as role models as they can get. So I hope that Edwina continues to be outspoken and topical as she can. Even if she’s now working for McCarthy and Stone! She still has a media presence and therefore is recognised as women in a man’s world who did good.

Gosh, a webchat sponsored by McCarthy and Stone !
My Mum planned her retirement and moved into an M and S flat, all was well for a while as there was a resident 'manager' who 'looked after' the residents and kept everything looking good.
Sadly he was made redundant and emergency calls were routed to a call centre over 200 miles away. When my Mum phoned for help one night the duty operator called my sister (who lived in the same town) to sort out the problem.
My Mum had not wanted to bother my sister, and anyway thought that the phone would be answered by a local person, qualified to respond.
From then on she always phoned my sister directly.