Discussion on grassnet...
I wonder if there are others here who feel isolated, who have yet to reach retirement age. I'm a single male in my late 50's, with no family locally. Long term 'chronic fatigue' has kept me out of work, but you wouldn't know I was ill if you met me. In the day I get around in my immediate area by bicycle, but in the evenings I'm too tired to go out, especially in the winter. Because I'm not 'ill enough' l don't qualify for DLA, so I scrape by on the basic benefit (ELA). But living on a low income is like a prison sentence, especially when you lack the energy to socialise much. I feel like I have been put out to grass, in a field on my own. Yet I have many gifts to offer society. With just a little help to go places, and some friendly faces to meet, and something useful to do, life would feel very different.
