The town that never retired

Oh yes, jeni - just checked Radio Times. On today and tomorrow at 9pm. 14 'pensioners' go back to workplace to see if they can cope with the cut and thrust of modern working practices....

I'm watching it now. I wouldn't want to go back to work in my seventies. I take my hat off to this lot for going for it. I wouldn't mind a stint in the chocolate factory though

I thought it was excellent, particularly the men working on the building site, who had to learn to work with new materials and new methods and work at the same speed as the younger men. The waitress was also superb.

I would however liked to have seen more office workers and some professionals like solicitors, accountants and chartered engineers going back to work. The programme was heavily weighted towards work that was physically rather than mentally demanding.

Damn I forgot about it. Is it on iplayer?

I take my hat off too , to those men on the building site they even seemed to be enjoying it... I couldn't do a full days work I'm sure I certainly could never do my old job. The woman estate agent was a bit confused , a sat nav would of saved her a lot of problems.. didn't start off well when she said she couldn't drive a manual car..
Its on again next week ,with some of them going back to do a second week .. that lady waitress was fantastic for in her late 70's kept up with all the youngsters..

I'm looking forward to tonight's episode where young people are introduced into the equation. Just goes to show that older people could still be an asset to society. Why not train older craftsmen to teach skills to the younger generation. As a nation, we need to encourage practical skills as well academic skills. Where has our imagination gone?

I'm in my seventies and I am so happy that I don't have to go back to work again. The men on the building site really did very well I thought and in the discussion on whether people in their 70s should still work, I would suggest why not, but a shorter day, and fewer days. Anything else is unrealistic.

The waitress looked really fresh at 11 p m on a Saturday evening. Somehow I just couldn't believe that that was really a true impression or that the BBC as usual had 'helped'.
She said she was usually in bed at 9 p.m and that made me think, because one of the luxuries of not working is going to bed at midnight, which is when I go to bed since retiring.

It was quite interesting but is a TV entertainment programme and not a documentary! I think that it is a different feel when returning to work after a gap and continuing to work into your 70's. The break means that developments in systems, materials, treatments, approaches etc have to be relearned by returners butis more likely to be easier for 'continuers' to learn as they go! Having said that I decided to give up full time work when I was 60..not because I could not do the job but because I wanted greater flexibility in my life. I was lucky enough to have a decent pension to enable me to do this...I know lots of people do not have the choice. Also my parents both died of heart disease in their early 60s..I wanted to have time for me just in case!

I can sympathise with you nanjei I was an orphan at 27. Both parents dead and a brother who also died of heart disease at 65. I always felt there were few years left and there have been more than I hoped for. Because I don't smoke-perhaps.
When the work is physically draining like on roof tops or involves standing all day at a production line, it is foolish to think that these workers can go on until they are over 70. Bad health and bad backs would prevent them working much longer.
Then who does the work at home? it is assumed that a household keeps itself going with nobody 'working' Food has to be bought and prepared, beds and rooms kept clean, rubbish put out and gardens tended. Grandchildren looked after, children and older relations helped. I find this is enough to keep me busy and active for large part of the day.

I applaude the gentlemen who worked on the building site I know from first hand experience how difficult it is to work on site and to meet targets set,they where fortunate to have been working for a Company that also has a very good empathy ethic towards the older person as I worked for this company before I retired,if they where placed within a different company with much much harder deadlines on their work I feel that they would not had such a good outcome after that first week as most toher builders are set very tight build scheduals.
The lady who was taken poorly was not in the position to work again I feel she looked as though she had done her fair share of work prior to retiring so she deserved to take it easy.The lady who worked in the restaurant made me feel tired just watching her she was so full of energy and what a pleasent lady she was an assett to any company,the jury is out on the lady who worked at the Estate Agency I feel she had no interaction with the clients and did not try to seal the deal on the rental properties but maybe that will come with more experience.