Elderly fear easing the lockdown could make their lives harder

As the government ponders an easing of the lockdown, there is a distinct nervousness among Britain’s older people, a demographic which includes your correspondent, as to what it will mean for them.

Our fear is that any easing will not include the oldies, indeed that the lockdown will be extended for us, regardless of health or situation, to keep us safe. The last thing we want is that staying at home will become the norm for old people.

The fact is there are very poorly 60-year-olds and very active 90-year-olds, and it would be unfair for the government to propose a blanket isolation strategy based only on age.

The spread of the virus has shown that age alone is not a factor in risk.

Jan Short, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, protested that “decisions based on age alone constitute discrimination and should be no more acceptable than for any other characteristic, including gender, race and religion”.

According to the latest research, more than a million elderly people in the UK already live in isolation and loneliness, which are major causes of ill health, both mental and physical.

However, those who lead an active daily life, as many older people do, enjoy better health and contribute to the economy of the country.

“Older people are the glue which keeps families and communities together,” said Ms Short. “Charities are very clear that without older people volunteering they could not operate effectively.

“Older people should be respected for the lives they have led and the contributions they have made and are making to their country.” To which I say, “Hear hear.”

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I never thought it would happen, but yes, I spend hours every day doing puzzles. I have become a puzzles nerd – anything to while away the time in self-isolation.

The menu is generous. There is Wordsearch, where you find given words in a jumble of letters – easy, but boring. Mini Maze, Name Game, Octogram and Code Breaker are all variants of the crossword. All I get is crossed eyes.

As for regular crosswords, I think I have moved up from the Simple (for morons) to the Cryptic (for the slightly smarter). But a big problem is that where there should be one answer and one only, some crosswords use variants.

For instance, what’s a six-letter word for neckband? My solution: collar. The “correct” answer: cravat. OK, but I reckon collar is better.

Also: an eight-letter word for Hysterics. I was stumped, but the solution, “Laughter,” seems only half right to me.

Some puzzles, I confess, I cannot do, like the Sudoku. According to Wikipedia, the Sudoku is a logic-based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle.

The objective is to fill a 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 sub-grids that compose the grid contain all of the digits from one to nine.

I’m not sure I even understand the explanation. The one I like is the Nonagram, where you are given nine letters with one key letter.

The object is to find as many words as possible of at least four letters and always containing the key letter. The final challenge is to find a word containing all nine letters.

For instance, the nine letters are I R S D B C N E I and the key letter is B. I managed the targeted 25 words with the nine-letter solution being INSCRIBED.

Roll on a nine-letter word beginning with N and ending with Y and meaning things being as they used to be.

* * *

The wheels of justice are continuing to turn, though one might have some difficulty in recognising them.

Concern over social distancing has resulted in jury trials being halted, while barristers are prosecuting and defending other cases from their homes via Skype.

The only people in court rooms are judges and their clerks, devoid of wigs and gowns, and reporters. Defendants in custody are customarily linked to their trial by video.

At the Crown Court in Newcastle, the new rules have resulted in some lighter moments.

One barrister was prosecuting a case from his home when his front door bell rang and he went to answer the door. “Things you don’t expect to happen in a Crown Court,” commented the judge.

Another prosecutor apologised if the sound of her dog scratching the door was heard on the link. And a judge sitting at home passed judgment to the sounds of birdsong.

On several occasions, lawyers and other court personnel have been chatting among themselves on Skype without realising they had been connected to the judge and the link was live.

One amused judge listened in as a colleague congratulated a lady barrister on her new hairdo.

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