Categories: uncategorized
Tags: TV
Date: 16 September 2010 21:12:18
Over the last three nights the BBC has broadcast a show called The Young Ones. It featured 5 celebrities who are in their 70's and 80's... Lionel Blair, Sylvia Syms, Liz Smith, Dickie Bird, Derek Jameson and Kenneth Kendal.
They subjected then to a battery of cognitive and physical testing and then they put them into a house that recreated 1975 in the decor, food they ate and their entertainment. The idea was to return them to a time when they were far more able and in the prime of life. At the end of the week they repeated the tests to see if they had improved.
It was a great show. The celebrities were hilarious and the change in some of them was especially marked. Prior to the show Dickie Bird had been living alone and had a stroke and other major surgery and he also appeared quite depressed. he formed a close friendship with Derek Jameson and by the end of the week his physical abilitiy had improved but more importantly his mental state seemed to have improved massively. I just loved the show and how happy the participants were to be around other people who enjoyed having fun.
I remain unconvinced that taking them back to 1975 was what made the difference to them - I believe it was the friendship, inspiration and challenges that having other people around gave them. It made me think that anyone who runs a nursing home/care home should watch this programme. They could learn a lot about giving older people the opportunity to continue their lives in a productive fashion. Great watch and I am sure you can still catch it on iplayer.