Week 11 Olive Oil and Old Age

Thatching needs a bit of repair.

We've also arranged for the whole thatched roof to be looked at - they comb and cut it and replace where necessary - and treat it with anti-algae. One side gets little or no sun and is badly deteriorated...

The last section of insulation work in the apartment

I pulled a cable out...but it was the phone! So we had to get it fixed...but some clouds do have a silver lining - we fixed another cable going to the Day Activity area at the back - so we have a phone there again.

Driveway Repaired

The Little Jobs

Cutting all the old wood from the house - some of it with woodworm, so not recyclable.

Wheelbarrow repair - 3 of them!

Time to think about getting the boat ready - very pleased to realise that I don't need to varnish this year - due to using 2-component varnish last year.

Haven dues, insurance, registration, marifoon (VHF), Marrekrite flag all paid - just have to "find" some time now :))

More AI

I thought I might try some Frisian translation...but Google's Gemini said "sorry, I can't do that".

So I asked again "Can you translate Frisian?"

It came back with this...(even with an apology!!)

I apologize for the mistake earlier. I can actually access and process information in Frisian to a limited degree. While I cannot translate the entire poem perfectly at this time, I can help you with some of the phrases and concepts. Here's a breakdown with some suggestions for a Frisian translation:

In the shadow of the Covid Years' lingering chill: "Yn 'e skaed fan de naklam fan de jierren fan Covid"

An energy crisis: "Energykrisis" (This term is likely already used in Frisian)

Five households: "Fjouwer huishâldings" (Change to "Fjouwer" as "five" is "fiif" in Frisian)

Government aid: "Regeryngsûnderstyp"

Awareness dawned: "Bewustwording kaem opgong"

Insulation: "Ynsulaasje"

WEN meetings: This might need some explanation or adaptation depending on the context.

Double glazing: "Dubbel glas"

Hybrid pumps and floor's warm caress: Here you might need to break it down into separate concepts like "hybride pompen" and "ferwaarme flier"

Janny's dreams, bold and grand: "Janny's drúmmen, stout en moai"

The Full Monty: This is a British term, you might need a more descriptive phrase like "Folledige renovaasje" (full renovation)

Local builder: "Lokale bouwer"

Foam concrete: "Skûmbeton"

Foreman, apprentice: "Foarman, learling"

It would be best to consult a native Frisian speaker for a complete and accurate translation that captures the poem's rhythm and style.

Scarce Olive Oil

We went shopping on Saturday and there was a sign saying "now available"....(Olive oil).

In large parts of Spain, olive oil is the product most often stolen from supermarkets, according to figures seen by the Financial Times . According to security guards, olive oil has become increasingly scarce due to extreme weather. This makes it popular with criminal gangs.

Due to extreme weather caused by climate change, Spain has experienced extreme heat and drought in recent years. As a result, the olive harvest is becoming increasingly lower, resulting in higher prices. The price per liter has almost tripled in the past year to around 14 euros in the supermarket. This has put olive oil on the radar of criminal gangs, who hope to make big profits from it on the black market.

Getting Older

On Monday we had an interesting exchange at our morning coffee (sometimes I make it a Show and Tell session - quite often sharing some of my blog items or things from my background in Australia).

One of our clients had a "poor me" moment, claiming that he wasn't getting enough attention and that others were getting favoured treatment - it was a bit jaw-dropping for Janny's sister and for me...and a little unsettling for the other clients...

We sometimes forget that they are with us for a reason and I accepted that we may well have been taking him for granted after 16 years...

Ankie dealt with it very professionally and everyone seems to be back to our "normal".

Quite separately, I have been looking at work from a Government Think Tank - on the elderly and their role in the Netherlands society.

It now occurs to me that some of our clients are also aging and are already in the "needing care" stage.

The government should be doing more to invest in fit, healthy pensioners and should focus not on age but stages of life when drawing up policy, the government’s socio-cultural advisory think-tank SCP says in a new report.

One in five people in the Netherlands is now over the age of 65 and that will increase to one in four by 2040, the agency points out.

“Three-quarters of them are in great shape,” SCP researcher Crétien van Campen told Trouw. “They are healthy, full of initiative and participate fully in society. That is millions of pensioners with great potential.”

Rather than breaking the population down into age groups, policymakers should look at youth as the first phase, the working population as second, the third phase of healthy retirement, and the fourth phase in which people need help, the SCP says.

“One 67-year-old is not the same as the next. Age says very little,” Van Campen told the paper. “Someone can be in the third phase at the age of 90, whereas a 70-year-old may need help.”

Policymakers tend to focus on the fourth group, those who need help, but this does distort the image of retirement, the SCP says. And pressure posed by having a growing elderly population in need of care can be eased if older individuals are encouraged to keep active and participate in society.

In particular, “new goals should be set in policies for the ageing population, in addition to cost control, to emphasise well-being and participation,” the report says. “Healthy individuals live longer, are more productive, social and resilient, are better equipped to deal with setbacks and have more trust in others and society.”

At the same time, individuals entering what the SCP describes as the fourth age, who have a strong social network and good mental resilience, “are at less risk of experiencing a rapid decline in well-being,” the agency said.

Key Points (from documents at Government website)

https://www.scp.nl/publicaties/publicaties/2024/03/05/investeren-in-vitale-ouderen

1 Well-being, participation and resources generally decline with age. This process accelerates when individuals become dependent on care. An ageing population with increased care dependence puts pressure on society, impacting welfare, healthcare, employment and housing.

2 The pressure on society can be eased by activating older individuals and getting them to participate, increasing the likelihood of maintaining their well-being in later years. This enhances the potential of healthy and active pensioners who are able and willing to contribute to society.

3 Focusing policy solely on the participation of healthy and active older individuals in informal caregiving tasks risks compromising their well-being. Promoting broader participation, including social, cultural and sporting activities for older individuals, appears crucial for their vitality.

4 Crafting policies based on the self-management and digital skills of older individuals without considering possibilities in the living environment leads to unequal opportunities. This reinforces unequal starting positions and unequal chances of maintaining well-being at the beginning of the third phase of life, known as the Third Age (retirement).

5 Opportunities for changing the prospects for the well-being of older individuals lie in the development of physical and mental health capital (perceived control, self-image, prolonged physical and cognitive limitations), economic capital (income) and social capital (social networks). This development is not possible without changes in the socio-cultural and institutional context.

6 Promoting broad participation and equal opportunities in the active Third Age can reinforce the existing trend of prolonging this phase on average and shortening the care-dependent Fourth Age. This could increase the benefits of the ageing population (well-being, broad participation) while relatively reducing the costs (of care and illness).

7 Therefore, new goals should be set in policies for the ageing population, in addition to cost control, to emphasise well-being and participation. In doing so, pay attention to unequal opportunities for elderly individuals in well-being due to differences in resources and participation in the Third and Fourth Ages.

8 When assessing and considering proposed policies, use benefit models in addition to cost models. The Well-being Participation Resources (WPR) model has been developed for analysing the ageing society. This model allows for the calculation and careful consideration of alternative policy options ex ante. By analysing changes within individual life courses, this model can more precisely calculate causal effects of investments in resources and participation on future well-being in the ageing society than comparisons of age groups at one moment.

Lucas had another birthday (61). We provide the cake so that it is not too onerous for those who may find it difficult money-wise.

Finally have our clothing sorted out...

Ben had an interesting flight to Seoul - he had to hurriedly change planes at one of his stopovers - they put a green sticker on him and personally escorted him through the terminal - with a few stops on the way for security....but he made it - his luggage did not...

So he was in Seoul without his winter jacket - the taxi dropped him at the wrong place, so he had to walk for an hour in the cold - still without his luggage. Again, he made it OK - seasoned traveller that he is :)