I WAS born in the fifties. For those of you who are the same as me, you will remember, if you were lucky you shared a bedroom with one of your siblings, you had one coal fire in the lounge, front room or kitchen, that had a back boiler to it, that heated the water when it was lit, no other heating!
I had a bathroom in our house. Baths were Sunday nights and the house was freezing in the winter. You stepped out of the bath, grabbed your dressing down (my dear mum insisted that we had those really heavy wool ones), wrapped it around yourself and dashed for the bed.
Our houses were freezing and I remember always suffering from colds and coughs, good hotpots always on the stove, but we survived! We survived because we didn’t know that things will get better, or so we thought.
We were encouraged to get a good job, earn money and save for the future, to get your own place if you were lucky.
Many of us worked day and night, long hours to pursue the dream of feeling that in our old age we will be secure and safe. We have worked hard for it, just like our parents did, it was instilled into us. If you don’t work hard you will get nothing out of life, you will not succeed you will be a blight on society.
So where have we got to from the dark cold days? Let’s see. Ah yes, here we are entering another Winter of Discontent. Whilst you thought, if you worked so hard when you were younger, you had thought life would be good. Many have served their country since the fifties.
It appears no, we are now being penalised, yes, because you saved for the future, succeeded and made a better future for your family. We are now being told ‘Oh no! You don’t need winter fuel payments and you possibly won’t need your prescriptions paid for. Over 60s, you won’t need all that pension that you saved when you were younger, or the fact that you may be getting single occupancy on your home. Let’s not forget you have a car, you sent your child to private school, and possibly you save all year to have a nice holiday, oh no! You have too much, you have more than others, so this is not fair!! The things that you worked and may be still working so hard for!’
So Mr Starmer, the one thing that most of us remember that were born in the fifties and the years before, we remember the Winters of Discontent, the strikes, the terrible times, we remember. So please think again, you are biting the hand that will feed you.
So whilst you sit in your large house that will be heated right the way through, remember many elderly who have served this county and have worked their guts out for this country, to get a better life for their families for a good future. They want warm homes too!
Many elderly will be frightened to put the heat on, many will perish, many will worry themselves beyond belief because of the high cost of heating, these actions have a consequence.
We live in frightening times, the one thing you want in life is a warm secure comfortable home, so remember Mr Starmer we won’t forget you either!
We have choices too!
