Voice 1
Hello. I’m Ruby Jones.
Voice 2
And I’m Rachel Hobson. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
“I visit a home for old people once a week. Most of the people there are forgotten by their families. These beautiful, grey–haired people often share their feelings with me. They feel rejected. When they were young most were well–respected. Now they have no self–respect. Most die in these homes with no family members by their side.”
Voice 1
These are the words of a person who cares deeply about old people. In the West, old people are often lonely. And many of them have to care for themselves. In today’s Spotlight programme we talk about old people in the United Kingdom, about the problems they experience. We also talk about how some of them are fighting back in surprising ways.
Voice 2
In the United Kingdom, three and a half million [3,500,000] old people live alone. The aid group ‘Help the Aged’ is very concerned about the problem. It says that almost twenty [20] percent of people over sixty–five [65] do not see or hear from friends and family every week. And other old people have no friends or family at all.
Voice 1
Old people who do have family are not always in a good position. They often worry about being a cause of trouble or extra work for their children. As they get older, they may have increasing health problems. They are less and less able to do the things they used to do. But they want to continue living independent lives. So they try to stay in their own homes for as long as possible.
Voice 2
Peter is eighty [80] years old. He was married for forty [40] years. Sadly, his wife died nine [9] years ago. He missed her very much. He had the support of his children and family members. However, he wanted to make more friends. He thought the Internet could be a good way to meet new people. But he did not like the idea of writing to people he could not see.
Voice 1
Then Peter heard about the website YouTube. YouTube is a video or film sharing website. People put short videos or films on the site. These ‘clips’ can be about almost anything – but they must not be longer than ten minutes and fifty–eight seconds. Many of them are funny, exciting and surprising. Some people’s clips are of unusual events. Others are action clips. And some people’s clips are video blogs. Blog is short for ‘web log’. And video blogs show people talking about themselves – their lives and their feelings.
Voice 2
Peter liked YouTube very much. And he decided to become a video blogger. He made videos of himself, talking about his life. He called these clips ‘Telling It All’. Peter told many interesting stories. He talked about World War Two. He told how he started his business. And he talked about his family. Peter’s video blogs became very popular. In one week alone almost half a million [500,000] people looked at his video blog.
Voice 1
Many people wrote comments to Peter from all around the world. They told him how much they were thankful for his blog. Almost everyone who wrote encouraged him to continue telling his story.
Voice 2
Television reporters and magazine writers started telling about Peter too. Now he is one of the best known video bloggers in the world. Peter was not trying to be famous. He was just telling his story. But through his video blog, Peter is helping to create links between the young and the old. Through his wise words and kindness, he is helping people to understand how valuable old people truly are.
Voice 1
Blogging is not all that Peter does. He also joined a rock group! This group has the oldest members in the world. The lead singer is ninety [90] years old. And one member is one hundred and one [101]. The group is called ‘The Zimmers’. It is named after the Zimmer frame – a device that some old people use to help them to walk.
Voice 2
Tim Samuels is the man who put together the Zimmers. Tim works for the BBC. He makes films about true events. And Tim especially cares about helping powerless people. One group he cares about is old people. He wanted to make a film about how they are treated in the United Kingdom. He said:
Voice 4
“If you can judge a place by how well it treats its old people, Britain would be in trouble. I wanted to do something which could have an effect. I wanted to do something to help old people to fight back, to make them noticed again. What better way than try and break them into the pop music charts?”
Voice 1
So Tim travelled around the United Kingdom. He was looking for old people who would agree to record a song. Many people he spoke to thought it was a funny idea. But forty [40] of them agreed to try! And Tim chose the perfect song for them to sing. He chose ‘My Generation’ by the group ‘The Who’. The words of the song tell about how people do not understand ‘my generation’. In the original version, the group were talking about young people. But in the Zimmer’s version, the song takes on new meaning. These people are old. And they are not understood by the young.
Voice 2
Tim had help recording the song. A famous producer agreed to work on the project. And a famous video director agreed to film the event. So, the forty old people travelled to London. And they recorded the song in the same room that the Beatles used for recording, over forty years before.
Voice 1
On the twenty–eighth of May, 2007, the song was released. It went to number twenty–six [26] on the list of best selling songs . And the money earned from the song is going to the aid group ‘Age Concern’. The producers also put the video on YouTube. Now millions of people have seen it!
Voice 2
Peter and the Zimmers have captured the imagination of the United Kingdom and the world. They have helped to raise money to help old people. They have helped the public learn more about old people – more about the difficulties they live with everyday. Peter and the Zimmers are showing how just a few people really can make a difference.
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