Getting Hotter – in pursuit of stylish yet comfortable shoes

Valetta vintage style shoes by Hotter

As some of you may know,  I have for some time been compiling a list of stylish but comfortable shoe brands (for current list, CLICK HERE) – a combination that seems increasingly elusive the older you get.

To further this research, yesterday I ventured for the first time into Hotter shoes in Chichester. When I first mentioned Hotter, their shoes were only available online but they have since opened a number of shops. And not before time, it seems. The first impression I got as I crossed the threshhold was that of a scrum of ladies of a certain age stocking up on boxfuls of Hotter shoes.

The shoes themselves seem to have been divided into two sorts – the more traditional, “comfort” shoes which a quick glance at my mother confirmed were not for me and another more modern range including heels.  And the latter were very attractive. And moreover, gloriously comfortable.

Hotter shoes are not cheap (around the £60 mark) but do look very well made with really nice leathers.

So, well worth a look. (And if anyone from Hotter is reading this, I would like a pair of Valetta shoes in black, please..!!)

For more information about Hotter and to see the range, go to http://www.hottershoes.com/

Student competition winner becomes Designer in Residence at London’s Design Museum

Delighted to hear that Harry Trimble, the first winner of our Designing for the Future competition in conjunction with the University of Brighton, has just become one of the Designers in Residence at the Design Museum in London.

Harry’s winning design for the Designing for the Future competition resulted from studying an older couple and their young twins. Harry’s interactive playmat encouraged more regular physical activity and play between parents and their children.

Well done, Harry!

Introducing two new innovative products for people with dementia

With around 750,000 people in the UK having dementia – a number which is set to double in the next thirty years – more and more of us are being affected by this heartbreaking condition. Often it falls to families to try and help and one of the biggest challenges they face is how to maintain meaningful communication with their loved one.

These innovative new products are here to help.

Pictures to Share and Mind Dice offer a way for the person with dementia to interact with their families and carers in a meaningful and enjoyable way. They can be used by families at home and also in care homes and are versatile and attractive tools to help families make the most of their time together.

Pictures to Share

Pictures to Share are beautiful, non stigmatising illustrated books for people with dementia and their carers to share together.

As the creators of the Pictures to Share books explain : ” For those with a family member in the mid to late stages of dementia, the problem of maintaining meaningful communication can be one of the biggest challenges they face.

Many family members find the Pictures to Share books prove to be a great help in prompting a range of different conversations. They can also provide those with dementia living at home or in care with an enjoyable way to pass the time and an effective way of interacting with different carers and family members.

“I bought the books for my father who has dementia.  Even though we have only had the books for a few days, they have already proved their worth!

My mother has found that the carers enjoy using them, and they really help the respite volunteers to break the ice.  My father enjoys the pictures very much – we all do!”

For more information and to buy Pictures to Share – In the Garden, CLICK HERE

Mind Dice

Mind Dice also aims to help people with dementia communicate with their carers. Prompts written on a 12 sided dice, enable the person to tap into their remaining memories provoking stories and responses that can be enjoyed by family, carers and friends.

Mind Dice has been designed and produced by John Sprange through his direct experience of caring for his father who had Alzheimers. John explains :”My father had a rich store of memories. ..When he died, aged 95, mixed with my grief was a sense of loss for my access to his personal connection to all those years he lived through. His eyes were in effect my personal witness to almost a whole century, and through this I had become an expert on what he knew.

In his later days, despite not recalling what happened 5 minutes before, he was able to recollect memories from long ago. Frequently he brought to mind events that placed him where he was happiest and at the height of his powers. Any repetition was often mitigated by the nuanced differences which emerged with the stories. They certainly showed his true sense of himself. I experimented with the dice, which carried, names of people, place and themes. He would sit rolling it in his hands, reading the prompts and saying. ‘This is my life’ with a sense of surprise.”

For more information and to buy the Mind Dice, CLICK HERE

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These two new products join our popular Many Happy Returns 1940s reminiscence cards designed by Sarah Reed as a result of fifteen years’ voluntary work with the charity Contact the Elderly and her mother’s experience with dementia over ten years

Many Happy Returns 1940s is a lovely box of 24 carefully researched reminiscence cards designed to get old and young talking together about how life used to be, helping them to celebrate their personal and family stories. The cards offer a range of everyday subjects with large images, historical information and conversational prompts – from cleaning the step to playing conkers, from evacuation to rationing, from playing in the streets to that very first kiss…

For more information and to buy Many Happy Returns 1940s, CLICK HERE

From sleek bathrooms to tricycles – this year’s Naidex National

This week was Naidex National, the UK’s largest disability, homecare and rehabilitation event. I went on the look-out for innovative and attractively designed products for older people.

Here are seven of the best:

IHUS

I am a great fan of the IHUS/instant annex concept and it was great to see a mock up of an IHUS building at Naidex. The IHUS was being used as a showcase for independent living products and whilst an excellent idea in principle, the presentation was rather shambolic – such a shame when standout products such as a smart Design Matters kitchen and HEWI bathroom fittings (about which more later) had been used.

HEWI

Sleek, aspirational, high end and effortlessly functional, the award winning HEWI bathroom range was for me the star of this year’s show. HEWI’s guiding principle is universal product form – avoiding stigmatisation through inclusive design.  Instead of ugly white plastic grab rails, HEWI use sleek, chrome support rails and make sure that all other surfaces (towel rails, shower rails) are secure enough to hold onto. Feel-good bathrooms for people of every age.

Design Matters

Adam Thomas of Design Matters is the country’s leading designer for accessible, innovative and high quality kitchens which include features such as height adjustable counter-tops and hobs, dishwasher and fridge drawers and easy reach cupboards.

As well as the large manufacturers, it was also good to see a number of innovative, smaller businesses bringing new designs to the market.

Such + Such Design

The Such + Such Design team were showcasing some delightful new products which were beautifully designed and attractively packaged.  These included the DUO handle which clips onto everyday mugs and glasses and Bridgit, a useful clip “which solves the problem of what to do with your walking stick when you are not using it”.

Flo

Flo is the innovative and sculptural walking and standing stick developed by Ilsa Parry in conjunction with Philippe Starck which is causing quite a stir.  What was great to see was how enthusiastic and passionate Ilsa is about her product and making a difference to the lives of older people – we definitely need more designers like her!

Safesip

Safesip is a re-useable drinks cover created by Melissa Edmunds after her father was admitted to hospital and Melissa realised that a solution needed to be found which would make life easier for those who struggled to sit up when they needed a drink.

Veliac electric tricycles

And finally, for sheer joie de vivre, I loved the Veliac electric tricycles – I definitely want one of those!

Happy first birthday to Gransnet!

Gransnet the social networking site for Britain’s 14 million grandparents is one today.

Launched in May 2011, the site was described by the Telegraph as “a new dawn in grey power.”

Gransnet’s forums cover everything from politics to sex, childhood games to difficult daughters-in-law. “We have recipes, product reviews and tips on everything from good grannying to great reads… and we feature regular webchats with politicians and experts, authors and slebs.”

Online forums for older people have hitherto been notoriously difficult to establish and maintain. However, spearheaded by Geraldine Bedell, I get the impression that Gransnet is steadily and surely embedding itself as one of the go-to sites for older women.

My interaction with Gransnet has largely been via Twitter where the Gransnet team manage to be consistently entertaining, informative and often very funny. My Gransnet highlights of last year included #grannygate and #bakingweek (when the Gransnet team baked and ate all week with great enthusiasm). And who can forget the lube reviews…!

So, happy birthday Gransnet and all the best for the coming year!

Student competition design now on sale in Design Museum shop!

I frequently write about interesting new designs on this blog and just as frequently am asked where they can be bought. Well, now you can own one of the great designs which featured in our Designing for the Future competition!

I am delighted that one of the products entered into our Designing for the Future student design competition with the University of Brighton is now on sale in the Design Museum shop.

Sophia’s Fong’s  elegant  “Measuring Carafe” measures identical amounts of liquid within variously shaped sections, allowing the user “to see” how much liquid they are using rather than trying to read fiddly graduations.

The Measuring Carafe (as well as Sophia’s equally stunning Displacement Jug) was much admired by the judges in last year’s Designing for the Future competition and it is fantastic that it is now available to buy.

To go to the Design Museum’s website and buy this elegant and unique design, CLICK HERE

You will also be able to see Sophia Fong’s work as part of the “Designing for the Future” showcase in the Design Zone at this year’s Mobility Roadshow, 21-23 June

Can design improve the lives of people living with dementia?

The Ode

Can design improve the lives of people living with dementia?  This is one of the questions posed by the latest Design Council Challenge.

Last week, I went to the Design Council to see the winning projects which range from a dementia support dog to an appetite stimulator.

As it is now predicted that as many as one in three of us will experience some form of dementia before we die, this is a very timely project.

Dementia Dog

Dementia Dog is a service providing assistance dogs to people with dementia, helping them lead more fulfilled, independent and stress-free lives.

A sense of routine can often disintegrate for people with dementia. Dogs can be trained to live to a consistent routine. Ultimately, each dog will be trained with the person with dementia and their carer so all three can operate as a team.

Knowing how important dogs are to many people, this sounds like a good idea though given the investment involved, the number of people who will benefit will presumably be relatively small.

Grouple

Grouple is a secure, private online social network helping people share the responsibilities of caring for someone with dementia.

Members of a care network easily post their schedules, ideas and experiences of caring, dividing responsibilities and coordinating efforts to provide consistent and regular care without one single person being overburdened.

The Grouple team has thought about people in the care network without access to a computer, suggesting that they use postcards to add information. I’m not sure about this aspect. Would it be better to encourage everyone online?

Buddi

I like the Grouple and think it has enormous potential. The challenges will be getting the interface right and also making sure the right people are in, and contributing to, the network.

Buddi

Buddi is a wristband personal alarm that people will be happy to wear and can send alerts from anywhere to buddi’s support services.

The buddiband is comfortable, discreet and waterproof. To avoid battery replacement and daily charging, it is fitted with the most powerful possible rechargeable battery – which offers at least two months of battery life – and is designed to be as power-efficient as can be.

The design of buddi is neat and stylish. The challenge with alert systems is all about the support rather than the technology – who is alerted and why and what happens to the information. A friend of mine regularly removes her care alarm because she finds it annoying and she does not want to inadvertently set it off and “cause a fuss”. I look forward to seeing how this product develops.

Trading Times

Trading Times is an online service that matches carers with local businesses for flexible paid work. It is free to carers and paid for on a transactional basis by employers.

Trading Times will provide carers with access to opportunities to earn, the ability to retain and develop work skills, stay connected with society and maintain a sense of self-worth.

This is a good idea, particularly for the many carers trying to juggle their caring responsibilities with their careers. However, I think employers might need to be convinced why they should choose carers rather than the many people prepared at the moment to work part time who have no such responsibilities (which is why there is dearth of flexible jobs for carers in the first place).  Some challenges there to be overcome, I think.

The Ode

The Ode  is a fragrance-release system designed to stimulate appetite among people with dementia. The mains-powered unit releases three food fragrances a day, adjustable to coincide with mealtimes.

The Ode’s designers believe that this discreet system is less stigmatising and more inspiring than an alarm or constant reminders from carers to eat. Initial research suggests it can stimulate real hunger subliminally. Scents are pleasant and evocative and can also improve mood.

This is a nice, simple, relatively low cost consumer product with lots of potential  – I really liked it – and the challenge will be in getting it from prototype and testing stages onto the shelves.

Congratulations should go to all the teams involved in getting these projects to this stage and in doing so, demonstrating design’s potential to confront a global problem and change lives for the better.

The next step for all five teams will be turning these interesting ideas into reality.  And I wish them all well.

For more information about the Design Council Challenge, go to http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/our-work/challenges/Health/Living-well-with-Dementia1/Event/

We are about to launch a new range of products designed to help people with living with dementia communicate with their families and carers.  Watch this space!

What today’s Supreme Court decision on age discrimination means for employers

Today the Supreme Court handed down the much awaited decision on the Seldon age discrimination case. Here legal expert, Ronnie Fox from Fox lawyers explains what it means from an employer’s point of view

A couple of years ago the in-house counsel of a major corporate client asked me to advise whether a standard retirement age of 65 would be in breach of the age discrimination legislation. Then he said, “I don’t want you to say that justification depends on whether the policy is “a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”; that doesn’t help me”. He wanted a definitive answer.

It is tragic that Seldon (and Homer too) have been all the way up to the Supreme Court only for the decisions as to whether the particular circumstances in those two cases can indeed be justified to be remitted back to the Employment Tribunal. The Employment Tribunal will have to decide whether on the specific facts a mandatory retirement age of 65 was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Employers will just have to wait and see what the tribunal decides. How much simpler it was when the law permitted a default retirement age! The need for a further hearing in Seldon will probably come as a tremendous disappointment to the parties. Today’s decision will not make it easy to give clear advice to clients as to what retirement age is acceptable.

On the positive side, the Supreme Court has given some guidance. In future it will be harder for employees and partners who are required to retire at a compulsory retirement age to argue that they have been discriminated against if the reasons behind the compulsory retirement policy have been well thought out, carefully explained and alternative ages considered. The Supreme Court seemed to accept that the reasons given for the policy at Clarkson Wright and Jakes, (namely, (i) giving associates an opportunity of partnership within a reasonable time, and thereby an incentive to remain with the firm; (ii) facilitating workforce planning by knowing when vacancies were to be expected; (iii) limiting the need to expel underperforming partners, thus contributing to a congenial and supportive culture within the firm) were all potentially consistent with the social policy objectives in the Council Directive.

So we shall have to wait to see what happens. What is clear is that abolishing the default retirement age has not been the end of the discussion and has introduced all sorts of uncertianty for businesses.  It will remain to be seen whether this lack of clarity will mean more or less jobs for older workers. 

10 things to think about when considering elderly care

Following on from last night’s BBC’s Panorama about the appalling treatment of one care home resident, this guest blog by Carefound, a specialist provider of home care services and dementia care to elderly people (www.carefound.co.uk) is a timely reminder of what should be considered when thinking about elderly care either for yourself or a loved one.

 Considering care for yourself or a loved one is a hugely important decision which should lead to a much higher quality of life and the ability to remain comfortable, safe and happy in an environment of choice. However, prior to implementing life changes or enlisting help there are various things that should always be considered. 

1. When should I begin to think about elderly care? 

All too often the process of considering elderly care is the response to an accident, illness or significant decline in health resulting in people being forced to make life changing decisions at short notice. It is therefore encouraged that individuals and families consider their future needs at the earliest stage possible. Remember, planning never does any harm and it is important to ensure that individuals are in control of decisions regarding their care to the greatest extent possible. 

2.     How do I know if I need elderly care? 

Accepting help for the first time can often be difficult for individuals and their families. Before seeking support try to understand what your exact needs are. You may be seeking care because of a specialist condition such as dementia or following a suggestion from a friend or family member. It may simply be that you require a small amount of help at home in the form of domestic help or companionship. Enlisting support does not have to involve moving into a care home or even full-time help in your own home.

Get as much advice as possible and talk things through with friends, family and health professionals such as your GP. You may also wish to speak with a care provider directly – a good organisation should be open to discussing your situation with you and also offering examples of how other families have been able to improve their quality of life. 

3.     What care options are available to me? 

The circumstances of each individual and family can differ – any chosen care option should meet your needs at all times. 

Many people prefer to receive a personalised service of care in their own home, and a provider such as Carefound can offer a high quality, flexible home care service which can range from 1 hour per day to full-time live-in care. This is increasingly viewed as a genuine alternative to residential care and is especially attractive for couples. 

There are also various residential care options available today, including: 

• Residential care home – accommodation, meals and personal care provided in a communal environment without nursing care.
• Residential nursing home – accommodation, meals and personal care in a communal environment with nursing care and qualified nurses in attendance.
• Assisted living – also referred to as extra care housing, care villages or close care housing, these facilities typically comprise apartments / bungalows with care / support available on-site.
• Sheltered / retirement housing – typically apartments with an on-site warden and alarm system, but no care provision.

 4.     How do I find out about a local care service? 

Before making a decision about care you should get a feel for what options are available to you. Of course, speaking with friends and relatives is a good first step in order to get any personal recommendations. You will also be able to obtain a list of all local care services through the Care Quality Commission and / or the Adult Services department of your local authority. 

5.     What should I look for in a care service? 

When considering a specific care service try to draw up a list of questions that are important to you and where possible seek support from a friend or relative as a second opinion. Also try to obtain information from existing clients of the service and ensure that they are happy with the care they receive. 

Important aspects of any service to consider include: 

• The basis on which care is provided – is the service flexible and focused on your specific requirements?
• How staff are engaged – are they fully employed and subject to a comprehensive recruitment and selection process? Are they well rewarded with the genuine opportunity to develop?
• Staff should be sufficiently skilled – do they undergo a through induction programme and receive ongoing training in all aspects of the care they provide?
• Help with specialist conditions – where relevant, do staff receive training in specialist conditions such as dementia?
• Management of the service – who is responsible for the day-to-day management of care and who has overall responsibility? If part of a franchise or a national organisation it may not simply be a case of being able to rely on the ‘brand’.

 6.     What will my care cost? 

The cost of care will vary significantly depending on the type and quality of service purchased. Home care can be purchased on an hourly or a live-in basis, with the latter typically costing a similar amount to residential care. 

The average cost of residential care in the UK is approximately £530 per week, increasing to £700 per week for those who need nursing care. However, fees vary depending on the location and quality of home and can therefore be substantially more. 

7.     Who will pay for my care?

Prior to receiving care you are entitled to a care assessment from the Adult Services department of your local authority. This will include a financial assessment in order to determine if you are eligible for help in paying for your care. The financial assessment will review both your capital and income. In many cases, if an individual owns their home and a spouse isn’t still living in it, they are likely be deemed a “self-funder” and will receive no help from the local authority (unless they require nursing care in which case a contribution will be available).

If you are required to self-fund your care it is important to remember that there are many financial options available such as equity release or an annuity contract and you should always seek professional financial advice with regards to these.

8.     Will my care be reviewed?

Any care provider should monitor and review your individual circumstances on a regular basis in order to ensure that the service provided meets your individual needs. The provision of care should be a flexible, evolving process in which you are actively involved.

9.     What if I have a complaint about my care?

If you wish to complain about the care you receive it should always be made easy for you to do so. Be sure to read and understand a care provider’s complaints procedure, and remember that individuals and families can complain to external bodies including the local authority, the Care Quality Commission or the Local Government Ombudsman.

10.  What if I want to change my care provider?

Choice and control is a key aspect of enlisting care services and hence it is important to understand the terms under which services are enlisted before doing so. The terms of services purchased should be fully documented (including costs), and never hesitate to query these should you or your family have any concerns.

Source: Carefound, Laing and Buisson.

Visionary innovators – my father versus Simon Cowell. You choose!

It is very easy to think of older people as passive recipients of our new ideas and innovations and to forget that many of them sowed the seeds of the great technological advances which we are exploiting today.

My father, Michael Aldrich is a case in point. Now in his 70s, when he was in his late 30s, he connected a domestic television by telephone line to a real-time transaction processing computer and invented what he called teleshopping. Today it is called online shopping, e-commerce and e-business and is a fast growing world-wide multi-billion dollar business.

At that time, pre-internet, the idea of being able to shop from home was at best fanciful. As he explains : “Back in 1979 the first wave of personal computers had appeared. There was not much useful software but there was sufficient evidence of potential to enable many people to ask ‘what if.’ One idea being considered in academe and among futurists was teleshopping. The dream had to include an affordable and usable computer device in the home. At the time the personal computers were expensive and distinctly nerdish. Also some relatively inexpensive telecommunication link in the home was needed together with networked computers that could handle very high volumes of transactions being processed simultaneously”.

The opportunity came in with the arrival of a new television : “Early in 1979 a 26” colour television was delivered to my office… With it came a note that asked me for my assessment of it. The Rediffusion Group manufactured TVs so it wasn’t unusual to be given prototypes for testing… During that time we learned that it was a prototype of a new TV designed for a new service to be offered by the Post Office..called ‘Prestel’.

Initial research on the system proved unfruitful and the television languished in a corner of the office for some time until engineer, Peter Champion asked if he could strip it and find out what was inside. What he found was a chip set with a chip modem, a character generator and an auto-dialler that could hold four telephone numbers. This was a television which could communicate  

My father explains his eureka moment as follows : “In the summer of 1979,.. my wife and I were walking our Labrador, Tessa. We were relaxing, talking as ever about our children, just the usual family domestic things and I was thinking that we could use some assistance with the boring weekly supermarket shopping expedition. All of a sudden I thought about the television and hooking it up to the supermarket and getting the supermarket to deliver the groceries. I told her my idea and we rushed back to the house and I started thinking, writing and planning.

It was simple. We had a domestic TV that could communicate, a computer that not only could handle transaction processing from multiple users but it could also communicate (network) with other computers…. Using an inexpensive domestic TV with a remarkably simple human interface, it could be used by anyone without training. With its ability to dial into any computer via a normal domestic telephone line and, using a standard communications and human interface, it could be used for multiple applications. It wasn’t restricted to talking to just one computer for one function. It had genuine open market independent teleshopping capabilities. And you could still watch TV! It was hugely exciting…”

To celebrate World Intellectual Property Day 2012, the Intellectual Property Office is asking people to vote for their favourite British ‘Visionary Innovator’.  Oddly, my father is in competition with Simon Cowell! So, online shopping or the Xfactor? You choose! To vote, CLICK HERE

Image and quotes courtesy of the Michael Aldrich Archive