Lyon is a major university city. Students of sociology and psychology have a big captive audience with organisations coping with the aged. I have been a guinea pig twice recently. One, a rather straightforward memory test – we are not shown the results, nor are we told to what use the findings will be put. The sociologists wanted to know whether, at our age, we felt ‘stigmatised’ or seen as ‘stereotypes’. 

Once the questionnaires filled in, got on to the much more interesting topic of how these students were going to use their degrees or Masters. Nothing concrete, something with ‘aged’, but absolutely nothing of a hands-on nature. They filled, for a short while, my desperate ‘need’ to talk to people still in the world, with ideas, enthusiasm, talked to me as an ‘equal’. This sounds odd but our ideas and knowledge were not far apart – I just had to sit on my cynicism because their enthusiasm would be deflated when they got into the work situation.I hope, can’t find out yet, that their findings help to organise the programmes which are aimed at keeping our bodies and minds active and, faint hope, that we might remain a positive integrated group. 

So what’s on the menu for the week? Yesterday I was guilty of being the misery-moo of the two women described in a recent blog. It rained enthusiastically all day, see in today’s news that it was a month’s rainfall at once. There was absolutely nothing to do. I would have played Scrabble in the evening, BUT, lift problems. One, big one, out of order all week. Smaller one, in reception, broke down yesterday evening. I have a phobia about getting stuck in a lift. Sadly it was quite likely. The place is so generally inefficient that I would not be surprised if there is no maintenance programme, scary. The last place has sent me a whacking bill for ‘reparations’ which they did not pursue legally. TV not much cop, so I went to bed with a book about a young woman who took her 101 year old grandmother round Europe in a Camping Car. And worried how I would cope with the lift situation. Easy, stairs came before lifts.

There was a singing class this afternoon, but I cannot stand the guy who runs it, addresses us all as ‘Comtesse’. Aqua-gym three days a week, but I do my daily lone swimming. Wednesday is May Day, Workers’ Day, a Grand ‘Bal Symphonique’ presume TV on big screen. Thursday Yoga, floor and chair, again grunch here has never been a fan.  Sophrologie, again, leaves me cold. A Quiz, which I really like. A well organised memory test. A mini bus goes to the market twice a week. A psychologist tries to draw us out, what makes us feel good. All these occupations are done by outside organisations with trained people Just need a few more participants. Does this make you feel like putting your name down? 

The Gardener

A Moodscope member