Watch out Care Homes and Retirement Villages

Generation Challenge is Here

A man in his later years wears a red school boy uniform with short trousers, ankle socks and cap. He is slightly hunched from years of playing a guitar. At close inspection his hands have tell-tale age spots and he constantly open and closes his mouth like a fish out of water. The thinning long black hair is caked to his skin with sweat making him look like Gollum in the good ol' days when he still lived in the Shire. 

Should he be apprehended for psychiatric assessment? 

No, instead 60,000 people applauded, danced and sang their hearts out as he performed for two solid hours with manic high voltage energy. Angus Young was as awesome as he was 30 years ago when I first saw him playing to another packed house with ACDC.

I have been to three concerts in the last few months. The Who with Roger Daltry (71 yrs) and Pete Townshend (70). Sting (63) with Paul Simon (73). ACDC with an average age of 63yrs. Each concert was off the scale superb. I loved every minute.

It made me think of care homes and retirement villages who are in the process of marketing to this next generation. Forget communal TV, rooms the size of large cupboards and bingo. Now you are probably thinking that talented musicians are hardly a normal representation of the general public. But 60,000 people challenge that notion. We all know people are LIVING longer and the emphasis is on LIVING, not hiding people away in an institution. The audience was a total mix of ages, from the rather elderly to 8 year old children. They were all very much alive when the storm on the stage was in full rage. 

So here is a message for care homes and retirement villages, don't think you just have to tread water whilst you manage your business plan through the heavy rock generation, because they have been breeding and the generations to follow will be giving you just as much of a hard time. 

As I get older I take it as my duty to embrace life for all that it's worth and I pledge to become more and more challenging and elusive to anyone who tries to tie me down. Please hold all marketing material until I'm in my 90s and then and only then will I be interested if you are offering lectures for me to continue learning, mind blowing music, a gym, sporting challenges, belly laughter, alcohol and so much more. Go The Who, Go ACDC, Go Sting and Paul Simon. You belong to an amazing bunch of people and I'm using you all as role models.