News and views for our Senior Citizens.
SWIM FOR FREE!
Over 60s Swim for Free
If you are over 60 you can now swim for free. In all 17 Birmingham City Council pools. As often as you like. And you don’t need to live in Birmingham.
If you already have a Birmingham City Council Leisure Card or Passport to Leisure card, you don’t need to do a thing! Your card will be updated automatically.
If you don’t already have a card, just bring proof of your age – a bus pass, passport, driving licence, birth or marriage certificate or proof of your state pension. Simply fill in a leisure card application and you can swim for free straight away.
For further information, please contact your local pool or call 0121 464 2012.
The Over 50's
We were born before television, before penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill. We were born before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams, and ball-point pens; before dishwashers, tumble dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip dry clothes.......
We got married first and then lived together. We thought "fast food" was what you ate in Lent, a "Big Mac" was an oversized raincoat, and "crumpet" was what you had for tea.
We existed before house husbands, computer dating, dual careers, when a "meaningful relationship" meant getting along with your cousins, and "sheltered accommodation" was where you waited for the bus.
We had never heard of FM radio, tape decks, word processors, yogurt, pizzas, or young men wearing earrings. For us a "chip" was piece of wood or a fried potato, "hardware" meant nuts and bolts and "software" wasn't a word.
The term "making out" referred to how you did in exams, "stud" was something that fastened your clothes and "going all the way" meant staying on the double-decker bus to the depot.........
In our day, cigarette smoking was fashionable, "grass" was mown, "coke" was kept in the coal shed, and a "joint" was the piece of meat you ate on Sundays. "Rock music" was a lullaby and a "gay person" was the life and soul of the party. No wonder we are so confused. And how old are we?
Just hitting 60!
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HOW TO STOP JUNK MAIL
The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) is a free service that enables you to have your name and home addresses in the UK removed from lists used by the direct mail industry. Royal Mail, direct mail trade associations and The Information Commissioners Office are fully behind the scheme.
The MPS can remove your name from up to 95% of Direct Mail lists. It will not stop mail that has been sent from overseas, un-addressed material or mail addressed to The Occupier. You can expect to continue to receive mailings from companies with whom you have done business in the past. You may also receive mailings from small, local companies. If you wish these mailings to be stopped, you must notify these companies directly.
Registering with the MPS is FREE. You will have to register each individual at your address.
So sign up to remove most of the junk mail your receive and save yourself a trip to the recyling bin!
To register go to www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr
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SAVE 1/3 ON RAIL FARES!
With a Senior Railcard anyone 60 years or over can save 1/3 on Standard and First Class rail fares throughout Great Britain for 12 whole months. The card costs just £24 so, for what works out to only £2 a month, you can look forward to dramatic savings.
There are plenty of ways you can use your Railcard, for both long and short trips. Better still you can use it almost anytime during the week, weekends and Public Holidays.
Its easy to buy a Senior Railcard online by using their website, www.senior-railcard.co.uk. You will need a valid UK driving licence or passport number to prove that you're eligible.
Your Railcard will be dispatched within three working days, and will be sent first class post. Please ensure that you allow enough time before your journey for your Railcard to reach you.
You can also buy a Railcard at a staffed station ticket office, or rail appointed Travel Agent
To save time, download the form from the website and complete it before you get to the station.
If you're applying for the first time you'll need one of the following to prove your age:
Birth certificate
Passport
Driving licence
You'll also need £24. Stations and agents accept cash, cheques, debit, credit and charge cards or postal orders.
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SAVE MONEY ON PRESCRIPTION MEDICINE
Prescriptions can be expensive these days and if you need more than three in a three month period you may be better off buying a Prescription Pre-payment certificate (PPC). This costs £26.85 for three months or £98.70 for a year (you can pay the latter in instalments) and lets you get as many prescriptions as you need. Visit www.ppa.org.uk/ppa/ppc_intro.htm to apply.
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Over 60s Swim for Free
If you are over 60 you can now swim for free. In all 17 Birmingham City Council pools. As often as you like. And you don’t need to live in Birmingham.
If you already have a Birmingham City Council Leisure Card or Passport to Leisure card, you don’t need to do a thing! Your card will be updated automatically.
If you don’t already have a card, just bring proof of your age – a bus pass, passport, driving licence, birth or marriage certificate or proof of your state pension. Simply fill in a leisure card application and you can swim for free straight away.
For further information, please contact your local pool or call 0121 464 2012.
The Over 50's
We were born before television, before penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill. We were born before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams, and ball-point pens; before dishwashers, tumble dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip dry clothes.......
We got married first and then lived together. We thought "fast food" was what you ate in Lent, a "Big Mac" was an oversized raincoat, and "crumpet" was what you had for tea.
We existed before house husbands, computer dating, dual careers, when a "meaningful relationship" meant getting along with your cousins, and "sheltered accommodation" was where you waited for the bus.
We had never heard of FM radio, tape decks, word processors, yogurt, pizzas, or young men wearing earrings. For us a "chip" was piece of wood or a fried potato, "hardware" meant nuts and bolts and "software" wasn't a word.
The term "making out" referred to how you did in exams, "stud" was something that fastened your clothes and "going all the way" meant staying on the double-decker bus to the depot.........
In our day, cigarette smoking was fashionable, "grass" was mown, "coke" was kept in the coal shed, and a "joint" was the piece of meat you ate on Sundays. "Rock music" was a lullaby and a "gay person" was the life and soul of the party. No wonder we are so confused. And how old are we?
Just hitting 60!
HOW TO STOP JUNK MAIL
The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) is a free service that enables you to have your name and home addresses in the UK removed from lists used by the direct mail industry. Royal Mail, direct mail trade associations and The Information Commissioners Office are fully behind the scheme.
The MPS can remove your name from up to 95% of Direct Mail lists. It will not stop mail that has been sent from overseas, un-addressed material or mail addressed to The Occupier. You can expect to continue to receive mailings from companies with whom you have done business in the past. You may also receive mailings from small, local companies. If you wish these mailings to be stopped, you must notify these companies directly.
Registering with the MPS is FREE. You will have to register each individual at your address.
So sign up to remove most of the junk mail your receive and save yourself a trip to the recyling bin!
To register go to www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr
SAVE 1/3 ON RAIL FARES!
With a Senior Railcard anyone 60 years or over can save 1/3 on Standard and First Class rail fares throughout Great Britain for 12 whole months. The card costs just £24 so, for what works out to only £2 a month, you can look forward to dramatic savings.
There are plenty of ways you can use your Railcard, for both long and short trips. Better still you can use it almost anytime during the week, weekends and Public Holidays.
Its easy to buy a Senior Railcard online by using their website, www.senior-railcard.co.uk. You will need a valid UK driving licence or passport number to prove that you're eligible.
Your Railcard will be dispatched within three working days, and will be sent first class post. Please ensure that you allow enough time before your journey for your Railcard to reach you.
You can also buy a Railcard at a staffed station ticket office, or rail appointed Travel Agent
To save time, download the form from the website and complete it before you get to the station.
If you're applying for the first time you'll need one of the following to prove your age:
Birth certificate
Passport
Driving licence
You'll also need £24. Stations and agents accept cash, cheques, debit, credit and charge cards or postal orders.
SAVE MONEY ON PRESCRIPTION MEDICINE
Prescriptions can be expensive these days and if you need more than three in a three month period you may be better off buying a Prescription Pre-payment certificate (PPC). This costs £26.85 for three months or £98.70 for a year (you can pay the latter in instalments) and lets you get as many prescriptions as you need. Visit www.ppa.org.uk/ppa/ppc_intro.htm to apply.