Minutes Green Seniors’ meeting: Friday 18 January 2019

NB The Green Seniors meeting  scheduled for the 1st march has been postponed due to other commitments for gs committee members it will now be held on Friday 15 March meeting at 6pm meeting at the Green Room 7 Grand Arcade Tally Ho Corner North Finchley .

Minutes  Green Seniors’ meeting: Friday 18 January 2019

1.   Apologies Helmut  Izzaks, Sandra McLeod

2.  Minutes Green Seniors’ meeting:  Friday 26/10/2018: agreed for accuracy.

3 Matters arising

a)    Lucas Conference working groups: reading groups on the fourth Wednesday of the month,23/1/2019 7pm in the lobby at Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG. The first two groups will be on books by Mike Cooley, the activist, engineer and academic. He received the Right Livelihood Award ('Alternative Nobel Prize') 'for designing and promoting the theory and practice of human-centred, socially useful production'. He was centrally involved in developing the Lucas Plan. For details contact dave@breakingtheframe.org.uk. T

b)    National Pensioners’ Convention meeting 31/1/2019 Maureen invited to attend.

c)    Green Seniors site now listed on GP home page  with officers’ emails, thanks to Maureen.

d) Conrad Taylor will be speaking on Seniors and Apps, Maureen to follow up.

e) Irish campaign to pay grandparents caring for children: Still a possibility?

f) Financial crisis in social care sector, worsening:

g)    Research into needs of older people in Tower Hamlets. In the light of all the requests for volunteers we are concerned that young people under  the age of 18 are not required to have police checks. Maureen has contacted Liverpool Street Police Station and local advice groups who simply do not know!!Assurances that young volunteers must be supervised.

h) Holistic review passed and would now go to referendum of members, discussion on GP membership site. More liaison with GP Disability group needed

i)     Maureen attended conference on loneliness addressed by Tracey Crouch MP, Minister for Sport and Civil Society (aka ‘Minister for Loneliness’).Excellent

j) Maureen attended Morley College event on positive ageing, raised issue of freedom passes continuing after April 2020. Excellent

k). LOPSIG (?) need to consider elders’ rights and put pressure on the Mayor of London with Positive Ageing.

l)     Lack of toilets. Some seniors unable to leave the house is this is of concern to them. Some cafes in the City are allowing Seniors to use loos.

4     Green Seniors social media

a)    membership of email list  c.85, Noel to check. Problems with restrictions on size of emails. Moderators Noel & Maureen.

b) Green Seniors has twitter account: contact Maureen for details

5     GPEW Conferences

a) Green Seniors meeting at autumn conference 2018: Claudine Lefsal. Of YG’s recommended GS should consider Twitter and a buddy telephone system.

b)    spring 2019: “the results of the ballot on the Holistic Review proposals may mean that Spring Conference would need to be held after the local elections (the second half of May or early June).|” 

6   London federation and GLA elections videos of hustings accessible via https://greentulondon.blogspot.com/2019/01/london-gp-mayoral-hustings.html

7 Future Green Seniors activities

·      Greener Jobs Alliance: agm Tuesday, January 29th, 2019. This will take place at UCU, Carlow St, London NW1 7LH from 12.00 - 2.30 with Chi Onwurah, Shadow Industrial Strategy Minister

·      A European Conference bringing together activists from across Europe and beyond to discuss and organise against the rise of the far-right Sat, March 2, 2019 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM GMT

Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church

235 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8EP

·       7. Brexit and Seniors

The Left response to Brexit

Meeting and discussion
TUESDAY 22 JANUARY, 7.30pm

Marchmont Street Community Centre 62 Marchmont Street WC1N 1AB London United Kingdom

8.AoB

·       NESTA Mobility Challenge “The $4 million Mobility Unlimited Challenge supports radical improvements in the mobility and independence of people with lower-limb paralysis through smarter assistive technology” (https://www.nesta.org.uk/project/mobility-unlimited-challenge/)

·       Aggressive persuasion of care Home Owners and other companies ie Equity Release etc to 'grab' the family home: still a problem.

·       Suspect Funeral plans. Undertakers being taken over by US chains. Are Age UK’s sales of Funeral plans OK?

·       Would Alexa and similar devices be useful to some Seniors?

Travel passes allow seniors free travel on Green Line coaches (Special travel deals for people over 60

·         Holders of English national concessionary bus passes can travel free of charge on Green Line services after 0930 on weekdays and at any time on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays.

·         On weekday evenings your journey must commence before 2300 to qualify for free travel.

·         Passholders whose passes were issued in Hertfordshire enjoy additional benefits and can travel at any time of day on Green Line 724.

·        

9 Date of Next meeting Friday 15th  March 2019 @ 6pm meeting at the Green Room 7 Grand Arcade Tally Ho Corner North Finchley