Senior Eye – The Old Meet The Young

I have been to meet the young people who produce the Wave. I wanted to interview them and find out some of their motivation and also their attitude to the older people in society.

The room buzzed with excitement and endeavour as I attempted to interview them. The enthusiasm was great and showed me that this was not a flash in the pan, but rather a project which was growing. There were lots of new recruits as well as those who had been involved in the pilot development. In view of this I knew I could never interview them all so I grabbed some new recruits as well as some who had already been active.

There some really positive feedback and the youngsters impressed me with the maturity they showed with their answers. The overall opinion was that the old and the young can teach each other and that elders are not that bad.

The majority of the older ones were focused on the Wave as a way of developing a career, while some just wanted to be involved as and when it suited. Others were using it as a way to express their interests and involve and inform others.

The younger members were particularly interesting, full of ideas for articles and not fazed by the presence of strangers or the idea of their work appearing in print. One of the younger reporters Will, who has been writing since the tender age of 7 (he is 10) produced 3 pieces for the first newsletter is obviously destined to become a Fleet Street editor at a young age. Not all nervous either as an interviewer or interviewee and buzzing with ideas for new articles.

The teenage girls, all interested in fashion as well as other things just reminded me that some things never change. Hasmita was just amazing, doing everything without batting an eyelid and still managing to accommodate me with an interview.

Kate the editor managing to keep some sort of order in the chaotic mix of work in progress and arranging who interviews who and who does what. When I asked what it had been like on the run up to printing the first edition I was told that it had been a tremendous rush and nerves had been a bit  frayed (normal, thank goodness) and one even compared it to the rush she felt on her fourth birthday.

I left felling quite worn out but pleased for these adolescents who were not being held back by unnatural barriers. I would like to thank all of those who allowed me to interview them and am sorry I have not named them all.

By Nancy Bennett, co-editor of Senior Eye (news agency reporting on older people’s issues)