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Be careful what stories you tell yourself, they may come back to haunt you one day

By Nina Steele I don’t know about you, but I have zero fear of old age, because I know deep down that I will be fine. There is of course a belief that not having children means you will be at a disadvantage in old age.… Read the rest

Companionship can be whatever you want it to be

By Nina Steele Years ago, in my work with the elderly, I had the opportunity to meet a lady in her 80s. She lived with her sister and had done so most of her adult life.… Read the rest

Planning for old age can be depressing but leaving things to chance should never be considered a viable option

By Nina Steele Reading the story of 104-year-old Daisy Staines reminded me of the story of another childless widow of similar age, who is still alive and well.… Read the rest

Homeshare: the scheme helping fight loneliness in old age

The homeshare scheme seems like the perfect arrangement for both young and old. On the one hand, the old person taking part gets to no longer be alone by renting out their spare room to a younger person, and on the other hand, the younger person gets a far cheaper accommodation than they would otherwise pay for.… Read the rest

Greta Garbo’s innate need for solitude may explain why she chose never to marry nor have children

By Nina Steele The more I read about the life of Greta Garbo, the more fascinating a character I find her to be. For starters, that she decided to quit acting when she was still in demand, says a lot about her as a person and how far she was willing to go in order to live the life that she truly wanted to live.… Read the rest

Homeless woman who slept in a laundromat for 25 years made people believe she was childless when in fact she was a mother of 2

By Nina Steele Mimi (Full name Marie Haist) became homeless after her marriage broke down in 1976. By then, she had been married for 29 years.… Read the rest

The lonely death of Lady Lucan is another reminder that people do fall out with their children and that we are all at the mercy of the vagaries of life

By Nina Steele Instead of bringing them together, the tragic event that led to the disappearance of Lord Lucan on November 7, 1974, tore his family apart.… Read the rest

Another story highlighting the impact of modern living on the old family structure

By Nina Steele Dan Peterson is 82. He fell into a deep depression after his wife died. He completely lost the will to live and was waiting for death to come knocking so he could be reunited with his beloved wife.… Read the rest

Plan for old age starting with where you would like to live out the rest of your life

By Nina Steele We were visiting my in-laws this past weekend and inevitably, issues related to old age formed a great part of our discussions.… Read the rest

The murder of Helen Bailey is a cautionary tale for anyone looking for love online and that includes men

By Nina Steele Understandably, the death of Helen Bailey has shone a light on Internet dating like never before. The common thread that is emerging from all the articles that have been written about the case so far, is that, it is predominantly middle-aged women who fall victims of conmen online, because of their willingness to do anything in order to avoid ending their days alone.… Read the rest