I have  a tendency, albeit a diminishing tendency to ignore people who are doing simple jobs such as cleaning, road sweeping etc. This morning I had my usual breakfast at Wetherspoon’s. I’ve got my order down to a fine art.  ‘table 37, freedom breakfast, hot drink’

I like going to this establishment before about 9:30 in the morning because the place is always quiet except for one or two very young children who were bought in by their mothers after the elder brothers and sisters have been dropped off at school.

On my way out, a man of senior years was polishing the brass door handles and I found myself saying that door handles carry more germs than any other area particularly in public toilets. Not a world-shatteringly profound comment you might say but it just opens up a conversation. I noticed he was not using Brillo on which I was bought up and which I associate with brass cleaning.  I remember when I was a child it was my job to clean the silver every Saturday morning and the smell of Brasso remains with me to this day.

He said he was not using Brasso because he was not supplied with it and I sensed somewhat of a decline in job satisfaction. He said that he was over retiring age and took the job to keep himself occupied. He says if he has nothing to do in the day he could get up at 10 o’clock, have breakfast, sit around without purpose, watch TV, this he did not like to do. It seemed that he did not want to lose his self-respect.

We joked about young fit people being work shy, a topic that he felt strongly about. I said that I thought work was therapeutic and they should just shut up and get on with it and not come out with these phony excuses like mental health which half the time is caused by their not doing work anyway. His situation, this man that I never found the name of, struck me as representing a very common occurrence among the older people. I think we all need a reason to get up in the morning and work is one of them paid or unpaid. That is why being in prison is such a torture.

I think it is very easy for older people, indeed anyone, to get depressed when they are not in the company of other people and that includes working from home. I am not sure how healthy working from home is in the longer term.
Also, there might be added financial strain due to not being able to survive on a pension but I feel above all that the workplace provides a sense of identity and structure and purpose, and those without such support can feel worthless. This applies more if your family or relations or friends have moved away or departed this life.

This is where voluntary work is so important,  even if it’s once or twice a week,  and for those wishing to volunteer there are so many opportunities to make a difference to other people, often local opportunities. If there is a person reading this who tends to get depressed and is fit enough to go out and about, they should seriously consider options. It could be your local church or community centre.

You will not be the first,  as an estimated 4.2 million people in the UK have volunteered formally through a group, club, organization at least once in 2021/22 and probably the same again for occasional informal volunteering. If you are new to an area and don’t know anyone, volunteering is probably a very good way of meeting a few people and getting the ball rolling.