In my late eighties, I am old. I will gratefully accept all the help offered. Kindness is all too rare these days so I'll accept it with grace.
Good Morning Tuesday 30th June 2026
Why donāt men shave any more?
Iām not dementing and as far as I know I look and sound quite normal. Iām sure my middle aged daughters would let me know if I didnāt !
The supermarket checkout woman congratulated me on being able to use my card! āMost old people fumble, so good for youā. š³
I said āIām not oldā . Shocks me that we are perceived as so feeble -Iām 80 next month . I manage the club web site -bet she couldnāt do that!
In my late eighties, I am old. I will gratefully accept all the help offered. Kindness is all too rare these days so I'll accept it with grace.
I went for an ear wax clear out at the GP surgery. And was pretty annoyed to read "patient is alert" on my notes. I'm 69, have just done A level Latin and Grade 6 piano.
How patronising.
Santander, my bank, frequently reminds me not to share my PIN, even with staff. Thanks, I was aware of that.
I wonder why the PO want to know if you know your pin number. I would be wary. I wonder if the cashier asks everyone hoping for someone to say yes and tell them!
I suspect everyone these dĆ ys sadly.
The cashier in the PO always asks me if I know the PIN number on my debit card.
I was in a popular 2nd hand shop in Edinburgh waiting for my friend who was trying on coats. The only seat was outside the changing rooms.
Several young women asked me how they looked as they ventured out and I told them!
Oh, chats in TU are sometimes nice, there are often women on their own "does this suit me?" asking each other. š
Oh well, after my moan earlier, a nice thing happened this afternoon. I was trying on a (faux) fur jacket and dithering as to whether it suited me. A younger-than-me woman went past and said āThat looks lovely,ā so I took it as a sign and bought it. 
Grammaretto
Ouch! How very patronising.
Yesterday, in Lidl, I was struggling to lift my heavy rucksack onto my back in preparation for walking home in the rain, I apologised for holding up the queue at the only non self-service checkout. I had a full bags in each hand too and muttered about not having a car.
The young man said "it's good exercise".
Maybe I should have been flattered but I said "is it? wait until you're nearly 80".
I volunteer at a till once a week and serve all ages. Most people pay with cards but if they use cash, the machine calculates the change. I then have to find the right coins. It's a sad fact that the young volunteers cannot add change quickly.
Yesterday, in Lidl, I was struggling to lift my heavy rucksack onto my back in preparation for walking home in the rain, I apologised for holding up the queue at the only non self-service checkout. I had a full bags in each hand too and muttered about not having a car.
The young man said "it's good exercise".
Oh dear, did you accidentally knock him off his comfy chair with your rucksack as you struggled to swing it on to your back?
Apologies Grammaretto. I shouldnāt have said āchillā. Sorry.
Elegran
fancyflowers
I am yet a spring chicken at 72, but I have some mobility issues and I find that when I walk with my stick, drivers often stop and wave me across the road.
I was standing at the side of the road (with my stick) waiting for the last car in a goup to pass. Behind it there was nothing, and I was in no hurry, just waiting patiently for the road to clear, and gazing at the large gap that was approaching, when I would cross at leisure. However the final car in the group stopped and waved me over - so I was hurried into crossing before I wanted to and looking grateful to the driver into the bargain.
Helping old ladies across the road when they don't want to be helped isn't always appreciated.
Oh dear, that could be me driving then. I often stop even as the last car to let people cross, as I feel the protection of a stopped car is a signal to other vehicles that might appear. I've usually found that adults with prams or young children are appreciative, and I hope my demeanour signals to anybody, especially someone with a stick, to take their time, no need to hurry.
Lathyrus3
80 is old.
Sorry if that upsets anyone, but it isš¬
0-30 = young
31-60 = middle age
60-90= old
Mathematically accurate, and guaranteed to make the 30-40year olds sqirm.
I use my card and don't pay by phone either
I set it up but was told I'd need to lock my phone and use a password everytime i look at it. I can't be bothered to do that so keep bank cards well away from my phone.
I'm not taking this too seriously BTW its just nice to get irritations off the chest.
To tell us to chill is almost as bad as saying aw bless aargh, ppplease
šš
I'm with you Ellegran with the being expected to break into a run because a car driver has graciously offered to stop.
I usually wave them by
Grammaretto
Ouch! How very patronising.
Yesterday, in Lidl, I was struggling to lift my heavy rucksack onto my back in preparation for walking home in the rain, I apologised for holding up the queue at the only non self-service checkout. I had a full bags in each hand too and muttered about not having a car.
The young man said "it's good exercise".
Maybe I should have been flattered but I said "is it? wait until you're nearly 80".
I volunteer at a till once a week and serve all ages. Most people pay with cards but if they use cash, the machine calculates the change. I then have to find the right coins. It's a sad fact that the young volunteers cannot add change quickly.
They can't do right for doing wrong.
Lathyrus3
What a miserable thread.
All these grumpy old people with their rude reactions to someone who is trying to be pleasant and kind.
I used to be quite puzzled by comments on how much I laugh and smile. Now I see whyš¤£š¤£
Not to mention insisting you aren't old at 80. When do people think old starts? Nothing wrong with acknowledging we are old.
My eldest granddaughter, Mid 20ās, when I mentioned that GD and I were thinking of getting a shopping trolley looked quite surprised. Apparently she has one, it has a daisy pattern on it, and says she would be lost without it. Not just something for the older generation.
MartavTaurus
^I said I'd get out and start shopping while he was parking.^
Patience is a virtue!!
What is it with supermarket queues that make people so grumpy! It's not as if Grumpy could have inched forward anyway.
DH said nothing, apparently, but silently wishing him early transmission failure.
(And by the way, debit cards are those plastic things we used before our phones to pay with).
ššš
I still use a card, guess I'm just old-fashioned in refusing to use my phone to pay. It's not that I can't, I won't.
I said I'd get out and start shopping while he was parking.
Patience is a virtue!!
If you were really up with it, you'd have been using the self-scan checkout and wouldn't have needed a person to speak to you anyway!
(And by the way, debit cards are those plastic things we used before our phones to pay with).
Lathyrus3
I live in a town where cars stop to let me across the road, where mums with a full shopping trolley usher me to go first with my few bits, where teenagers take my heavy shopping bag as I climb the hill and men carry my suitcase up the railway steps.
Where people just smile as I fumble in my purse and get up off the park bench they are sitting on as I pause for breath and, although I havenāt yet fallen down n the street, I know that strangers would rush to my help if I did and someone would stay with me till medical help arrived.
I think it is a really nice place to liveš¤
I thought like that around here at one time but it's getting worse.
DH got yelled in the supermarket car park the other day. Now, the queues in and out weren't moving anywhere, so I said I'd get out and start shopping while he was parking. No problem.
However, a man who was in the non-moving queue to exit started yelling at him about stopping to let me out and said that we were 'farting about'.
Merry Christmas š
nanna8
Hardly anyone of any age uses cash anymore. Some of our banks donāt even carry it now! Time moves on. Maybe itās just Australia ?
There was a campaign in NQ to use cash - not sure how it's going now.
Use it or lose it!
I just ignore these comments. I look forward to the day when these people get older, if they get that privilege.
Lathyrus3
I live in a town where cars stop to let me across the road, where mums with a full shopping trolley usher me to go first with my few bits, where teenagers take my heavy shopping bag as I climb the hill and men carry my suitcase up the railway steps.
Where people just smile as I fumble in my purse and get up off the park bench they are sitting on as I pause for breath and, although I havenāt yet fallen down n the street, I know that strangers would rush to my help if I did and someone would stay with me till medical help arrived.
I think it is a really nice place to liveš¤
Sounds just like my town, Lathyrus. There are a lot of old(er) folk in the supermarkets because there are good bus services and someone will always help if itās needed.
Our local Morrisons seems to be everyoneās happy place. Itās impossible not to feel cheerful while you shop.
The other day I was waiting in the checkout queue when I felt something prodding my legs. I turned around and saw it was a blind man poking me with his white stick. I asked if heād like to come in front of me as I had a full trolley to unload but he said, āNo thanks. Iām not buying anything, Iām just trying to find the way out!!ā š
Maybe weāre all just a bit bonkers!
I recently visited somewhere for a Christmas lunch where the access was outside, up several flights of steep stone steps and I was a bit puffed at the top. There was a āmeeter & greeterā in the lobby who asked me where I needed to go so I said the top floor. He then said āThe lift then - you look as though your days of counting steps are over.ā RUDE!
Registering is free, easy, and means you can join the discussion, watch threads and lots more.
Register now »Already registered? Log in with:
Gransnet »Get our top conversations, latest advice, fantastic competitions, and more, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
Ā
Ā