"When They Are All Gone"

I was pointing out today that some of the fall in crime like burglary is because there are fewer easy victims, as a more trusting generation, brought up in harder times but with greater 'social cohesion', pass on.

The last generation who were trusting and didn't lock their doors have mostly died, removing one set of easy victims.

Similarly a GP friend who moved from the urban Midlands to the Yorkshire fells says that the "old boys" are really reluctant to bother the doctor - they've got to be really ill before they come in. Different culture.

Reynolds says it :

I've known elderly patients who have fallen over at night, then not pressed the button until gone 8am. They 'didn't want to bother us'.

It's a generation that is getting smaller and not being replaced, this self-sufficiency and the desire not to be a burden on others. The feeling that spending the night on the floor isn't an 'emergency'.

I'll miss them when they are all gone.