MONDAY 21 MARCH - Time to reflect

The 12 hour flight from Auckland to Los Angeles gave me time to reflect on the experiences of the last three weeks. It has been a busy schedule of visits and meetings during which I have met and caught up with colleagues, relatives and friends in Australia and New Zealand.


My city hopping tour in Australia took me to Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Nambour and Sydney. I visited ten aged care villages and care complexes operated by six leading provider organisations. I gained an insight into great work on storytelling and research into ageing being undertaken at several of these sites and in particular from my time at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and at the Queensland State Library and the Queensland University of Technology. I caught up with family and friends in Brisbane and in Sydney. I was also able to gain an insight into the Australian Aged Care public policy scene at a time when potentially radical changes to the funding and support system are under active consideration.


In New Zealand I saw at first hand the devastation of the once beautiful city of Christchurch and witnessed something of the spirit of determination amongst it's citizens to pick themselves up and rebuild their city as their way of dealing with the tragic loss of life and property caused by the 22 February earthquake. It was uplifting to be in New Zealand at this time and to experience the way in which the whole country is responding to the traumatic events at Christchurch and is showing support for the city. The way in which the aged care sector of the country rallied to support those care operators whose residents and sites were affected has lessons for us all in terms of emergency response and disaster preparedness.

New Zealand has much experience to offer the world in the development of retirement villages. The nine sites I visited operated by three leading aged care and retirement village operators were all highly attractive and welcoming places where residents enjoy a high quality of retirement life. The country faces tough economic challenges in the years ahead, in common with the UK, and I found many people expressing concerns about the sustainability of current public aged care funding and support policy.

in all my visits and discussions I have been exploring my Winston Churchill Travel Fellowship theme of the "Arts and Older People" and especially my interest in storytelling as a means of helping people to maintain dignity, self esteem and personhood in old age. My time for exploration of the oral tradition amongst indigenous populations has been limited but I am convinced that western cultures have much to learn from such groups and populations as we look to strengthen community and family ties, and to search for ways to bring younger and older generations closer together. This is one key element in meeting the demographic challenges of ageing populations.

The creative art form of digital storytelling is being pursued by committed groups that I have encountered is all my travels in the UK, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand. The use of digital media, and what is now readily available technology, offers ways to connect generations, strengthen families and communities and to offer older and disabled people a powerful means of expression of personality and personal testimony. My hope is that ways can be found, through promotion and awareness, to extend the benefits of storytelling throughout our western care services as a core component of truly person centred care.

My travels have been enriching and rejuvenating. I have met and had the pleasure of the company of many wonderful, committed and caring people in the countries I have visited and I have enjoyed tremendous hospitality and friendly welcomes everywhere. This has made the journey truly memorable and the help I have received from so many people is greatly appreciated.

The links and contacts I have been able to make have been made possible through my involvement with the International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing. This trip has proved for me the great value of this international network and fellowship of aged care professionals across the world. Connecting people and the sharing of knowledge and best practice in ageing services is the noble ambition of IAHSA it does offer great potential for personal and organisational development and growth through involvement in the worldwide global ageing network.

The support of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust has made my trip possible and I am sincerely grateful to the Trust for the award of my Travel Fellowship. This has provided the funding for my trip and has brought me into contact with another group of energised and committed professionals who are also exploring the expanding world of the "Arts and Old People". It is wonderful news that the WSMT has decided to extend their support for this particular area of study by awarding further fellowships in this category over the next three years. I hope many others will pursue the tremendous opportunities offered by the Trust to travel, to explore other cultures and systems, and to develop professional understanding throughout the world.

Now in the cool but sunny Californian spring weather I eagerly await my imminent rendezvous with my wife Anne who is flying in from London for the start of our two week holiday, making our way on what I hope will be a relaxing, iconic road trip to San Francisco. We have booked the convertible, downloaded the Beach Boys onto the iPod, and we're good to go!

Location:Los Angeles