The other day I was reading   somewhere,   that  a rich businessman  was planning   to   build up  a  Day   Centre  for  older people  as  a kind gesture  to his community;  he , however, had faced some opposition  - curiously,   from a group of   the  ’ potential’  users who were supposed to  ‘benefit’  from  the  Centre.  Their reason was  ‘‘they did not want  a   ‘Granny   Creche’   where  they could  remain out-of-sight’ of the rest of society’’ <p>
I      pondered  over this news  and  felt  , those  older  individuals  were correct.   Time is changing rapidly ; there was a time when  separate  day  ‘care facility’ for the elders  was  welcomed by all  mostly by the   elderly.   The numbers of old people were relatively small  and  some of them needed  others   to care for them  , away from their homes , for a change.  They would socialise among themselves , listen to old music   and  have occasional  singsong  popular in their times !  Yes,   those were the days!
Things  have changed  and   living  altering  rapidly.   Todays’  most   retired people  are  fit as a  fiddle  and  doing  virtually everything  --  shopping , visiting friends, driving , helping others  including  the young , grandchildren ,  going abroad on holidays , cruising  etc  even  dancing and partying!!  Some are even working part-time !  And to them  I  would   say  ‘bravo’ -   that is exactly how one should spend their  retired     years,  not in  day centres  and rest homes but   in the very heart of  the society.  
Within the next  3 decades  nearly  20  % of the population will be above 70   and  every 4 years another year  of  longevity will be added to their lives.  What  will be required to ensure that people live as ‘normally’  as possible  and  in their own homes with their own friends and relatives.  In this context,  we must ensure the society as a whole becomes  more   ‘age –friendly’  and   make  ‘independent living’ easier for all.   This is the only way  , ‘ageism’  or  age-related  discrimination of any kind  can be expunged  once  and for all.   Citizens of all   ages  should  share  fun and enjoyment and  care   for  and learn from  each other...   there is a lot to  learn   from  todays young  -  who are totally different  from  when we were children  ourselves.   Time  has moved on  -  todays  young are not like yesterdays young ;  similarly   tomorrows  older people will be different   from   todays elders  and that  is  normal and natural progress  of life.
There must not be any   social  segregation  of the old  - we are a big large family  and should  live with each other  , other  than in exceptional situation  when  ‘separate’  facilities  may be warranted. 
All  homes  built should be  suitable for living  by  everyone – children,  disabled , old and the infirm – all transport  should be  fully accessible  to  the ‘dependent and somewhat infirm’ , all  supermarkets and shops should have facilities for  everyone  - young and old ;  with  nappy changing rooms , wheel chair access  and resting places.   Everyone , unless severely  dependent or totally disabled, should be encouraged  to live as independently as possible. 
When  94  olds are climbing  Mount Everest , who needs  separate  ‘granny creche’??