A Letter from the EO - Reflections, Thanks and 2026 Plans

Dear Members,

As winter settles in and we step into a new year, it feels like a good moment to pause, reflect, and look ahead together.

This year marks a very special milestone for the Elders Council as we enter our 25th anniversary year. It is also a time of transition, with a new Chair due to take up the role in April. I want to take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt thanks to Anne Raffle, who has gone above and beyond in her role as Chair. We are deeply grateful for her commitment, care and leadership

I would also like to thank our Board of Trustees, Keith Williamson, John White, Diane Scott, Sue Harrop, Farida Rehman and Stella Simbo, for their continued guidance, support and dedication to the organisation.

Our OWLS group continues to thrive and is currently working alongside our Creative Co-ordinator and community poet Don Jenkins to collect stories, poems and advice to our younger selves. Members have been editing this work, and we are excited to be filming an accompanying intergenerational film with Kaleidoscope CFA. The film will feature children and older people reading each other’s words, and we are aiming for at least 1,000 views on YouTube, a wonderful way to share our voices more widely.

We are also delighted to be working with Rue Collinge, local poet and community artist, who will be running our February OWLS session as a creative workshop and designing the book cover artwork.

The official book launch of our 25^th Anniversary Legacy book will be on the afternoon of Wednesday 25^th March 2026 at Newcastle Library. Please pencil this date into your diary.

Our Wellbeing for Life group at Jesmond Library on Wednesday 4 February will focus on homes and housing. The session, titled “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”, will be hosted by the Elders Council, with members sharing research and information developed through our Research and Impact Group (RIG).

We are currently looking for a new Communications Lead to help organise Echo magazine, as well as volunteers to join our editorial team. This is a creative, interesting and rewarding opportunity, and I would encourage anyone curious to get involved.

Our Older Voices radio programme recently won the Voices of the Community award and I would like to take the opportunity to thank the radio team, lead by Steve Whitley for all of the fantastic work they do.

Over the next few weeks, our website will be updated and will begin hosting information about the Age Friendly City Newcastle group, a partnership of organisations (chaired by Rose Gilroy from Newcastle University), working together to create an age-friendly and age-proud Newcastle.

Our Digital Group continues to meet monthly at One Strawberry Lane on the fourth Thursday of the month, 10.30am–12.30pm. If you are looking to grow your confidence or have questions about anything digital, please come along. Bring your own device if you wish. The group is designed to help activate members with transferable digital skills that are useful both within the Elders Council and in everyday life.

We recently hosted a HAPRU Healthy Ageing workshop, which was fantastic. The session explored what supports healthy ageing, how we can move from treatment to prevention, and how policy can better reflect lived experience. I’ll be sharing more about this work very soon.

This week we are also taking part in a research workshop with Northumbria University titled “Thinking About Nutrition” on Friday 23 January, 10.30am–12 noon, at the Campus for Ageing and Vitality. This session will explore healthy eating and whether people would use an app to support nutrition — no digital expertise required. If you would like to attend, please book a place by emailing info@elderscouncil.org.uk.

I’m pleased to share that we have welcomed a new Projects Co-ordinator Intern, Tiahna Fox from Newcastle University. Tiahna will be supporting the RIG, Digital Group, OWLS group, the book project and wider Elders Council activities.

Thank you to Diane Scott and Michael Farrington for all their hard work as Co-Chairs of the RIG group last year. We now have three Co-Chairs Julie Irvine, Joyce McDonald and Barbara Douglas. Thank you to each of them for their valuable insights and support.

As always, a special thank you goes to our members for your energy, creativity and care. As we move through winter and into this anniversary year, it’s clear that the Elders Council continues to be shaped by your voices and contributions.

With warm wishes,

Victoria

Executive Officer

The Elders Council of Newcastle