Capt Lightning
Well-known Member
- Location
- Historic Buchan, Scotland
Not sure whether this goes here or in Entertainment, but it is a documentary about four pensioners sampling retirement living in different countries. The pensioners may not be so well known in the US, but are household names in the UK. I've never been to Orlando, but I have spent time in Boca Raton and recognise the lifestyle and type of people who live in these communities.
Sounds like Hell on Earth to me.
This review is from 'The Independent' newspaper.
The BBC’s favourite pensioners were back to help pad out the Christmas schedules – and check out more retirement options. Four of the eight celebs who visited India for The Real Marigold Hotel swapped Jaipur for over-60s hotspot Florida in this Christmas special. (Next year the series will upgraded to BBC1 and feature new faces.)
Very-hard-to-please actress Miriam Margolyes, former professional darts player Bobby George, chef Rosemary Shrager and generally-more-upbeat-than-the-rest dancer Wayne Sleep were giving two “leisurevilles” a test run – gated communities for retirees. Days were filled with classes, clubs and cocktail hours. While it might not exactly have had the high-octane levels of the numerous festive dramas, it proved to be a heartwarming hour that put the important topic of ageing firmly on the Christmas agenda.
The foursome sampled the affordable Oak Run Country Club in Orlando and the swankier set-up that is The Polo Club of Boca Raton. Margolyes immediately declared their Oak Run digs “a pretentious rabbit hutch” and all scoffed at the idea of a day filled with bingo, pilates and pool aerobics. A trip to a local gun shop didn’t exactly help, when Margolyes and George were informed that the majority of their neighbours in the compound were likely gun-toting Trump supporters. But when they actually got involved in the activities – good old Sleep even ran a dance class – they appeared to warm to the benefits of structured living.
Boca Raton polo club was a different proposition. “A grotesque spending of money… deeply pretentious,” scoffed Margolyes, unsurprisingly. “I couldn’t give a monkey’s about it,” said George, also unsurprisingly. Most striking were the lack of lines on show for a room of pensioners. The gang met a 79-year-old who had had 10 facelifts and another who waxed lyrical about “Thirsty Thursday” nights. “Nobody’s miserable here, how could you be miserable?” said said. The irony was, she couldn’t actually smile, so it was hard to tell. We also discovered why no one talked about politics when Margoyles got in a heated fight with a Trump supporter.
Elsewhere, Shrager gave Botox a go and was cock-a-hoop. “I’d forgotten what it is to feel pretty,” she said. But it was telling that, once out of the gates and into Miami, all seemed happier and more relaxed. Getting accidentally inebriated, on a boat trip in Biscayne Bay at sunset, with wrinkles, scars and wobbly bits all on show – now that looked like a way to live at any age.
Sounds like Hell on Earth to me.
This review is from 'The Independent' newspaper.
The BBC’s favourite pensioners were back to help pad out the Christmas schedules – and check out more retirement options. Four of the eight celebs who visited India for The Real Marigold Hotel swapped Jaipur for over-60s hotspot Florida in this Christmas special. (Next year the series will upgraded to BBC1 and feature new faces.)
Very-hard-to-please actress Miriam Margolyes, former professional darts player Bobby George, chef Rosemary Shrager and generally-more-upbeat-than-the-rest dancer Wayne Sleep were giving two “leisurevilles” a test run – gated communities for retirees. Days were filled with classes, clubs and cocktail hours. While it might not exactly have had the high-octane levels of the numerous festive dramas, it proved to be a heartwarming hour that put the important topic of ageing firmly on the Christmas agenda.
The foursome sampled the affordable Oak Run Country Club in Orlando and the swankier set-up that is The Polo Club of Boca Raton. Margolyes immediately declared their Oak Run digs “a pretentious rabbit hutch” and all scoffed at the idea of a day filled with bingo, pilates and pool aerobics. A trip to a local gun shop didn’t exactly help, when Margolyes and George were informed that the majority of their neighbours in the compound were likely gun-toting Trump supporters. But when they actually got involved in the activities – good old Sleep even ran a dance class – they appeared to warm to the benefits of structured living.
Boca Raton polo club was a different proposition. “A grotesque spending of money… deeply pretentious,” scoffed Margolyes, unsurprisingly. “I couldn’t give a monkey’s about it,” said George, also unsurprisingly. Most striking were the lack of lines on show for a room of pensioners. The gang met a 79-year-old who had had 10 facelifts and another who waxed lyrical about “Thirsty Thursday” nights. “Nobody’s miserable here, how could you be miserable?” said said. The irony was, she couldn’t actually smile, so it was hard to tell. We also discovered why no one talked about politics when Margoyles got in a heated fight with a Trump supporter.
Elsewhere, Shrager gave Botox a go and was cock-a-hoop. “I’d forgotten what it is to feel pretty,” she said. But it was telling that, once out of the gates and into Miami, all seemed happier and more relaxed. Getting accidentally inebriated, on a boat trip in Biscayne Bay at sunset, with wrinkles, scars and wobbly bits all on show – now that looked like a way to live at any age.
