Latest news with #EmmaTaylor
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The over-50s circus school that's ‘better than anything the NHS offers'
Courtesy of Will You Still Love Me? Carol Masson does not fit the usual stereotype of a circus performer. The retired housekeeper is 69 years old and has been waiting for a hip replacement for two years. 'I used to love dancing but it became incredibly painful on my hip,' she explains. Counter-intuitively, she has found release in swinging from a trapeze. 'It's not weight-bearing so it was actually quite good for me to be hanging,' she says. 'In my view, it's better than what the NHS could ever offer somebody.' The opportunity to embark on this new passion came after coming across a notice online. 'I was browsing Facebook and this advert cropped up for an over-50s circus school,' recalls Masson. 'I thought: 'ooh, this is different', so I went along with a friend and one thing led to another.' Assembling a ragtag group of performers aged between 52 and 77 was Emma Taylor, who was offering weekly classes in the arts of trapeze, high ropes, clowning, hula-hooping, and dance. That group recently performed Will You Still Love Me? in Ware, Hertfordshire, a 'joyful performance' designed to challenge preconceptions about ageing and what our bodies can be capable of. Starting a circus school for over-50s wasn't ever on Taylor's bucket list. 'It was a bit of an experiment really,' she admits, with a chuckle. 'But our motto is that circus makes life better, and anyone can do it, so why not try?' After a long teaching stint at the National Centre for Circus Arts in Hackney, London, Taylor found herself at something of a loss after moving to Harlow, Essex, where – perhaps understandably – 'there wasn't much circus-stuff going on'. Undeterred, she founded Generation Circus to help bring circus skills to the wider community. 'Circus helps people,' she asserts. 'It is very unique in how it affects people and how inclusive it can be. That's the main thing: anyone can do it.' After winning National Lottery funding to support it, Taylor set out on an audacious gambit to prove her point and she established a year-long circus school exclusively for the over-50s. Masson admits that there were concerns about possible injuries with people tackling an activity without having previous experience. 'I think we were all a bit worried about injuries to begin with, but no one in the group has had any trouble,' she says. 'If Emma tells us we can do something, we can do it,' she adds. 'It has really turned things around big time for me. It's freeing. I pop my painkillers and get on with it. I'm a tough nut; I will push myself. I don't give up until I'm at my limit.' She says the 'once-in-a-lifetime' experience has helped improve her upper-body strength and she has pushed herself through her previous limits. It's not just physically that Masson says circus training has outstripped NHS provision; she also credits the group with getting her out of a 'really, really dark place' after the death of her daughter three-and-a-half years ago. 'I have been reintroduced to the world which I didn't really want to belong in, because I couldn't cope with it,' she explains. 'As the weeks went by, I was beginning to feel better about myself. It was this feeling like I belonged. Feeling comfortable around a group of people I'd never met before had a massive impact on my life as well. They have become a family.' 'People think it's something that only professionals do and something that you need to have done ballet or gymnastics since you were five to do,' says Taylor. 'But it's actually something that you can pick up if you've been sitting around on the sofa for the past 10 years and have no level of fitness whatsoever.' According to Taylor, each of her participants have seen 'life-enhancing' changes in their bodies. 'I've noticed a vast improvement in my health in the past 12 months,' agrees Chris Redman Griggs, 58. 'I've got flexibility I never had thanks to doing aerial rope routines with my trapeze-partner Georgina: dangling upside-down with her hanging off of me. 'Because we're all over-50, we never had the opportunity to say: 'I can't do that because I'm over-50',' he adds. 'We're all in the same boat, so we just went for it.' But what has made the classes really special, Redman Griggs believes, is the new lease of life it has afforded participants. 'I think most of us found we were stuck at some point of our lives, feeling a bit invisible,' he explains. 'I used to go to the gym, then after the pandemic, I got into a bad place and I couldn't get back into it. It petered out of my life,' he continues. 'I thought that was it for me and doing silly things for fitness, but it has got me and everyone else hooked. We've become a troupe: we socialise together, we all go to the pub, it's a whole new group of friends and we will always be friends.' This isn't any small consideration given that, according to Age UK, the number of over-50s experiencing loneliness is set to reach two million by 2026, an increase of nearly 50 per cent compared to just 10 years ago. 'You know what's interesting?' Redman Griggs adds. 'We're all dressing differently. We seem to be regressing back to our younger selves because we've been allowed to play among this circus equipment. Everyone in my life has noticed a change in me: there's a new sense of adventure and purpose which is so important to have.' No one feels that sentiment more keenly felt than Claire Howard who, at 53, is the baby of the group. During her lifetime she has had 120 strokes, leaving her wheelchair-bound, and with paralysis affecting half of her face. She relies on Keisha, her seven-year-old Pomeranian, to smell chemical changes in her brain to alert her when another stroke is coming on. 'When I went in I took one look at everyone who was going to be on the trapeze and just wanted to turn around and leave,' confesses Howard. 'But Emma saw me and she welcomed me in. She was so kind and friendly to me, and Keisha too. She gave me the courage I needed to stay and try my best.' Though her wheelchair prohibits Howard from the high-wire acrobatics, she has become especially skilled with the hula hoop (her talents far surpassing her teacher's, Taylor informs me). 'I'm very much addicted to it now,' laughs Howard, who performed alongside Keisha during the show. 'A lot of moves are made for able-bodied people who can walk around and do it and I'm changing them to work within my wheelchair. 'There's a huge amount of excitement in being able to do something like that, to prove that I can do anything they can. For me, it's been fantastic,' continues Howard. 'I'm enjoying having the physical ability to do it, I'm certainly not going to stop hooping until my body tells me I'm not going to do it anymore.' Testimonials such as those from Howard, Redman Griggs and Masson are a testament to how circus classes have improved the quality of these participants' lives in different ways. Taylor isn't surprised: 'There's something romantic, wild, kooky and unusual about the circus, so people are always interested in it,' she says. 'But at the heart of it is that we all fail and achieve together, so it becomes an incredibly special community. At a time when loneliness is on the rise and people are starting to feel invisible after they turn 50, what we're doing is so important, I think.' The group's two recent performances in Ware both received standing ovations, much to the delight of Masson. She wanted to 'enjoy and savour every minute', as it was 'unlikely to happen again and was such a joyful experience... It's something I can hold onto when I'm in my rocking chair.' 'Sadly, we only had a year of funding for this particular project, so the show was the last thing we'll do,' says Taylor. 'But we're still running all sorts of classes and we've a completely separate project with Sport England to do another full year of free training to do Circus Fit. 'It's circus skills with all the theatre and performance part taken out, so it's all about fitness. Still, given this project and our show has attracted quite a lot of interest, we may well seek more funding to run it again.' For more information, visit Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The over-50s circus school that's ‘better than anything the NHS offers'
Carol Masson does not fit the usual stereotype of a circus performer. The retired housekeeper is 69 years old and has been waiting for a hip replacement for two years. 'I used to love dancing but it became incredibly painful on my hip,' she explains. Counter-intuitively, she has found release in swinging from a trapeze. 'It's not weight-bearing so it was actually quite good for me to be hanging,' she says. 'In my view, it's better than what the NHS could ever offer somebody.' The opportunity to embark on this new passion came after coming across a notice online. 'I was browsing Facebook and this advert cropped up for an over-50s circus school,' recalls Masson. 'I thought: 'ooh, this is different', so I went along with a friend and one thing led to another.' Assembling a ragtag group of performers aged between 52 and 77 was Emma Taylor, who was offering weekly classes in the arts of trapeze, high ropes, clowning, hula-hooping, and dance. That group recently performed Will You Still Love Me? in Ware, Hertfordshire, a 'joyful performance' designed to challenge preconceptions about ageing and what our bodies can be capable of. Starting a circus school for over-50s wasn't ever on Taylor's bucket list. 'It was a bit of an experiment really,' she admits, with a chuckle. 'But our motto is that circus makes life better, and anyone can do it, so why not try?' After a long teaching stint at the National Centre for Circus Arts in Hackney, London, Taylor found herself at something of a loss after moving to Harlow, Essex, where – perhaps understandably – 'there wasn't much circus-stuff going on'. Undeterred, she founded Generation Circus to help bring circus skills to the wider community. 'Circus helps people,' she asserts. 'It is very unique in how it affects people and how inclusive it can be. That's the main thing: anyone can do it.' After winning National Lottery funding to support it, Taylor set out on an audacious gambit to prove her point and she established a year-long circus school exclusively for the over-50s. Masson admits that there were concerns about possible injuries with people tackling an activity without having previous experience. 'I think we were all a bit worried about injuries to begin with, but no one in the group has had any trouble,' she says. 'If Emma tells us we can do something, we can do it,' she adds. 'It has really turned things around big time for me. It's freeing. I pop my painkillers and get on with it. I'm a tough nut; I will push myself. I don't give up until I'm at my limit.' She says the 'once-in-a-lifetime' experience has helped improve her upper-body strength and she has pushed herself through her previous limits. It's not just physically that Masson says circus training has outstripped NHS provision; she also credits the group with getting her out of a 'really, really dark place' after the death of her daughter three-and-a-half years ago. 'I have been reintroduced to the world which I didn't really want to belong in, because I couldn't cope with it,' she explains. 'As the weeks went by, I was beginning to feel better about myself. It was this feeling like I belonged. Feeling comfortable around a group of people I'd never met before had a massive impact on my life as well. They have become a family.' 'People think it's something that only professionals do and something that you need to have done ballet or gymnastics since you were five to do,' says Taylor. 'But it's actually something that you can pick up if you've been sitting around on the sofa for the past 10 years and have no level of fitness whatsoever.' According to Taylor, each of her participants have seen 'life-enhancing' changes in their bodies. 'I've noticed a vast improvement in my health in the past 12 months,' agrees Chris Redman Griggs, 58. 'I've got flexibility I never had thanks to doing aerial rope routines with my trapeze-partner Georgina: dangling upside-down with her hanging off of me. 'Because we're all over-50, we never had the opportunity to say: 'I can't do that because I'm over-50',' he adds. 'We're all in the same boat, so we just went for it.' But what has made the classes really special, Redman Griggs believes, is the new lease of life it has afforded participants. 'I think most of us found we were stuck at some point of our lives, feeling a bit invisible,' he explains. 'I used to go to the gym, then after the pandemic, I got into a bad place and I couldn't get back into it. It petered out of my life,' he continues. 'I thought that was it for me and doing silly things for fitness, but it has got me and everyone else hooked. We've become a troupe: we socialise together, we all go to the pub, it's a whole new group of friends and we will always be friends.' This isn't any small consideration given that, according to Age UK, the number of over-50s experiencing loneliness is set to reach two million by 2026, an increase of nearly 50 per cent compared to just 10 years ago. 'You know what's interesting?' Redman Griggs adds. 'We're all dressing differently. We seem to be regressing back to our younger selves because we've been allowed to play among this circus equipment. Everyone in my life has noticed a change in me: there's a new sense of adventure and purpose which is so important to have.' No one feels that sentiment more keenly felt than Claire Howard who, at 53, is the baby of the group. During her lifetime she has had 120 strokes, leaving her wheelchair-bound, and with paralysis affecting half of her face. She relies on Keisha, her seven-year-old Pomeranian, to smell chemical changes in her brain to alert her when another stroke is coming on. 'When I went in I took one look at everyone who was going to be on the trapeze and just wanted to turn around and leave,' confesses Howard. 'But Emma saw me and she welcomed me in. She was so kind and friendly to me, and Keisha too. She gave me the courage I needed to stay and try my best.' Though her wheelchair prohibits Howard from the high-wire acrobatics, she has become especially skilled with the hula hoop (her talents far surpassing her teacher's, Taylor informs me). 'I'm very much addicted to it now,' laughs Howard, who performed alongside Keisha during the show. 'A lot of moves are made for able-bodied people who can walk around and do it and I'm changing them to work within my wheelchair. 'There's a huge amount of excitement in being able to do something like that, to prove that I can do anything they can. For me, it's been fantastic,' continues Howard. 'I'm enjoying having the physical ability to do it, I'm certainly not going to stop hooping until my body tells me I'm not going to do it anymore.' Testimonials such as those from Howard, Redman Griggs and Masson are a testament to how circus classes have improved the quality of these participants' lives in different ways. Taylor isn't surprised: 'There's something romantic, wild, kooky and unusual about the circus, so people are always interested in it,' she says. 'But at the heart of it is that we all fail and achieve together, so it becomes an incredibly special community. At a time when loneliness is on the rise and people are starting to feel invisible after they turn 50, what we're doing is so important, I think.' The group's two recent performances in Ware both received standing ovations, much to the delight of Masson. She wanted to 'enjoy and savour every minute', as it was 'unlikely to happen again and was such a joyful experience... It's something I can hold onto when I'm in my rocking chair.' 'Sadly, we only had a year of funding for this particular project, so the show was the last thing we'll do,' says Taylor. 'But we're still running all sorts of classes and we've a completely separate project with Sport England to do another full year of free training to do Circus Fit. 'It's circus skills with all the theatre and performance part taken out, so it's all about fitness. Still, given this project and our show has attracted quite a lot of interest, we may well seek more funding to run it again.'
The Star
05-07-2025
- Health
- The Star
Stay positive to keep your memory sharp
Psychosocial factors, like being positive and feeling good, appear to have a positive influence on our ability to remember. — dpa Staying positive can cut the risk of memory loss in middle age, a 16-year study suggests. Researchers tracked more than 10,000 people aged over 50 and found that those with higher levels of well-being were more likely to have better scores on memory tests. They also reported a greater sense of control, independence and freedom to make choices than other people. While the link was small, researchers suggested it was significant. Study co-author and Britain's University College London professor of ageing and clinical psychology Dr Joshua Stott said: 'This study represents an important step toward understanding the interplay between well-being and memory over time. 'It offers new insights into how self-rated well-being is associated with memory and vice versa. 'While our findings are preliminary, they highlight the importance of considering psychosocial influences on brain health, such as memory.' The study tracked 10,760 men and women over 50 who took part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. They were assessed on well-being and memory every two years – a total of nine times during the 16-year study period, starting in 2002. Researchers checked people's ability to learn and recall 10 words immediately and after a delay. Well-being was also assessed using a quality-of-life questionnaire, looking at areas such as pleasure, control and autonomy. Questions people were asked included the phrases: 'I can do the things that I want to do' and 'I feel that life is full of opportunities.' The study found a small, but significant association between higher well-being and better memory, which still existed even after any depression was taken into account. The researchers also suggested reasons why well-being may have a positive impact on memory, such as people may be more likely to exercise, which improves health. Age, gender, other lifestyle factors and socioeconomic status may also have a negative or positive impact on well-being and memory, they added. The authors found no evidence that it was poor memory causing low well-being in some people, but they stressed that this could not be ruled out. 'Loving your heart, staying sharp and keeping connected are key to protecting our brain health as we age,' Alzheimer's Research UK information services manager Emma Taylor said, cautioning that this research is observational and that more work was needed to understand how a positive well-being and memory are connected. 'Looking after our mental well-being plays an important part in our overall health. 'And it's never too late to start taking steps to keep our brains healthy throughout our lives and lessen the devastating impact of dementia.' Study co-author and assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, United States, Dr Emily Willroth, said: 'Going forward, it would be fantastic if this research can build on the foundations of ongoing memory research to potentially inform strategies supporting cognitive health in ageing populations – that is the aim.' The study was published in the journal Aging & Mental Health . – PA Media/dpa
Scoop
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Have Your Say On Proposed Catch Limits For Fisheries Across New Zealand
Catch limits and other management changes for nearly 30 fisheries across the country are included in proposals for the next regular fisheries sustainability review, says Fisheries New Zealand director of fisheries management Emma Taylor. The public consultation, which began today, includes proposed changes for three blue cod stocks, snapper on the west coast of the South Island, and blue mackerel on the west coast of the North Island. 'The blue cod fish stocks being reviewed are all highly-prized shared fisheries, important to recreational, customary, and commercial fishers alike,' says Emma Taylor. 'Proposed cuts to commercial catch for two blue cod stocks are in response to latest abundance estimates, while the third had a commercial catch limit cut last year. Recreational daily catch limits are proposed to be reduced for all three fisheries, in line with the settings in place under the National Blue Cod Strategy.' Emma Taylor says the latest assessment of blue mackerel on the west coast of the North and South Islands shows that the fish stock is above the target level, so the proposals include an increased catch for the fishery. 'These are just a small portion of the fish stocks included in the proposed changes. I encourage anyone with an interest in our fisheries to read the consultation material and provide feedback. ' The fisheries included in this review represent stocks that are of importance to New Zealand economically, socially, and culturally,' says Emma Taylor. 'We need to ensure that catch limits and other settings for our fisheries strike the right balance between getting value for all New Zealanders while ensuring they remain sustainable for future generations. 'Following consultation, we will prepare advice for Fisheries Minister Shanes Jones to make decisions on any changes, which would come into effect for the fishing year starting 1 October 2025,' says Emma Taylor. Also included in the proposed changes are deemed value rate changes for six fish stocks. The consultation is open now and will run until 23 July 2025. The full proposals, as well as more information about the consultation and how to make a submission can be found on Fisheries New Zealand's website: Proposals for changes to catch limits for orange roughy on the Chatham Rise are also being developed and will be available for consultation in the coming weeks.
Powys County Times
19-06-2025
- Health
- Powys County Times
Staying positive ‘can cut the risk of memory loss in middle-age'
Staying positive can cut the risk of memory loss in middle age, a 16-year study suggests. Researchers tracked more than 10,000 people aged over 50 and found those with higher levels of wellbeing were more likely to have better scores on memory tests. They also reported a greater sense of control, independence and freedom to make choices than other people. While the link was small, researchers suggested it was significant. Co-author Joshua Stott, professor of ageing and clinical psychology at University College London, said: 'This study represents an important step toward understanding the interplay between wellbeing and memory over time. 'It offers new insights into how self-rated wellbeing is associated with memory and vice versa. 'While our findings are preliminary, they highlight the importance of considering psychosocial influences on brain health such as memory.' The study tracked 10,760 men and women over 50 who took part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. They were assessed on wellbeing and memory every two years – a total of nine times during the 16-year study period, starting in 2002. Researchers checked people's ability to learn and recall 10 words immediately and after a delay. Wellbeing was also assessed using a quality-of-life questionnaire, looking at areas such as pleasure, control and autonomy. Questions people were asked included the phrases: 'I can do the things that I want to do', and 'I feel that life is full of opportunities'. The study found a small but significant association between higher wellbeing and better memory, which still existed even after any depression was taken into account. The researchers suggested reasons why wellbeing may have a positive impact on memory, such as people may be more likely to exercise, which improves health. Age, gender, other lifestyle factors and socioeconomic status may also have a negative or positive impact on wellbeing and memory, they added. The authors found no evidence that it was poor memory causing low wellbeing in some people, but they stressed this could not be ruled out. The research was funded by Alzheimer's Research UK and others, including the Medical Research Council. Emma Taylor, information services manager at Alzheimer's Research UK, said: 'Loving your heart, staying sharp and keeping connected are key to protecting our brain health as we age. 'There are 14 established health and lifestyle risk factors for dementia, including lack of physical exercise, social isolation, and depression, which are linked to wellbeing. 'This study found that people over 50 who reported they felt happier and more fulfilled in life had a better memory over time. 'However, this research is observational – and more work is needed to understand how a positive wellbeing and memory are connected and whether this has a knock-on effect on dementia risk. 'Looking after our mental wellbeing plays an important part in our overall health. 'And it's never too late to start taking steps to keep our brains healthy throughout our lives and lessen the devastating impact of dementia.' Study co-author Dr Emily Willroth, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, said: 'Going forwards it would be fantastic if this research can build on the foundations of ongoing memory research to potentially inform strategies supporting cognitive health in ageing populations – that is the aim.'
