Why do old people go out so early in the morning in this weather???

[Hammy02]

I know I probably am being unreasonable but while waiting for the bus this morning at about 8am, there were about half a dozen people of at least 65 years old there too. It was freezing cold, about -10 degrees. Why would anyone be out at that time in this weather unless they absolutely had to?? Also spotted loads of 'em in cars, adding to the already busy roads.

Maybe they are going to work.

old people - know your limits

May they are just very active people?

Maybe they are Granparents that have to go and look after theyr DGCs in emergency because their school has closed and the parents are working?
M
aybe you just need glasses and these people were actually penguins

Maybe they absolutely have to?

My mum has to go out as she has no food in the house, it is forecast for snow later so she is trying to get out and get back early. She doesn't have a car and there are no buses in our local area so she will have to walk or get a taxi.

if you've worked all your life i suppose it feels a bit wierd to suddenly stop getting up early.

Hospital appointments, GP, opticians, chemists, food shopping, work.

Because they don't sleep well, so wake up incredibly early and 8am is about the middle of the morning.

I worked with two over 70s who would have to be on the work at that time.
Also they may have hospital appointments/doctors or various other appointments.

My pensioner mother was out early as she was walking my nephew to school. ( We do not live nearby).

Enough reasons here OP?

I do think it's a habit, though, borne of getting up early, getting dressed and getting on with the day. We phoned my granny this morning and told her NOT to go out at 8.30 to get the paper and that we would get it and drop it round. It is kind of silly for her to be slipping along the pavement, just to get a local daily paper. I don't call getting a paper 'essential business'.

A lot of 'old' people work. You'll see much more of that in the years to come.

Still more look after grandchildren and have to get them to school.

Fair enough-plenty of reasons there. Personally I'd rather be in bed. Still now at 11:30 than dragging my carcas out into the cold!

any reason at all they could be out and it must have been a good reason because they can't use their bus passes till 9am.Plenty pensioners round here still at work out of neccessity and you will see more of them as the pension age rises and I bet they would rather be in bed.

They all had shopping trolleys so deffo going to the shops!

65 isn't old!

Going to buy all the 50% off stuff before youngsters get it?

When I lived in south london there used to be lots of elderly people waiting at the bus stop at stupid o'clock even though they couldn't use their bus passes until after 9 o'clock.

65!!!!OLD!!!!!
Anyway many 'mature' people wake up early and go out and get on so they are nice and snug at home when it gets dark and even colder.
FWIW I am 66 and was tucked up in bed with a magazine,my breakfast and the cat at 10am!

It's probably the opposite reason of why teenagers stay in bed all morning.

At least 65, pranma! REALLY old.

I even know a few 70-somethings who work.

One's a publican and two run a shop and post office. Another is a farmer.

Up early doors, too.

My mum is 65 but in my eyes forever 40.

Though she's going grey now - stopping having her hair dyed - bit by bit I think she's 50 there (you lighten the base shades then have blocky highlights then go cold turkey)

She wants to be a "proper grandma", she said, and that means grey hair!!!

(She's retiring end of next year so I think its a bit about how much she's £££ at the hairdresser)

By the way, just to sound uber judgemental my husband went to the post office to try and post something on Saturday. The line was out the door, it was crazy, obviously it does get busier this close to Christmas. I was feeling very uncharitable and asked him if it was a line full of 80 year old ladies buying 2nd class stamps for their christmas cards. He looked at me like I was psychic and said, "how did you KNOW?!". I know they have as much right as anyone so its not that, I just do wonder why anyone would WANT to do things on a Saturday when its crowded!

Before I had children I said "why on earth would anyone want to go into the high street on a Saturday with the pushchair IF they could go during the week". Now I have 2 kids, I only ever go on my own on a Saturday, and do my high street stuff during the week when its at least a bit quieter. So at least I stand by my sentiment.

My dad retired last year. All his life he's been doing the weekly supermarket shop on a Saturday morning where its busy, crowded, and hard to park (he lives abroad). When he retired I assumed he'd switch days but no - he still does it on a Saturday, drags mum out of bed to go with him (she should stand up to him really) so they are not too late to get a park and gets on with it. Creature of habit!

DuelingFanjo -''old people - know your limits'' MASSIVE

Tattytinsel-I always wonder that about why people go to the shops at peak times/days when they've got all week to go? Retired people going to post offices at lunch time when workers are trying to quickly do their tasks in their lunch hour? Unless the old like queueing?! Loons.