‘When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.'

These lines, from the poem ‘When I am an old woman I shall wear purple' by Jenny Joseph, were marked by Age Concern Tauranga members at their monthly meeting this week to celebrate International Day of Older Persons on October 1.

Members dressed in purple clothes and red hats to mark the day, a United Nations initiative which is celebrated world-wide.

The theme of the 2017 International Day of Older Persons is about enabling and expanding the contributions of older people in their families, communities and societies at large. It focuses on the pathways that support full and effective participation in old age, in accordance with old persons' basic rights, needs and preferences.