London - When you were pining after a lost love, family and friends may have gently comforted you by insisting that the pain would pass, and you would end up getting over it.
But according to a survey of the lives of 70-somethings, they were wrong. For it seems that many people’s biggest regret is – despite the years that have rolled by – the one that got away.
In fact one in seven pensioners in their seventies still harbours regrets about a relationship that failed for one reason or the other, even though they have been married to someone else for, on average, 30 years.
Losing touch with a much-loved friend or a family member was also a cause of regret for one in six people.
Around a third of the 2 000 70 to 79-year-olds surveyed regretted not taking the opportunity to see more of the world and travel to far-flung places. And when asked for financial rather than personal regrets, around a third wished they had been able to put away more money for a rainy day.
The study was designed to create a detailed picture of the common likes and dislikes of a generation. When it came to culture, the report unsurprisingly found that classic tracks from Queen and Abba albums were firm favourites across the board, with The Beatles and Elvis also proving popular, and plenty of people regularly tuning in to listen to classical music.
A breakdown of leisure time found that people in their 70s tended to see family members an average of 24 times a year, and tried to do five active things a week, mainly visiting the gym or going for a walk. Less than half had pets, but those who did were more likely to have a cat than a dog.
They also spent an average of 16 hours and 20 minutes a week watching television, with classics finding favour, including The Two Ronnies, Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, Dad’s Army and Downton Abbey.
The films that regularly cropped up as favourites included Schindler’s List, The Shawshank Redemption, The Great Escape, The Dam Busters and The King’s Speech. Those surveyed were most likely to drive a Ford hatchback and tended to read nine books a year.
When researchers asked about their subjects’ deepest fears, they found people were typically the most concerned about their health, followed by their money – with the average septuagenarian still struggling with £31 504 (about R670 000) of debt, and a quarter worried about how they would manage to pay the bills each month.
Speaking about the research, explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, 71, said: “It’s a pleasure to see it’s not just adventurers of my age who are still active and are far better at keeping up with “the times” than younger generations might think.”
And Andrew Baddeley-Chappell, of Nationwide, said: “Age is just a number, so it’s encouraging to see our study breaking misconceptions by highlighting the active lifestyle of many 70-year-olds.”
Daily Mail