Be considerate to elderly guests at evening functions

I RECENTLY attended an event for retirees of a certain organisation. As the event went on, I began to feel sorry for the very elderly guests who had to wait an hour or more before the VIP arrived.

Please, when you invite senior citizens for any occasion, bear in mind that there are grandparents and great-grandparents in this group and some might even be moving around with a cane or in a wheelchair. It is not fair that people in this category are made to hang around for a VIP who is probably much younger and in better health.

I wish to suggest the following which would show some empathy for senior citizens in any event organised for them:

1. Allow those who arrive to be seated before the VIP appears. They can still move around to greet each other if they want to.

2. Start dinner before 8pm; this is already late for some.

3. Speeches should be short if they precede the start of the dinner. If there are several speeches to be delivered, these should come after a few dishes have been served. Let the hungry elderly guests start eating and they may remain more alert to absorb what is going on!

4. The last dish should be served before 10pm. This may be well past bedtime for some seniors so they may wish to leave earlier. Others can hang around for longer if they wish.

Such consideration would leave guests not overtired after a meaningful gathering and retire with grateful appreciation for the tender loving care from the organisers of the events.

RETIRED Kuala Lumpur