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New research from the Office of National Statistics has found that the number of people aged over 65 living in residential care homes remained stagnant in the decade to 2011, despite a rapid increase in the UK’s elderly population over the same period. The number of unpaid carers in the UK also increased by around 600,000 in the same decade – peaking at around 5.8 million in 2011. It suggests that more and more elderly people are being cared for at home by their relatives, who have to juggle the responsibility of caring with work and other commitments, possibly in order to avoid the spiralling costs of paid-for care.

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Next year reforms to the adult social care bill will mean that the amount some people have to pay towards the cost of their care will be capped at £72,000 – which may relieve the burden from relatives. But local authorities have said they will struggle to make up the cost. So what is the future of care in the UK? Sheila speaks to 72 year old Caryl Kelly from Nottingham, who has cared for her husband Tom since he was diagnosed with dementia in 1996, and Steve McIntosh, Policy Manager at .Ìý

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For information, help, advice and to find a local support service contact .

In the 1960s, Brigitte Bardot made topless sunbathing de rigueur.ÌýÌý Back then it was seen as a bold statement of emancipation, but going topless it seems is no longer fashionable amongst French women?Ìý In its summer edition French Elle says just 2% of women under 35 are happy to bare all on the beach citing new feminist priorities, skin cancer fears and a rebellion against the cult of the fetished body beautiful. ÌýElle calls it a ‘worrying sign of regression in the place of women’ - but what’s the real reason women are reluctant to sunbathe topless?

Many of us will remember being a Brownie, or a Guide, and earning badges for learning skills such as making a bed or brewing a cup of tea, as well as the greater excitement of going camping. ÌýThe Brownies are 100 this year and these days Brownies are as likely to learn about bullying, drugs and sex awareness.Ìý With 200,000 members in the UK the Brownies remain as popular as ever, Comedian, Susan Calman and Gill Slocombe from Girlguiding join Sheila McClennon to explore its enduring appeal.ÌýÌý ÌýÌý

It’s summertime and we’re all thinking of getting a few days away from the churn of daily life. Nearly 30% of British holidaymakers are going self-catering this summer, making self-catering the most popular type of holiday. It’s more than twice as popular as the cheap all-inclusive packages we’ve seen lately... But who is the self in self-catering? Do women find themselves on the same daily dinner grind – just in a rented cottage with worse equipment than we’d have at home? Is self-catering a ‘real’ holiday for women – or are they just a headache of to-do lists and washing up? What’s the best way to really slow down & take a few days off from regular life?

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