Sitcoms about retirement are a gold mine of comedy opportunities. It’s one of the reasons we like them so much. It’s also reassuring to think that even when we reach our retirement years, there is still an awful amount of fun to be had! Many of us believe that when we stop working (the office and the workplace also being an excellent place for comedy), our lives become quieter and even a bit dull. However, if these comedies are anything to go by, there are plenty of options for fun and games. Here are some of the best.

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  1. Keeping Up Appearances. It’s not very clear what poor Richard Bucket (pronounced Bookay) did for a living, but you can sense that he would rather be doing it than having to spend any more time with his charming wife, Hyacinth. Doomed to drive her to various posh causes and to have to wear a bow tie to her legendary Candlelight suppers, Richard enjoys it when he can hang out with his lazy good for nothing of a Brother in Law, Onslow. It’s not clear what Hyacinth did when she was working, if at all. She has been able to build a lovely home for her husband and the ever absent son Sheridan (who regularly calls, if only for some money…)
  2. Waiting for God. It might seem strange to set a comedy in an old folks home, but this one has such wit and charm that it just seems to work. It features two very talented actors in the shape of the late Graham Crowden and Stephanie Cole as Tom and Diana. The basic assumption about older people is that they are passive.  However, Tom and Diana are far from that. They can outwit the dim and oppressive management of the home they live in time and time and again. It also shows that the love they feel for each other grows. It’s not just young people who get to find romance.

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  1. Last of the Summer Wine. Running from 1973 to 2010, this sitcom was regularly considered one of the best produced by the BBC. It was written and conceived by Roy Clarke, the same writer responsible for Keeping Up Appearances. These tales come from a group of retired men who have lived in the village of Holmfirth, a small picturesque Yorkshire Dales village. It began with a trio of Cleggy, the recently widowed and calm stalwart Yorkshiremen, Cyril, the upright citizen who is countered by Compo, the playful one who is refusing to grow old gracefully, or at all.  The cast changed many times as the principal actors became older. The most notable introduction was Foggy (Brian Wilde replacing the actor Michael Bates who fell Ill). Foggy was a war veteran who was determined to spread good and educate the other two in worldly matters. Both Clegg and Compo took the opportunity to give him a hard time. Clarke eventually introduces some female comparisons, all of whom look on in despair as the men seem determined to enter into a second childhood.

All in all, it shows that later life can be fun. If you choose Gloucestershire Park Homes to span your retirement years, you’ll feel the same. Just look at http://www.parkhomelife.com/our-parks/orchard-park-homes-gloucester-gloucestershire to see why.