Age Concern always seeks to be at the forefront in raising issues of importance as part of our continuing fight to improve the quality of life of older people. To this end we are privi- leged in being able to draw on the skills of people with the commitment, expertise and enthusiasm to press for much needed change. When, some years ago, we published a book by Mervyn Eastman on old age abuse, the subject was largely unrecognized. He played a pioneering role in drawing atten- tion to this difficult and sensitive topic, classifying the various types of abuse, analysing their causes, their tragic...