Good Company looks at the lives and motivations of the fastest growing social group in the UK - the over 65s. Based on participant observation at clubs, voluntary organizations and amongst individuals, it studies the importance of friendship and social interaction to the well-being of the elderly and looks at the way old people devise strategies for living. It tries to show how clubs are not necessarily the arena of lonely, isolated individuals and describes the typical member as healthy, well-connected and affluent. By focusing on normal ageing in the fit and active, Good Company aims to examine the way the elderly gradually come to terms with increasing fraility and dependancy. This book should be useful for those with a professional interest in the elderly.