Watch and learn via Codgers Television, a new series that explores aging, resilience and everyday life with humour and heart.
By Iris Winston
What do you do if your fixed monthly expenses regularly exceed your income?
“There aren’t many job openings for people over 80,” says 82-year-old Derek Smith, “and we were at a point when our pensions just didn’t cover our needs. We were about $450 short a month and couldn’t figure out how to come up with it.”
Derek and his wife of nine years, Maggie Runacres, 83, have found the answer. Capitalizing on their lengthy experience and creativity, they’ve developed a magazine-style show for television. Together, they’ve produced a series of five 10-minute episodes, focusing on their local community in Brockville and area, and have been able to sell the set to the community arm of CTV, for $67,000.
“It seems that I approached CTV at the right time,” says Derek. “We ran into a group of people who were willing to take a chance on a couple of old codgers. And we crossed the codger threshold long ago.”
“You’re never too old to start something new—especially if it helps you get through the day and reminds someone else they’re not alone.” Derek Smith
The show, featuring music, poetry, slices of everyday life, short interviews and cooking segments, is expected to air in August, with the possibility of a second season to follow.
“In the cooking segments, I show how to cook economically and quickly because people don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen these days,” says Maggie. “The show is about how to make life easier for people in different ways. There’s a lot of help out there, but people don’t always know where to go to get it, so we’ll talk about that and will interview interesting people in the community too.”
“I call that talking to codgers on the street,” says Derek. “And I’ve discovered that I have something of a knack for writing poems and songs.”
He also has a knack for broadcast. “I had been in television forever and a day and I know the television business,” says the veteran TV producer and writer whose background includes producing Celebrity Cooks, hosted by Bruno Gerussi of The Beachcombers, for CBC TV from 1975 to 1979 and for Global TV from 1980 to 1987.
Meanwhile Maggie, a home economist and chef with experience in her native England as well as in Ireland, France and Canada, has been a demonstrator of cooking techniques, a manufacturer of various preserves and the creator of numerous recipes. She has also been a cooking school coordinator, occasional broadcaster and syndicated culinary columnist.
However, when the couple met online via Match.com in 2017, their whirlwind romance initially took precedence over any professional connections.
“I was lonely and Maggie was lonely,” says Derek. “We spent an hour together and, two months later, we decided to pool our resources to buy a house in Merrickville and move in together.”
At the suggestion of one of Derek’s former colleagues, their first screen collaboration was born. Mrs. Calabash Cooks, starring Maggie, began streaming on YouTube in 2019.
“Then came the COVID-19 epidemic and everything shut down,” says Maggie.
The couple moved to more economical accommodation in Brockville, but says Derek, they still needed some income beyond their pensions. They see their codgers show as a way to some financial security.
“It’s a way of turning life experience into joy, community and purpose,” says Derek. “I’m also envisioning codger camps. The show is my first foray into codgerism. I’ve started small but intend to grow bigger.”
“Welcome to codgerism—where the years are golden and the fun never retires.” Derek Smith
For the record, the dictionary definition of a codger is “usually an elderly, mildly eccentric fellow” and has its roots in the early 18th Century as an offshoot of cadger.
Derek sees codgers through a slightly different lens. He sees them as older folks who have “the courage to say what matters and the wisdom to know when to laugh instead.” They are people who stay “curious, mischievous and gloriously unfinished” and “refuse to fade, to fawn or to fold.” Most important, he says, they “live with grit, grace and a good Wi-Fi connection” and know that “codgerism isn’t the end of the line.”
