Dear LPG, 

Isn’t it funny how it is generally accepted that men grow old and distinguished while ladies are more likely to be described as just old?   As far back as 400 years ago this subject was focussed upon by the French society as Voltaire, one of their celebrities of the time put the spotlight there.  

I am not going to tell you how old I am, but it has occurred to me that we all go through stages when it comes to letting the number slip.  

When we first get to the age when we understand what age is all about, I think that to be by the time I was about six, I would have answered that question without a second thought, no matter who asked.  I did a little survey among five of my junior school-aged grandchildren and a few of their friends and think that I can safely say that that has not changed because they are always looking forward to their next birthday.   Most of us are willing to be truthful at that age and, perhaps for the young gentlemen amongst us, that remains the case, but for us ladies it is generally accepted that by the time we are approaching our third decade things change.

I know that I spent a lot of the time between my third and sixth decades in life being very guarded about exactly what reply I gave whenever answering that question which, let’s face it’ crops up with repetitive frequency.  I remember being truthful with my employers, doctors and on legal forms but avoiding the whole issue with many friends and in social circles, and I don’t think that I was alone in that.  

I have been retired for a few years now and continue to keep that personal statistic to myself, although my mother (whose age I think I should not disclose either) has completely U-turned on this point.   She is now well into her eighties and she has suddenly become very free with this fact.  When it comes to dropping how long she has been on the planet into nearly every conversation she is part of, she has now made it into an art.  My little survey included one of my mum’s friends who told me the same thing.

When meeting people that she has never met before at a party or in a shop, if three sentences pass between her and someone she is talking to without the introduction of the subject being brought up by her, it is very unusual.   No one needs to ask her anymore she blurts it out subtly at the first opportunity.  She tells me that mentioning this statistic helps her to get offered a seat on a bus or often gives her an opportunity to jump a relatively long shopping check-out queue.  

So, I suggest that if you are ‘getting on a bit’ it might be time to change one habit of the best part of a lifetime and take a leaf out of my mum’s book.  

IB, Crofton Park

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