I remember I started writing my old age when I was 52, and I started by noticing that my thighs, the bottom of my thighs, are sort of drooping over my knees.

And I thought, what can I? Because I used to write about my daughter when she was a teenager. And I thought, what can I write about now, which doesn't annoy everybody.

So I thought, myself. My knees? Yeah, I can be as rude as I like and nobody can complain.

And then physically you start noticing all these things going wrong with you.

Well, not wrong, but they're just changing.

And it does creep up.

Just one more thing happens.

Like you get the old whisker and your moulds get bigger and this droops and that droops.

And you wish you'd appreciated when you were younger what you were able to do and what you looked like. I mean, you

obviously kind of deal with this and write with a lot of good humour, but I wonder what you

think about the way that ageing and getting older is portrayed, like barring the usual cliches

about fine wine.

Is it generally negative?

Is it usually in a pejorative way, do you think?

I think so.

I just get browned off with the way everybody thinks that when you turn 65,

you turn to a bit of a dimwit.

You know, you wear a cardigan.

You don't have much of an opinion.

And I don't know.

I just think people in general think that you turn thick when you're older.

That's the big thing.

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