The Old Man And The Knee

Although in his seventies, Christopher Matthew is convinced he is not old. Not yet, anyway. He plays golf, he walks the dog and no one ever stands up for him on crowded buses and tubes. He has all his own teeth and hair, and does not require a hearing aid. He is, in short, enjoying late middle age and making the best of it while he still can.

How, though, does one know when one is old? Does old age creep up slowly or arrive out of the blue like an outsize pigeon dropping? Will one be able to summon up some half-decent last words, and what should they be?

No one likes the idea of growing old, but this witty, perceptive and largely light-hearted guide to life in the last lane will go some way to persuading late-middle-agers that they have more to look forward to than they imagine.