Not long ago, my husband said rather casually to me, “I wish I knew when I was going to die.” An important wish, indeed. He is 81. But his concern was neither spiritual nor existential. He was wondering whether it was worth his while to have a knee…

When I was young, I used to think that things sort-of worked out in the course of a life. I mean things, like your pots and pans and your cutlery and your living room furniture. I imagined you bought all this stuff when you were young and then they were just…

I am exceedingly clean. I take a shower every morning and a bath every night. I wash in all the right places. My mother would be proud of me. But all this bathing has nothing to do with getting clean. There are so many other reasons to pursue these activities…

How often do you have one of ‘those days’ when things just seem to go very wrong? I am not talking about days of world crises or when you find out that you or a loved one has some dreadful illness or accident. I am talking about trivial stuff…

I am essentially a planner, but I love spontaneous events. There is something wild and wonderful about an unplanned experience in your life. Nothing too dramatic and certainly nothing bad – a sudden fall or, worse, a sudden death – are not part of my thinking…

I cannot keep my secret quiet any longer. I have suffered in silence for years. Only my closest friends know the situation and they tend to sympathise. It’s not really my fault, but I really HATE shopping. I always have. Let’s try to ‘unpack’ this little problem…

From time to time, there is an item in the news concerning old people and driving. One of my favourites concerned the late Duke of Edinburgh who had a car accident when he was in his late 90s. The car he was driving had ended up on its side…

We all know that our sense of time changes as we grow older – with everything speeding up at an alarming rate. One of the most notable markers of this is the age of our children – and even more so – our grandchildren…

I have always loved to write. Should you give it a try? The answer depends on what you want to do – and be. Many people think that this is a glamorous activity, but I can assure you that it is not. You sit at home on your own, in your own world…

When my son, now in his late 30s, was about five years old, he made a remark that has stayed with me ever since. He had gone through a stage, thankfully brief, when he would pee unexpectedly, leaving a small visible stain on his trousers…