A most unusual thing happened to me recently – I turned 60. I was expecting a sense of doom, spiralling downwards like water circling the plughole of a bath, but what I actually felt was a sense of lightness and eager anticipation of various discounts. I was excited to get 10 percent off at Mitre 10 and even more excited when the sales assistant asked to see my ID. (How could he possibly be 60?)

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I don’t feel like I’m embarking on my seventh decade; I am like a human avocado, wrinkly on the outside yet soft and smooth on the inside, where my internal age ranges between 14 and 16, and sometimes when I play with the dog, down to about six. There is still so much to learn about life. I only just discovered the other day that chicken salt is not actually made out of chickens. A revelation.

Whilst I do now like driving into the Seniors Parking at the local supermarket, I don’t like the logo for these spots, which pictures an old couple propped up by walking sticks. That will not be happening for...