At 80 years old I do not think I can be criticised for writing about ageing. It is a subject that tends to be avoided because contemplating the frequent miseries and indignities of age is not exactly the most pleasant way of passing time either in solitude or in company.
Yet ageing is increasingly becoming a dominant fact in community after community. The 20th century added 30 years of life expectancy in the developed world. And in America, for example, it is estimated that 80 million people will be over 65 by the year 2030. The trend is the same world-wide.
So a lot of writing about the greying of society will have to be done as the years go by and the implications
