At school everyone looked for the day when they got to 18 so they could legally drink. Many tried before their 18th birthday and got away with it. Some were questioned which made a night out difficult because it might well be a mix of those who could and those who shouldn't drink.
In my year group, I was one of the oldest with an October birthday. Many of my friends had birthdays the following year in March or April. So I was six months older than them.
Some of us looked 18, others didn't and how easy is it to assess whether a person is 18 or not. It's not an exact science and in those days there weren't so many questions about IDs.
Roll back a few years and what ages do you celebrate? " I'm a big boy now because I'm five and I go to big school". "I'm a big boy now because I'm into double figures."
"I'm a teenager." "Wow I'm 16." "I'm 18 so I can legally drink and vote." "Now I'm 21 I can have the key of the door whatever that means" and so it goes on and on.
Then you get to be gnarled and approaching middle age. "I can't believe I've reached 30" you say. Then it's " oh no tomorrow I'm 40 and I just want to hide away. I'm getting old." Then when you reach 50 you want to be 40 and when you get to 60 you want to be 50 and so on and on.
I remember going to see the play Warhorse in London and sitting there thinking "I'm 59. In a few months I will be 60" and I dreaded that thought. Now I would love to be 59.
But the moral of this piece I guess is to enjoy the age that you are because in 10 years' time if I'm still around I will be wising I was only 70.
And then there's the mental side of things. When I'm with the grandchildren I find no problem in becoming a 10 year old again. I think my outlook on life is pretty modern. I may look 70 but mentally I'm still around 25.
Now taking my theme up I'm just waiting for someone to say you don't look anything like 70.