I’VE got the cardigan.

Now all I need are a pair of needles, a ‘knit & natter’ class and I’m sorted. With tea and biscuits thrown in, I’ll be in paradise.

Are you listening, Lesley Manville? The actress, who I much admire, says that older women ‘do not have to be shoved in a corner in a cardigan doing knitting,’ and goes on to say that women can have lovers at 60.

Well excuse me, maybe some of us WANT to sit in peace and quiet, in a cardigan, knitting. I certainly do.

At 57 I am working towards the day when I can plonk myself on the sofa, twist needles through wool and click away as a scarf or jumper take shape. Or maybe a cardigan. You can never have too many cardigans.

The last thing I want in my golden years is a lover.

Oscar nominated Lesley, 61, praises starts such as Meryl Streep, Dame Helen Mirren and Annette Bening for how they portray ‘sexually active’ and ‘attractive’ older women.

“We’re playing these women who are in their 60s and 70s and yes they’re still attractive and they’re still having a sex life and…they want all the things that people stereotypically think a woman over 50 is not going to want anymore,’ she told Radio Times.

Cardigans? Knitting? Lovers? No contest.

As anyone who knows me will vouch, I am a huge fan of cardigans. I have at least ten and am constantly on the lookout for more.

Cardigans are cosy and comforting. They are such versatile garments - I have woolly ones for winter warmth and cotton ones for cool summer days. You can button them up or leave them open, they can look smart and casual. Wearing a cardigan certainly does not mean you’re a step away from a care home.

Knitting is good for you: it’s been scientifically proven that using your hands in a productive way triggers activity in 60 per cent of your brain, and a study from the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences reveals that crafts like patch-working or knitting during middle age decreases the odds of later cognitive impairment and memory loss by 30 to 50 per cent.

The hobby also makes you happy - a study of 3,500 knitters, by The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, found 81 per cent of respondents with depression said they felt happy after knitting - more than half took it even further and said they felt "very happy".

It’s certainly not just a pastime for old people - an increasing number of young people are taking up needles as are many celebrities such as Kate Moss, Ryan Gosling and the aforementioned Meryl Streep.

My colleague - in her forties and certainly not vegetating - recently learned to knit and made me a lovely cowl for my birthday.

Far more satisfying than any lover, I would say. A lover implies illicit afternoons in Travelodge (I’m unlikely to find one with any cash to his name), saucy text messages and hours spent in the gym in a desperate effort to be desirable.

I would not want to have to hone and tone my well-past-its-best-before-date body to please some man. I wouldn’t want to have to replace my comfortable M&S undies with prickly lace Ann Summers lingerie. And I certainly don’t want to have to trawl Tinder every weekend to find a compatible male (GSOH, likes cardigans and knitting).

So, in my old age, I really don’t want a lover.

I’ve got a lot going on in my life at present but am counting the days until I can join a knitting group and learn the art. And the first thing I will make? A cardigan, of course.