If you took your view of society from TV commercials, and magazine ads you would presume that we were a very young country, very cool, very with it. Certainly Tony Blair would love us to be.

But what's the reality? That there have never been so many over 50s. That they have never been so healthy, wealthy and wise.

That cohort alone could swing the next general election. "Silver Surfers" are a major phenomenon on the Web.

So why does society seem to ageist? It's not just the glittering marketing messages.

It's our staple diet of television programming - not so much dumbing down, as younging down. It's M&S not believing it needed to carry larger size clothes.

It's all employers who won't interview and hire the over 40s, let alone the over 50s.

And yet there is much analysed evidence that the older worker is a better worker, a more reliable worker, a more conscientious worker, a more experienced worker. The B&Q store that only hired the over 50s and reckons it's the best decision ever made. McDonalds in the States with their anti-ageist policies.

And yet I hold my hands up in shame. While passionately committed to the concept of the older worker, I don't hire them. Why? Because my clients won't deal with them.

My clients who are girlie 23 somethings with all the confidence and arrogance of youth, who don't want new horizons stretched or their boundaries challenged, who don't even want to deal with me at 48 because I'm too old, out of touch, remind them of their mothers/teachers, not with it, not cool.

So to all you older workers out there without a job, I'm sorry. I know I'm lucky because I own my own company.

All I can suggest is, use your voting power and that of your friends.

If Tony Blair thinks he might not get re-elected, he'll quickly unchill and give us "Wise Britain" rather than "Cool Britain".

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.