I'm not sure I entirely approve of the term "oldie". I much prefer older people to be known as seniors. "Oldie" suggests someone a bit clapped out, which most seniors aren't.

That Who's Counting? ikon Thora Hird, named as 'Oldie of the Year', is a wonderful example of the benefits of keeping on keeping on. It's all down to attitude, she said this week.

"My husband died four years ago. I carried on working, and it keeps my brain going. My friends are in the business and working occupies me."

She puts her on-going enthusiasm down to a sensible diet, lots of work and lots of love. She just keeps batting on, never giving a thought to retirement from work which she clearly loves.

She epitomises the attitude recommended by Tom Kirkwood, professor of biological gerontology at the University of Manchester, who says: "I am sometimes asked how long I would personally like to live," he says. "My answer is this: I want to live as long as my quality of life is good and I can look forward to each new day." Like Dame Thora, presumably.

Not everyone is as lucky in their work as she is, of course. There are plenty of people who are in jobs they detest and can't wait to retire from. For them, retirement can be a new beginning.

"There are all sorts of opportunities around of things to do," says Caroline Hartnell, author of The Retirement Handbook. "There's more leisure time, more travel, educational opportunities, the chance to get fitter and healthier, the chance to do voluntary work. It's about keeping an open mind to new opportunities."

The message that comes through time and again from those who make a study of ageing is that no-one should regard retirement as the end of their active life. After all, the average life expectancy now for a British woman is 79 and for a man 74. That's a long time to spend in idleness or just killing time if you retire at 60.

Caroline Hartnell says: "It's all about carrying on as you have always done, not thinking of yourself as an old person. Don't drift away."

Here are some handy hints culled from the experts:

Remember that when you retire, all the time previously occupied by work is yours to spend as you choose. You could spend almost as long in retirement as you did in work.

Discover talents and skills you never knew you had.

Explore educational opportunities. You might even think about going for a degree. Why not?

Adventure holidays for the over-50s and 60s are booming. Try skiing, abseiling, rock-climbing and canoeing, or go on walking or cycling holidays.

Get involved in the community. Join a club or society. Work as a volunteer.

Don't think you shouldn't try to carry on working. There's rampant ageism in the jobs market (see Hector Mildew's column), but developing a hobby could lead to opportunities for employment. Age Concern has a factsheet about older workers.

I Don't Believe It!

Age discrimination in the jobs market is rife in this country. At least, it seems to be, judging by the experiences of people who get in touch with me to moan about it. All power to ARP 050 who are battling to have it made illegal.

They could use the example of reader Christopher Whitley, who took early retirement from Yorkshire Water last spring. He'd spent 20 years with the company, latterly as a meter adviser - a job which was subsequently "outsourced" to the YEB (that's the sort of jargon they use these days), hence Mr Whitley's early retirement.

He thought that at 56 (he's now 57) he'd have no problems finding a job - full-time or part-time, he wasn't bothered which - to supplement his pension.

"I'd only worked for four companies since the age of 16, two of them spanning 34 years," he says. "I expected to be able to find some sort of employment almost anywhere with my track record of loyalty and experience. I am still willing, fit and able to be part of the system."

He remembered with pride how, in the past, he'd been successful in every job interview he'd been for and expected it to be the same now. But no such luck. He's applied for about 50 jobs and had one interview. Most of his applications weren't even given the courtesy of a reply.

"I didn't expect this," he says. "It's like a brick wall. No-one says anything, but it's obvious that it's age discrimination. I mean, my work record is second to none, so what else can it be but ageism?"

Mr Whitley admits he has no proof of this, but he's convinced that he's right. And so am I. He suggests that people in the same predicament should inundate their local MP with letters to try to have employers forced, by law, to live in the world of non-discriminatory employment.

Of course, even if there was a law, there's no guarantee that a specific job would go to an older person just because he or she was older. I don't think we want to swap one sort of discrimination for another, do we?

What we do want is for older people to be given reasonable consideration alongside younger people so that in the end the best person for the job gets it, regardless of their age.

If you have a gripe about anything, drop a line to me, Hector Mildew, c/o Newsroom, T&A, Hall Ings, Bradford BD1 1JR, email me or leave any messages for me with Mike Priestley on (44) 0 1274 729511.

Yours Expectantly,

Hector Mildew

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