SIR – What’s all the ado about having to work until you’re 70?

I watched Shirley Bassey captivate a packed audience at the Electric Proms, still looking glamorous at the age of 72 and read about 72-year-old Tommy Steele appearing as Scrooge at the Alhambra Theatre (T&A, October 30).

Both these septuagenarians made their mark in the 50s. And 72-year-old Barbara Windsor is only quitting EastEnders next year to spend more time with her third husband.

“To be 70 years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be 40 years old” – Oliver Wendell Holmes jnr.

D Rhodes, Croscombe Walk, Bradford