Grey power in action is a remarkable phenomenon. That was demonstrated clearly enough by the triumph of Denmark's Olsen Brothers in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Their song Fly On the Wings of Love was not, to my mind, the best and brightest in the contest. My vote went to that eccentric Red Indian offering from Sweden.

There were a couple of other entries above Denmark's on the list drawn up by the Priestley Towers jury.

That's not to denigrate the winning song, though. It was pleasant enough and well sung. But what pushed it to the top, I reckon, were the ages of the men singing it and the fact that it was a tribute to the mature woman.

The Olsen Brothers (pictured above celebrating their victory) are past the first flush of youth and not ashamed to look it. And so are many of the people who would have been watching the Eurovision Song Contest. Here, among all the min-skirted girlies and the posing young men, was someone in our age group.

So the partisan voting for which Eurovision is famous came into play. Baltic states tend to vote for other Baltic states. The same goes for the Balkans. Mediterranean countries back each other's entries. Only we stand alone, as "UK No-Mates".

And yes, there was a lot of that going on again this year. But the result suggested that something else had happened as well. Older people in every country had voted for the nearest thing to their contemporaries among the contestants.

And together they made sure that the Olsen Brothers took the trophy.

Seniors have a lot of clout. That point is made below on this page by Karl Dallas, reporting from the "Pensioners' Parliament".

It's a point which should not be lost on the Minister for the Elderly, Alistair Darling, who this week was reported to be contemplating the possibility of giving state pensioners a rise above the rate of inflation next year.

Nor should it be lost on local authorities, some of which, according to the Audit Commission, are charging elderly and disabled people so much for council care services that they aren't being left with enough money to live on.

These matters, I know, are in a rather different league to the trivia of Eurovision songs.

But a generation which by flexing its muscles can make Europop-heroes of two middle-aged men is well on its way to finding its power. If politician fail to spot that message, they could soon find themselves in deep trouble.

I Don't Believe It!

Here's a plea on behalf of "Real People" from J Lewis Nicholl, of Wrose. He thinks they're too readily forgotten. He writes, fearlessly:

"What can we do about this handful of 'professional do-gooders' we seem to find lurking around? These people who are in the business of attracting attention to themselves via very minor causes. People who appear to be without any sort of life. People who need to cry about things like rights for frogs, rights for badgers, rights for prisoners, rights for homosexuals, rights for asylum seekers, rights for criminals, rights for immigrants, rights for this, that and anything except us.

"What about rights for people? I mean real people. I mean real people of this land. The people who do all the work, the people who make all the produce. The people who fight and defend this land in times of international conflict.

"I don't mean the no-hopers. I don't mean MPs. I don't mean professional do-gooders. I don't mean the aristocracy and I don't mean the officers and 'leaders'. I mean the real people.

"Isn't it time there were rights in this country for the real people, and isn't it time these rights were observed? We have millions of under-privileged and forgotten people in this country, all of them real people. Let's have 'Rights for Real People'. Perhaps when we have, then we can start to consider others. Until then, let's sort ourselves out."

Well, you didn't pull any punches there, Mr Nicholl. That outburst might bring in a few angry letters. On the other hand, it might bring in some letters in support. Over to you, readers.

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. If you've already sent in a grumble and it hasn't appeared yet, don't worry - it will do.

Yours Expectantly,

Hector Mildew

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