Somehow though, I don’t think I’ll celebrate turning 50 by spray-painting my body gold or donning a bikini

"I think the second half of life has a lot of advantages, not least of which are a solid sense of confidence in ourselves, empowerment, and a fair bit of wisdom gained through hard knocks and experience..."

It seems like we’ve all packed three summers’ worth of travelling/socialising/activities into the last few months and now we have all arrived at September exhausted, depleted, and drained

'My parents brought me up to believe that as long as we had food, heat and a roof over our heads we had everything we needed. And the older I get the more I realise that’s true'

"I’m not here to defend an ageing man’s sexual or relationship choices, but I do feel there are ways of making all of the above points without reverting to damaging outdated ways of publicly ridiculing and mocking people."

"Even I as a mere mortal woman have found it depressing to watch my jawline become jowly and my waistline become stubbornly thicker as I get older, but I try to keep it in perspective. It’s not the sum of who I am, it’s not the sum of my life."

The need to belong is a basic part of our human nature. It operates in the same centres of our brain that react to hunger and pain. It’s why Covid played such havoc with our mental health.

Just as with love, often we find kindness where we least expect to and often it shows up when we most need it

'A lot can happen in two years. It’s an odd feeling having to quickly paint over the big gaps in our lives now with these broad brushstrokes, while stopped for a casual chat with an acquaintance, bags of groceries weighing down our arms.'

If practising compassion and awareness takes such little effort but can bring such huge benefits to our lives, it seems like a no-brainer.