As greyhares, we like to celebrate getting older and to embrace the experience. However, we have received a postcard from a friend in Herefordshire, proposing an alternative approach. Our correspondent is too young to have any direct knowledge of the subject (her friends comment that she seems to get younger every year) and we can…
Il faut cultiver notre jardin
Joe Collier muses on the contrast between the garden and the kitchen when it comes to contending with the forces of nature. We arrived in our cottage two weeks ago. As usual the thing we did first was to check over the garden and on this occasion the trees were our main concern. Luckily the…
Long live love, long live life!
Inevitably, we greyhares get a bit gloomy from time to time. We are, after all, faced with uncertain futures. But some of the reasons for pessimism are receding. For a start, we now know that as a group we can expect to live much longer than any previous cohort of our age. Overall, by 2030…
Looking ahead: fatherhood at 65
I was 65 when my latest son was born – a mere 28 years after the next youngest. I naturally asked my three other sons’ permission (although it was too late by then) and they didn’t seem to have a problem with it. What other people made or make of it is not clear, because…
The do’s and don’ts of unsolicited advice
There were eight of us round the table - granny (now past being involved in serious discussion), my wife and myself, our three sons (aged 29, 34 and 38), a cousin and a family friend (they were aged in their early 30s). Towards the end of the starter (on offer were smoked salmon, liver pate,…
Now you see me, now you don’t
Annie Forsyth is a greyhare with grey hair. Annie considers the benefits or otherwise and concludes that visibility is in the eye of the beholder. Meanwhile, the greyhares editor uses a feeble excuse to feature grey-haired George Clooney on the site. I deliberately chose to let my hair grow grey and have never dyed it. I am…
The Great Pears Soap Reversal
Following adverse consumer reaction and campaigns here on greyhares and on Facebook, Unilever has announced a rethink of the disastrous reformulation of its much loved 200 year old brand, Pears Transparent Soap. The Daily Mail of 7th January reports that "following a deluge of complaints, owners of the brand Hindustan Unilever Ltd which is based in Mumbai…
Alzheimer’s cure via mobile phone? Let battle commence
I strongly believe we are heading for one almighty battle. Millions and millions of pounds have been spent by the drugs industry in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Much more money is being reaped as drugs (often of marginal benefit) are used in its management worldwide. With this scenario all was looking secure for the…