One of my three sisters, who is a widow, has returned to the UK and is currently living with us while she looks for accommodation - so she sees our mother mostly at weekends. This Christmas we will be spending at home and we intend to make it a brilliant one. As money is tight all round, we have decided to spend just £20 on one person each. No buying for anybody else - which, of course, does not include the grandchildren who we will see on Boxing Day. So it's just us adults. Names were put…

In the search of eternal youth, I am going to take on the challenge of a massive bike ride. This will be two-pronged because it, I hope, will not only keep my healthy, but also be of help in raising money for those poor unfortunate people currently out on the streets of our fair cities. All money raised will go to a charity called Two Saints which helps homeless people get back onto their feet, gets them into training programs and finds them housing. Even more important in this day because…

I ask this because it seems more and more that younger people view us 'oldies' with alarm and suspicion. Listening to Radio 1 this morning, the discussion turned to older people and the inability to keep themselves clean. Then one of the commentators blithely said "it's as though they are from another planet". This upset me so much that I emailed to complain. What I was really complaining about was the lack of sensitivity for a people who youngsters are increasingly seeing as 'them'. Why do…