Man's infinite capacity to adapt to changing circumstances is matched only by his limitless capacity for self-delusion.

This thought was prompted, at the outset of another year, by my own experience in dealing with advancing age. You may (or more likely may not) be interested to know that I have recently reached the age of sixty. Yes, I know it seems extraordinary that someone destined to be one of the greatest writers of the 21st and indeed any other century, has still not embarked on the writing career that will turn Barnaby Capel-Dunn into a household name, but leave that aside for the moment.

On the one hand I am nothing if not clear-headed: yes, it is true that my girth is thickening; yes, it is true that I am losing my hair; yes, it is true that girls now shudder rather than swoon at the sight of my features (but nothing new there); yes, it is true that I am slowing down intellectually (all those brain cells disappearing every second); yes, it is true that my memory is a distant memory, and so on and so forth........


BUT, BUT, BUT, deep down there is this feeling that if only I bothered to knuckle down and get myself fighting fit, I could get back to where I once was. Hope springs eternal!