I turn 41 next month, still a youngster I know, but I’ve been noticing recently signs that I’m getting older…..
Thinking about the good old days, and the older I get the more good old days there are to look back on. Trying to remember where I left things and I find myself walking in the tool shed and trying to remember what I went in there for. People now tell me I’m young-looking rather than telling me I’m young. I’m finding conversations with friends usually turn into a bout of “ailment duelling”.
Watching antiques programmes and seeing items on there I had when I was a child. My ideal night is a comfy armchair, TV remote at my fingertips, the kettle boiling gently in the background ready for a lovely cup of tea, a nice piece of cake and my comfy old slippers.
I’m starting to groan when I get in and out of a chair and when I get up from having done some weeding. And have you ever bumped into someone and can’t remember their name so you have to employ the greeting “Hello stranger” – yes that happened the other day.
Still, they say life begins at 40 so I’m looking on the bright side – my glass is always half-full. Oh yes, I have many years yet before my teeth are floating in it.
Kate Elliott came to Columbine Hall in 1997 when she was sixteen. She is now head gardener but also helps with managing the property generally and in conducting guided tours.