Dave Walker - Forever Young: Staying Safe - lockdown week13

Old Father Time - senior moments

An older perspective on where we are in lockdown

A partial image, but I quite like it

I went to the dentist today. I asked 'do I have to wear a mask?' The receptionist said 'no'.

I apologise to all the bereaved and disadvantaged families for my facile remarks for lockdown 12. Who cares we can't get away for weekends - ludicrous and not funny. Lockdown has lead to a loss of personal perspective. I thought it would be life as normal. It hasn't been. My pal big Dave misses his mates. I can't quite put my finger on what I miss. Sense of purpose is forever an issue, pandemic or not, but I've lost my way just now. We haven't knitted or sewn or gone back to work - just sat at the window whilst others looked after us. I made a video with Rod Gooch, but no one seems to have watched it that we know. So I think I'm a bit angry - useful energy for doing something. What? Carrying a massive sword round maybe. I think it's a scythe.

There is yet another old persons' guide in the Times June 13th - 'How fast are you ageing?' by John Nash, quoting research by Dr Daniel Belsky of Columbia University. Usual suspects - lower the calorie intake, sleep quality and regular exercise. Meditation makes another appearance based on a Buddhist monk study. Newish to me is skipping breakfast, restricting eating between 8pm and the following noon. This, apart from calorie restriction, is counter-intuitive. Everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but this is the second study I've read that suggests the opposite. The final recommendation is banish negative thoughts. Optimists live longer. It doesn't say how you do it.

Radio4 Wednesday More or Less sort of answered my query from last week 'What constitutes a premature death for a 75 year old'. An actuarial expert said something along the lines of 'an 80 year old obese male smoker has on average 5 years left'. So where do we stand with the NICE guidelines that tell us all not to enjoy ourselves?

Anyone else had a scam attempt from someone pretending to be Amazon Prime. Tried to give me a refund for a fee I hadn't paid, but I didn't twig immediately. Thankfully no harm done, but waring.