Age experience

over 65 were still employed. In 2018, it was 100,000 and 67,000 respectively.

Softly spoken and thoughtful, Hewitt says veterinary medicine is a hobby, as well as a career, and he never considers retiring.

‘‘I’ve never really had a concept of getting old. Apart from a few niggles here or there, everything’s pretty good.’’

The decision to open a new business was one the couple made without too much concern, he says. ‘‘We decided, ‘Well, why not?’. I was steady of hand, sharp of eye and fleet of foot, which is essential in the large-animal areas, and as long as we hold together there’s no reason to stop.’’

The Hewitts have no plans to retire and, when they do, the adventure will be far from over.

‘‘Our worst fear is that we’re going to go gaga and end up in some home of the children’s choosing, but hopefully that won’t happen and we’ll start a geriatric commune. You’re welcome to come.’’ Calling 71-year-old Anneke Borren ‘‘elderly’’ would be both foolish and potentially dangerous to one’s health.

The renowned ceramic artist says the very mention of the word is annoying, and she would be ‘‘seriously offended’’ if someone used it to describe her.

‘‘I’d be furious, because it’s not true.’’

Last year she sold her house, packed up her belongings and went on the run – shirking the responsibility of both a permanent home and advancing years – in a campervan made for one.

She plans to go where the road takes her, parking at friends’ houses and finding adventures. Old age can’t catch her if she just keeps moving. ‘‘I’ll be stuffed if anybody puts me in a resthome.’’

As well as the E word, Borren rejects the terms senior, older person and pensioner, offering an alternative: ‘‘I think we should be called experienced people. You can call me an experienced person – that’s what sets us aside from people not as old as we are.’’

Like Scott and Hewitt, she puts her refusal to age down to her profession, something she is still passionate about.

‘‘I can be described as tired-as sometimes, but not old, not elderly, not ever. Old potters never die.’’