It’s not all bad news about growing older A

A SURVEY from Virgin Holidays suggests that the 40s can be the wilderness years. People in their forties were polled. and the majority said they had most fun in their lives when they were 23. Half said they now had less sex, 43% said they felt old, and 75% said they have less fun than when they were in their 20s.

The main reasons given include work stress, tiredness, cash worries and too much responsibility.

To be fair, the 20s are built for fun: footloose and fancy free, cash for spending and a sense of immortality. Problems are for tomorrow and tomorrow never comes.

Except it does and you discover, even with a mortgage and commitments, that life is still there for the living at 30, 40 and well beyond, and enjoyment becomes deeper and more satisfying.

In my 40s, with the usual domestic debts and two young daughters, my wife sold her engagement ring so we could have a holiday.

We had two weeks in the sun in a rented cottage in Abersoch, having picnics on the beach and lashings of ginger beer. A simple inexpensive holiday that still lives in our memories as the best ever.

That beats any week-long thrash in Magaluf at the age of 23.

And why should sex drop off (so to speak) after 40?

In a survey, released to coincide with the release of the DVD of the Jane Fonda film Book Club, 52% of ladies said they saw no reason for great sex to stop in their 60s or 70s, and 32% said it was greater than it was when they were younger.

Statistics from the National Institute of Ageing showed that a third of pensioners continue to have regular sex.

Dr Louise Newson, menopause specialist,