Give up at 54? No, it’s when life starts
I AM astonished that a Norwegian professor claims that most people’s get up and go starts to fail at the age of 54 (Mail). That’s a very young age to lose your motivation to get off the couch and try new things. Bored in retirement, my husband Pete and I bought The Fox pub in Darley Hall, Bedfordshire, three years ago when I was 68 and he was 62. I work in the kitchen and he runs the bar. Our typical, traditional English hostelry has been so successful that celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli has described it as his go-to-eat local pub. He has praised the ambience, congratulated me for serving up home-cooked, hearty classics and even described Pete as the most charismatic landlord in Britain. You need lots of experience to run a successful business, which you won’t have achieved if you give up at the age of 54. My CV is rather long and varied: I was taught all my culinary skills by the chef at the local restaurant where I got my first job before I went on to own a shop, worked as a motors rep on the local paper, headed the sales team of a newspaper group, moved into marketing, was head-hunted to be the commercial manager of Luton Town FC and then ran an airport parking company with my husband. When the local pub came up for sale, as my other half is a bit of a Jack the Lad and I’m a big foodie, we took on the challenge. Life running a pub is busy, but fun and never boring. When more of us are reaching the age of 100-plus, surely it’s a bit of a stretch to say that 54 is the age when we lose our grit and drive.
LINDA LAYTON, Luton, Beds. OUR get-up-and-go starts to fail at the age of 54? Rubbish! I emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 55, which most women would never do on their own. Homesickness brought me back after two years, but I have no regrets at taking such a big risk to live on the other side of the world.
NICKY MATTHEWS, Taunton, Somerset. OH, HOW I wish I was 54 again!
G. D. BARBER, high Wycombe, Bucks.