Oh heck, am I getting old, or is he? I agree with Denis Healey...! Now Lord Healey says it is time for Blair to make way for Brown.
Actually, it's extraordinary how many politicians from that era are still alive, and healthy. Healey is 86, Callaghan celebrated his 90th a while back, Barbara Castle was 91 when she died a couple of years back. Edward Heath is 87. Add on people like Tony Benn and Margaret Thatcher (who, of course, is increasingly loopy, but when wasn't she?), both 78, and the Queen at 77, and I just wonder whether they are proof of the benefits of an active old age.
I don't know about you, but I have noticed how quickly people go into decline when they retire - except those who deliberately choose a new occupation. Like my mother, after she retired aged 63 she went from middle-aged to elderly in less than a year.
