Brian Aldiss, the distinguished poet and author of many pioneering Science Fiction novels has been writing in The Guardian about what it is like to be 80 years old. Good, in the main it seems, and with few reservations and many advantages, such as not having to do what you don\u2019t want to do. \u2018You do not have to go out to dine if you can\u2019t be bothered; a phone call in a whiney voice, a burst of sympathy at the other end, and you can stay in snugly and read Tolstoy\u2019.<\/p>\n
In the mornings he tends to wake up at about four or five, and instead of \u2018lying there whingeing about it, I shuffle downstairs and make myself a mug of tea. Sometimes I switch on the TV and discover a world that does not exist in daylight hours. The riches of Istanbul, a chap making friends with a crocodile, someone climbing the Himalayas in a wheelchair..\u2019<\/p>\n
He has advice to share. \u2018A tip worth passing on is not to go out looking miserable even if you feel lousy and the in-growing toenail is playing up. Look cheerful. Keep your back straight. And lo and behold, there\u2019s a good friend having a coffee at the patisserie up the road. Not that it matters if you can\u2019t remember his name. He can\u2019t remember yours.\u2019 Its good idea to get out and about. You need exercise. And it feels so pleasant when you arrive home again. There are many foodstuffs you can buy which never existed once upon a time.\u2019<\/p>\n
There\u2019s encouraging news for people who have the capacity and need for frequent siestas. Brian Aldiss says that he requires \u2018spasms of sleep during the day. I will be sitting in an armchair, perhaps watching television or perhaps reading\u2026and fall asleep. At least, that\u2019s what I call it. But like those unfortunates caught on the wrong side of the Sittang Bridge when it blew, I find myself on the wrong side of consciousness. I have entirely blanked out\u2019 One day, he says he will have blanked out for good and \u2018this marvellous, unique lifetime will be over. But what an easy way to go\u2026.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Many people\u2019 says Aldiss \u2018feel old at 30. I still feel young in spirit. And there is a great abounding reason for that, though she has begged me not to mention her name. She is just the most empathic, intelligent, adorable woman I have had the luck to meet. My winter sunshine’.<\/p>\n
B.R.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brian Aldiss, the distinguished poet and author of many pioneering Science Fiction novels has been writing in The Guardian about what it is like to be 80 years old. Good, in the main it seems, and with few reservations and many advantages, such as not having to do what you don\u2019t want to do. \u2018You do not have to go out to dine if you can\u2019t be bothered; a phone call in a whiney voice, a burst of sympathy at the other end, and you can stay in snugly and read Tolstoy\u2019. In the mornings he tends to wake up <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"yoast_head":"\n