I met my old lover on the street last night,she seemed so glad to see me I just smiled and we talked about some old times and we drank ourselves some beers

So, I was in the Barbers last week and when he had finished the nice Middle-Eastern gentleman asked me if I was due a Concession Rate. For what I thought. Being overweight? Being a fan of Ayr United and Sunderland? Watching Grey's Anatomy?

But no, apparently he thought I was old enough to qualify for OAP Rates. Shocked! I nearly left without my Zimmer Frame. That's the last time he gets a 50p tip


And so it dawned on me that I was getting old. I cannot even blame the grey hair. I have had that since my Thirties (that's when I was in my Thirties not the 1930s). Marriage, children, supporting aforementioned football teams is enough to turn Kojak grey but I told myself it made me look dignified, although the curly perm didn't help

When I started to give the matter some thought I discovered that all the signs were there. I stopped listening to Radio 1 years ago but now I have even moved on from Radio 2 to Smooth Radio where Michael Buble is considered raunchy. There is a show on in the morning where they play songs from a particular year gone by and you have to guess the year. I find the older the year the easier to remember. Music from the 60s and 70s I recognise immediately but the 90' and 2000s are a bit of a blur musically speaking.

If I hear 'Needles and Pins' by the Searchers I think...1964  that's the song that was playing when Sandra knocked me back at the Primary School Disco......'I Heard it Through the Grapevine'-Marvin Gaye 1969..that's the song that was playing when Morag knocked me back at the Secondary School disco.....'I'm Still Waiting' (oddly appropriate)--Dianna Ross 1971...that's the song that was playing when Linda knocked me back at the Cement Works Disco...'Telegram Sam'--T.Rex 1972..that's the song that was playing when Linda knocked me back at the Cement Works Disco....'Tie a Yellow Ribbon'--Dawn 1973..that's the song that was number 1 when Sunderland won the FA Cup and I think Linda may have knocked me back at the Cement Works Disco

Football was proper football back in those days. None of your celebrity nonsense. Back then it was all about the football. True professionals who only cared about the game. You never read any bad press for stars like George Best, Stan Bowles or Frank Worthington. True paragons of virtue all of them and they could all play a bit. My favourite quote attributed to Georgie was "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." Ah, if only JT had a modicum of Mr Best's style

As you get older you start talking about the price of everyday items as well. A Mars Bar....45p...that's nearly 10 Shillings in real money..imagine giving a ten bob note for a bar of chocolate  and nowadays people save by putting £1 coins in jars. I remember when I was young collecting Ship Halfpennies.....boy, that was fun

When I was babysitting last week I did take my slippers with me which does not do a lot for my case but I know I cannot be that old after all Methusela was at least two years above me at school. I have noticed however that people start calling me 'Sir' which never used to happen and at the football the other week a young chap called me 'auld yin'. I nearly boxed the young whippersnapper's ears

Also nearly every new movie or TV programme I read about these days is a remake of one from the 60s or 70s. I read they are currently doing a remake of The Sweeney which I really liked first time around and which obviously now has Ray Winstone in it. I cannot say I am looking forward to that and a new version of Charlie's Angels has been cancelled after one series. It was bad enough the first time round without subjecting us to it again. I did watch the recent Hawaii Five-O series but I thought the best thing about it was that they kept the original signature tune, although the scenery really made me want to visit Hawaii

I believe there is yet hope for me. I have not as yet started visiting local Garden Centres or joined the nearest Bowling Club and I still do not watch Bargain Hunt. I have noticed that my moniker to the outside world has now changed. For years I have been known as 'Den's Dad' or 'Sean's Dad' or 'Dean's Dad' but now I have progressed to 'Ben's Grandpa'. Now that I can definitely live with.

I leave you this week with my Top 10 Songs about growing old

1. The Way We Were...............Barbara Streisand
2. (Just Like) Starting Over........John Lennon
3. Old Man...............................Neil Young
4. Going Back...........................Dusty Springfield
5. All Things Must Pass.............George Harrison
6. It Was A Very Good Year....Frank Sinatra
7. Forever Young......................Bob Dylan
8. When You Were Young........The Killers
9. Glory Days...........................Bruce Springsteen
10 Old Friends.........................Simon and Garfunkel

Now where did I leave my hot water bottle?