Adrian Reith (1955–2021)

Gosh! I hate books full of positivity!!!

My advice: Read scholarly nonfiction rather than dreary novels as you're never too old to learn and your brain's the bit that the rest of you is just there to keep going; walk to the shops where possible (trolley permitted for bulky liquid purchases), radio instead of TV/cinema (you can even read at the same time or "exercise" if you must), avoid fry-ups and beer (I was grounded for beer drinking at 12 years old: we found a bottle of beer in the woods show more and shared it between 3 of us, one lad's mum noticed he stank of beer so he told her he'd bought a can of Sagres, but when she reminded him he had no money he changed his story and said he had it at our house. One quick phone call later and 3 of us were in the shit), listen to the kind of music you used to actually enjoy rather than the stuff you're supposed to, call people half your age "Gramps" if they're being as boring and reactionary as your dire peers were at their age, and keep up with current slang and swear-words to scandalise your peers and the kids at the same time while insisting at all times on correct grammar and usage: if you have to grow old, stay smarter than the average bear but do it disgracefully. Aging pretty much sucks, but you can still keep ahead of the crowd and have a laugh until everything starts packing up as it was designed to.

People waste a lot of money and time on elixirs and potions and fads to try to stave off the years, while the truth is that we age in the way we deserve: old skin, damaged joints, energy-sapping illnesses - mostly our own doing. If we want to live long and well, when we're young is the time to do something about it. At 89 I work out, get plenty of cardio exercise, eat healthy and such; sad to say, I am still stupid. Of course, listening to Jesus and Mary Chain with a few bottles of Imperial Superbock Stout while reading up on medieval demography or the formation of galactic superclusters will see to that.

From what I’ve seen in care homes, I honestly think that a dementia diagnosis is down to luck more than decent self care. I’m living the healthy life, hoping that I won’t have the same misfortune. Should I get the diagnosis it’ll be booze, fags, shitty diet & inactivity all the way in the hope that I won’t have to live a lengthy life with my brain dying prematurely. show less