Our dear “Friend” mag is going to be 150 in January, recently I was reminded that age really is just a number.
As I stood in M&S the other day admiring the Christmas chocolates, a lady joined me. We turned and smiled at each other then I went back to daydreaming of swimming in pools of chocolate.
“They’re just lovely, aren’t they?” I said, noting the brightly coloured packages. “Oh yes,” she agreed, smiling, then leaned forward conspiratorially, “I’ve taken to buying the ones I don’t like very much, so they keep”, there was a twinkle in her eye.
“Oh, that’s clever!” I replied “I can’t help myself with those ones”, pointing to the coloured packages. Her eyes sparkled even more, “My son loves those ones. I have to buy them for him every year, ‘Mum, he says, they’re my favourites’ ” We chuckled.
She shook her head good-naturedly, “65 and I still have to buy his favourite chocolates!”. I looked at her a little closer. “Your son is 65?” I said, thinking I’d heard her wrong. “Yes,” she said smiling back at me, “My daughter is 70” she added., watching my mouth fall open. I gathered myself, “Oh gosh, I’m sorry for gaping at you, it’s just you don’t even look 65 yourself”.
“Oh dear” she smiled, “I’m 90! And you’ve made my day!” We smiled and went our separate ways.
Changing ways of age
I should have known better than to be surprised at the lady’s age, why, our dear magazine is going to be 150, and she hasn’t aged a bit!
We often chatter in the “Friend” office about the ways age has changed. 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 is so much younger than it used to be. Our readers are aged from 20 through to 90, with a large proportion of those aged between 40-65.
All of the topics we cover are ‘on trend’ and relevant to women, and men, everywhere. There are not many subjects we do not cover, and we certainly don’t pick ‘age-related’ topics. It’s not easy to guess someone’s age by their interests, as it is standing next to them in a shop.
With the retirement age now at 66, due to rise to 67, our older generation is still very much a youthful generation. It’s hard to pinpoint the lifestyle of women today, as most are still working, travelling far and wide, and participating in active hobbies.
While many people link the “Friend” mag to ‘little old ladies’ – we know that age is just a number.
Join in our 150th Celebrations with a copy of our 150th Anniversary Special Edition
Karlie Simmonds Karlie has worked in Digital Media for over 10 years, she is passionate about health and wellbeing and lives in Edinburgh with her partner, children, and Pug, Poppy.
