Thoughts on reaching half a century
I turned 50 recently. That's half a century. 1974 was the era of Watergate and the Vietnam War. Abba were rocking Eurovision with 'Waterloo'. The Russian menace was threatening to overrun the west. English politics was in turmoil. Joe Biden was a toothless Washington hack. China was run by an ageing and brutal dictator. There was conflict in the middle east. How so much has changed since I was born. Even though I've been of a mature vintage (and in denial about it) for a decade, I can no longer escape the tag of being middle aged. If normal life expectancy measures…