Every generation has its social no-go areas - subjects it avoids
talking about in polite company. Once it was sex, then it was
money. Now it's age. But those who have passed a certain birthday
are a force to be reckoned with, and because they are the first
generation to have had a 'good' education and opportunities to
widen their scope on the work front they are, generally speaking,
vociferous, self-confident and feel much younger than their ages
suggest. John Burningham's anthology of comments by (mainly) famous
Oldies is part rueful, part congratulatory and part humorous. Most
of his contributors seem to accept the latter years of their lives
with amused resignation. Of course there are drawbacks: loss of
sharp hearing, fading eyesight, unreliable hips and knees (or, in
John Mortimer's case, an inability to put on his own socks) but
these all come much later than they once did. Especially in the
arts the mind is kept sharp by stimulation; actors, writers and
inventors almost all continue to work for the pleasure of it, until
the very end. The 38 contributors to the collection include two
politicians, an astronomer, a footballer, a bridge champion, a war
veteran, a photographer and a judge. One of the most touching of
all is a life prisoner who lives in a social unit for elderly
prisoners with about 25 other inmates of 'mature years' and varying
degrees of physical fitness and mental dexterity. They have lower
and wider beds and 'less uncomfortable' chairs - but the communal
television set can lead to 'arguments, sulks, handbags at ten
paces, and even more physical confrontations'. This splendid
compilation is a welcome testimony to the liveliness and resilience
of a whole generation, and Burningham's delightful illustrations
add humour and life throughout. (Kirkus UK)
‘John Burningham has provided us with the panacea to take the sting out of advancing years. Reading his book makes you almost want to get into the state of being an 'older person'. It should be read by everyone over thirty' Richard Wilson, actor
In John Burningham’s well-stocked larder of the wit and wisdom that comes with age are contributions from Raymond Briggs, Ivor Cutler, Frank Dickens, Michael Foot, Richard Ingrams, Doris Lessing, Patrick Moore, Dervla Murphy, Ronald Searle, Tom Sharpe, Chad Varah and many others on such themes as ‘time’, ‘birthdays’, ‘travel’ and ‘love and marriage’. Woven in amongst the pieces is a rich selection of quotes from T. S. Eliot and Leon Trotsky to Bob Hope and Ogden Nash and fifty wonderful drawings by John Burningham.
John Burningham, two-time winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal, is the celebrated author and illustrator of many much-loved books for children, including Avocado Baby, Borka, Mr Gumpy’s Outing, Trubloff, Granpa and Cloudland, and of two illustrated books for adults, England and France.
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