The members of the court were just delighted to have a ninth member - male or female. They were all kind and welcoming.

Older fatherhood isn't all bad: testosterone rates drop about 1% per year as men age, making them less reactive and more patient, and a professionally established middle-aged man is likely to have more time and money to devote to his kids than a twenty-something who's just getting started.

I can't get my knickers in a twist about my age and ageing in an industry that caters to the ids of 14-year-olds.

It is a sobering thought that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years.