Age ain't nothin' but a number," are the words of a song on a CD I recently picked up.

In this statement I found the rest of the song seemed to fade away as I began to question this.

My first response was that it was false. Age determines one's appearance, one's present and future, one's life experiences, one's attitude to others of different ages and one's reactions to situations and the world around us.

I believe that this is all true in most cases, but we seem to have put a stamp on HOW we should act depending on our age.

There are clothes styles for older and younger people and if the older wear the more youthful styles, there are sure to be undertones of a "mutton dressed as lamb" response from both sides.

If the younger decides to go for the more mature trend, "frumpy" is the word that springs to mind.

I often wonder where this pressure comes from to look young after one's prime.

There are more older people in the world today than ever before due to advanced medical treatment and good nutrition - yet the majority complain as their skin shows signs of papering and creasing and bulges appear in places that used to be smooth and toned.

Why is respect for our elders deteriorating and a sense of fear at the prospect of BECOMING an elder taking its place?

Going back in history, it was thought the older one became, the wiser and more spiritually developed one grew.

Nowadays do we really look at an old lady on the bus and think how much she has to offer?

Age may just be a number, but we use it as an excuse not to do things - "I'm too old for that"- and we use it to base where we think we should be in our lives- "I'm thirty and I'm still single. "

There is no should or shouldn't - except to accept constant change.

By Camilla Fotheringham