Growing old is compulsory;

growing up is optional.
Attributed to Bob Monkhouse. Though I'll bet he pinched it, it must be a lot older than that.

Almost from the moment we met, LA simultaneously, adopted me, christened me ''Uncle Brian'' and proceeded to try and ensure I never grew up: using Birthday/Christmas presents similar to this. Not that long ago I was building a Landrover based fire engine about 10'' long.

Today I leapt sprightly out of bed, 'twas ever thus, got down stairs and temporarily died without bothering to lie down. For no reason I could explain, I broke out in a cold sweat and crumpled into uselessness. Whether B.P. of 107/76 was a contributory factor I'll leave those better qualified to guess.

''Much more betterer'' now, but used the otherwise wasted day to start, and almost complete, this latest toy.