Jenni Murray: Here’s the real reason why women age better than men, it’s a little confronting

Some days I feel 16 again, brimming with life and enthusiasm. That was such a good age.

Lots of hard work for the exams, but I’ve never been afraid of that. There was so much to look forward to. Always friends to sit and chat with about clothes, shoes, music and make-up.

Parties to plan, decisions about which boys to invite and long discussions about how far one should go and with which one.

On other days I wake up and a touch of arthritis has set in. I feel not 73 but 103, not wanting to get up, teeter stiffly down the stairs and get on with whatever job needs doing.

I have found ageing incorporates this vast spectrum, so I cannot accept the results of a new survey that resolutely declares that people consider old age to now begin at 74, not a day before, not a day after.

The research from Humboldt University in Berlin says the concept of old age has changed.

We used to think we were old at 60 when the free bus pass became available and when retirement was often required.