In Depth:  ageing

Graham Nicholls

As we entered 2026, I was watching Jools Holland’s Hootenanny. It’s a show welcoming in the new year with musicians performing songs, mostly with the backing of the vast and hugely talented band Jools has pulled together.

Along with the younger performers like Olivia Dean (26) and Jessie J (37), there were quite a few near or beyond what you might call "normal retirement" age. There was Ronnie Wood putting in a reasonable shift at 78 and there was Lulu bringing the house down with an energetic performance at 77. Even the host, Jools, and his regular singer Ruby Wax, are both 67. They could be claiming their state pensions, but they were showing no signs of retirement.

Matthew 9v37-38: “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’”

Your church: what an amazing selection of activities to be involved in!

Andrew Drury

In the midst of our sadness, when we sit beside a dying person, we encourage the person, and ourselves, with the words of hymns and songs that point the way to heaven and the inheritance that we have in the Lord.

Music not only alleviates distress, calming the soul and giving a sense of normalcy ^[1] but, for the Christian, it also points the way to heaven and, more importantly, to our Saviour.

Andrew Drury

The desire to prolong life and even to live forever has been the pursuit of humanity ever since Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden, being prevented from eating the fruit from the tree of life.

There have been articles, books, plays (such as Peter Pan) and films (notably Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) which have taken this prospect as its theme.