My novel, 'Salt Blue', was published when I was sixty seven. Someone askedif I was I surprised thatI'd had a novel published at my age. I was surprised that she wassurprised. As far as I know, I amnot actually ga-ga.

Recently, I read of a seventy seven year old having a first novel published.That's young.Someone elsehad hisnovel published when he was a hundred. Now, I'm sure he had lots to write about.

Perhaps we need to revise our attitudes to ageing.The population as a whole is living longer, resulting in a pension crisis. When I went to Disney, in Florida, it wasn't the rides and parades that I remembered afterwards, but the old people in shorts and Hawiian shirts who wereworking there.

Parts of Wales have the least qualified people in the country, butjobs in Wales are hard to come by, qualified or not.

A while ago, Iain Duncan Smith told people to get ona 'bus tofind a job. This week, the youth of Merthyr marched to Cardiff todemonstrate that even if they do make it to the city, the workisn't there.

People in Wales relyheavily on public sector jobs, somore entrepreneurs are needed, which is easy to say, difficult to bring about.

Our politicians need to do some hard thinking to work this one out. If older people retire later, they are job-blocking the youngsters. I suggest that students have access to courses that will lead toactual jobs. University degrees are not needed for many jobs and shouldn't be asked for by employers, if not essential.

Some areas are desperately in need of dentists, so why not train more? Likewise, good plumbers and carpenters would see off the 'cowboys'.