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There was an article in one of yesterday’s papers about how more men are following the actor George Clooney and allowing their hair to go grey, which greatly relieved me because mine has been going grey for years. Then I noticed a news item about how a lady from Hampshire had just set a record by abseiling down a 110 foot office block on her 99th birthday. She took up abseiling when she was 85, and said, I really like the high buildings best. She’s planning to do it again next year.

The growth of life expectancy in Britain– from around 47 years in 1900 to 80 today, is one of the greatest transformations of our time. How will we deal with it? An ever smaller population of working age may have to support an ever larger population of the elderly. Should the retirement age be adjusted upward still further? Will we be able to treat the hazards of age, like dementia and Alzheimer’s? How can we ensure that care of the elderly is of the best? This is an historic shift, and it will challenge us at the highest levels of the moral imagination....