Thoughts

One of the family had a signed copy of this book and I just happened to be looking at it, and then started reading it, and then finished it. It's not the kind of book I'd reach for, particularly, as much as I might feel old already!

I know Prue from Bake Off, obviously, and there are a few tales about that show in here, but the majority of it is a gander through various aspects of her life and what ageing has taken from them, or more often, added to them. It's remarkably upbeat, and in some cases, entrepreneurial. Prue has a lot of ideas and she's not afraid to share them all:

The grey market is huge - and growing. I have a walking stick which turns into a stool. Many friends have seen mine, admired it, and bought one. But it wasn't designed for oldies. It was designed for toffs to perch on while blasting pheasants out of the sky: a shooting stick. If I get half a dozen sales without trying, think how well the makers would do if they advertised in The Oldie, or got museum and gallery shops to stock them.

The writing is very informal, as though you're just having a chat with Prue. Sometimes it felt a bit overwhelming. Changes of topic came thick and fast. In the quote above we started with a walking stick and ended up supplying museums with a new line of stock! Each chapter is on a specific theme (Ageing, Exercise, Business) but there are a lot of digressions along the way.

I don't know if we really learn anything about Prue, nothing deep and meaningful, but in a similar fashion to Dick Van Dyke's recent books, there's just a joyful feeling that jumps off the page and makes you feel a bit better about the ageing process.

This is a stream-of-consciousness book that is quick to read. It's uplifting while you're in it, but doesn't leave too much of an impression, so it's a 3 out of 5.

Rating: 3 / 5