As we age and the body starts to slow down a wee bit, it goes hand in hand with the reality we also take longer to heal. The common cold is a bugbear most of us hope to avoid, but it's inevitable we will go down with this all too frequent problem at some time or another. We can usually tell when we have the early symptoms, a sore throat, an athletic running nose, perhaps a cough plus other pointers that finally encourage us to admit, “I've got a dold in my dose.”

During our younger days, on these occasions we may have played the hero and let the problem run its course … and run it did. Usually throughout the family and then it started on workmates. As we age it's so important to jump on these symptoms early. If you have a sore throat don't wait to see what happens, get whatever pain killer suits you into action. If there is a possibility it may end up on your chest, which may be a common occurrence, then start on an expectorant and start breaking the rubbish up before it gets too firmly entrenched.

Of course, if the early problems were not a cold at all, just a winter sniffle, you have lost nothing, but should it be the real thing, you will have gone a long way to making the misery a lot easier to live with.

It is said that if you allow a cold to run its natural course, you should be over the worst of it within seven days. However, with all the modern miracle drugs on the market, with these helping you should be over the worst of it within a week. Whilst this is not denied, taking medicine can make that week a lot easier for you and others to live with … and that's not to be sniffed at.

The body slowing down need not be a problem, sadly the most obvious sign of age is when the mind starts to slow. The body can be kept in tune with gentle exercise, which is why I play golf and work on my garden. The mind is a more complex problem, especially for those who spend all their leisure hours parked in front of the television.

This is where crafts can be a huge help, also keeping in touch with people by writing, whether by mail or E-mail it doesn't matter. Even writing messages on a forum can keep the brain cells active but sadly the rear end broadening.

It is one of life's little problems I cannot come to terms with. In an age where there were never more things to do, we are only limited by our own imagination (not so much finance), and yet so many people choose to spend their spare time in front of the square box, then complain bitterly at the standard of the programmes. 

I can't think of a quicker way for reasonably healthy adults to turn the 'Third Age' into 'Old Age' … any comments?

I think you just need lots of different activities to keep your mind active. Everyone knows doing more than one thing makes the brain work better because different things make different parts of the brain work.

Oh no Doreen, you poor thing. You must stay tucked up in bed with a hot water bottle. No more shovelling snow for you. You must stay in the warm and get better for Christmas. It's no fun if you have flu over Christmas.