The start of the slippery slope?

My mum had an ample bosom which my father called her shelf. So he would say "Nellie you've left crumbs on your shelf again".

Maggiemaybe there certainly was a Mrs Melanie Frontage in Wogan's wonderful Janet and John stories. How I miss them. And him.

Apologies for that Ilrina but I started this as a light-hearted look at getting older, which has brought in lots of lovely comments, and your comment just seemed to be rather putting the rest of us down. If I read it wrongly then apologies again.

Why indeed...sure that never happened 10 years ago

Can't see any sarcasm anywhere

Thank goodness I'm not the only one with frontage problems. I just get a tea towel ready and wait for the inevitable drips. Occasionally the last one just has a mind of its own. I have purchased several white strappy t shirts that are basically squares stitched together and I wear a thin shirt over the top. In Portugal, dining out with DS Portuguese mother-in-law I ordered squid, which came with olive oil and a shredded beetroot salad. The food was glorious, but I was in a bit of a panic. Managed beautifully until near the end and then the drip! The solution was - went to the loo and turn the tshirt around, so the stain was at the back under the shirt!
I've also been holding a glass of wine by the stem, felt it tipping over as I nodded gently, righted it very quickly and managed to flick it over the person sitting next to me - luckily it was DD.

I am not putting anyone down Badenkate, so apologies to you too if you thought that. I am not a spring chicken myself or I wouldn't be here, would I? I just found it all rather depressing, even though it was meant in a light hearted way.

I am also one of those people who never takes food/drink into the sitting room, never have, never will so find that difficult to get my head around. Not saying I am right and others are wrong, just that it isn't right for me.

When I start feeling tired all the time,i start taking a multi bit like Menopace, which seems to sort me out in a few days. It may also be worth getting your thyroid checked as low thyroid can make you feel exhausted!

Glad to say my thyroid is fine Miranda. I have it checked every year after one low reading a few years ago. I think part of the problem is that I twisted my knee a few months ago and it still can wake me up when I turn over in bed.
Generally dripping food down myself is pretty longstanding, though . The whiplash effect of spaghetti is awesome!

Love Badenkate's "sarcasm" post on this thread.

Can anyone over the age of, say sixtynine, sit down for a read in the afternoons without falling asleep? I can't. And yes, I've done the lapful of tea thing. You are amazing Ilrina. Or younger than some of us.

I wear big bibs like Anya and Deedaa's husband - I have a hand tremor and can't eat neatly unless I'm using a spoon (and not always then). They come in various plastic-backed tartans in a good sturdy fabric (mine are Royal Stewart and Black Watch), so I don't feel as though I'm entering my second childhood, though I mostly only wear them at home or with family. I've occasionally worn one in a Chinese restaurant - I can still more or less manage chopsticks, but not as deftly as I used to.

Ilrina, I do sympathise - I can feel got at when I say I don't want any cake and get the impression people think I'm being sanctimonious. Similarly, I got laughed at at school because I have a photographic memory for words, and always got top marks for spelling. I couldn't help it, but the other girls still accused me of being a 'teacher's pet'. i think it can feel threatening to see someone naturally doing something which we may feel uneasy or even guilty about not being able to do ourselves, particularly if our culture positively promotes that quality or behaviour. It's assumed that people should be slim, or should do well at school, and should strive to achieve those standards, but as the cliché goes, We Are All Different, and we won't all manage everything with equal skill. Now I'm older it's easier for me to accept that despite current health advice that we should 'move more' I just don't like exercise for it's own sake and can't face doing more than the bare minimum, particularly as I have mobility issues.

Papers are much easier to read at the kitchen table, anyway.

I don't understand what you mean, Ilrina. You say you never take food or drink into the living room, never have, never will. But what do you do when you have the family or friends round? Don't you all have nibbles beforehand and go and get comfy in the front room after you've eaten with your wine/coffees etc? Don't you ever have the girls round for wine and a natter, or your book group or whatever?

When I got half way through the op to the " warm wet feeling" I wondered what had occurred . Thank goodness it was only the cup of tea!!!

[Grin] Atqui

Kitty, I am always getting spills on my tops these days, don't know why but when I go out for a meal with friends they watch me and guess how long it will take before I spill something, I try to wear a curry/ spaghetti coloured top or what ever I am eating I try to wear the appropriate colour top,,
I suspect though my 38f ,s get in the way ,

Thank You Jingle. I am 63, but also truly amazing

I try to make a point of never sitting down on a comfy chair holding any liquid, as I always fall asleep! The fall out of not sleeping properly at night. It's very frustrating as I usually have to watch a TV programme about 3 times to get to the end. Thank goodness for smart TVs. ?

My dad, bless him, used to obligingly turn his wrist to check the time when asked, forgetting the cup and saucer balancing in his hand at the time.

Oh I've loved reading all your posts, I'm a nightmare for spilling stuff down my front, put on a brand new Joules top the other day, was so careful, even down to wearing a tea towel tucked in, only to miss the road to my mouth with red wine !! Washed it and wore it again, this time lily pollen. It's doomed !!!

I keep an oldish pair of jeans and and top for my childminding days, crawling about on all fours doesn't lend itself to smarter clothes, but Maggymay your Boden dress sounds lovely and I'm off to have a look. I like their clothes but feel the quality hasn't been as good recently.

At the buffet on holiday I only chose beetroot with my salad if I was wearing a dark coloured top - otherwise I knew I would get it down me!

It's not just age though, is it? For some people it must be genetic.

My beautiful GD, aged 5, is a walking disaster area. If there's anything to knock over, break, spill, trip over, dribble, drip or dislodge, she manages to do it her sister by contrast, age 6, could walk through a field of mud barefooted and emerge pristine and spotless.

It's not age with me, Anya, it was always thus (I managed to get the green and white striped dress with a squirty tomato first time on as well, btw!).

My three DGS show no signs as yet of having inherited the clumsy gene. But I just love to see the insurance ad they show at cinemas sometimes - the Tiny Dancer cavorting round the house, spinning round and showing off and narrowly missing all the precious ornaments. That was me, and I've said to DH that that little girl is the granddaughter I may never have!

Here she goes:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqgoUWPx4eE

My mum had a frontage that our kitten often curled up to sleep upon! My own frontage was so much more modest that my parents once brought home a couple of iced gems (tiny biscuits with a pointy swirl of icing on top) "to put in my bra to fill it up!"

My late husband, soup and silk ties were a dangerous combination so it's not just ladies.