You are old, Father William
“You are old, Father William,” the young man said, “And your hair has become very white, And yet you incessantly stand on your head – Do you think, at your age it is right?” These days I am increasingly inclined to take the Reverend Dodgson’s admonition seriously. That I am old, a glance at the archive note appended to each forum contributor will reveal. My time at Teddy Hall was spent in the dim distant past of the early 1950s. Most of my contributions to the forum - I began contributing in May 2013 - are in the Journalism section. That, in itself, is enough to tell you that I have incessantly stood on my head. Venturing even the most innocuous of opinions on political events is a chancy business. Ten to one you will be proved wrong within a few weeks. I suppose opinions should be distinguished from beliefs, though they do influence each other. There ought to be no shame in adapting an opinion in the light of changing circumstances; perhaps beliefs should be more firmly held. Even so, the older I get, the less flexible I become, and I am finding it increasingly difficult to change my opinions, and almost impossible to change my beliefs. In short, do I think at my age it is right to stand on my head? Answer - no. 25
