Age cannot wither her......

"I feel like an old man," said my son who just turned 20, "that's it now, no more teenager, it's all over." I smiled, said nothing and helped myself to another slice of birthday cake (a triple-layer devil's food cake with white-chocolate-cream-cheese icing from the Magnolia Bakery cook book, with added blue berries, part of his 5-a-day.... since you ask). They say that youth is wasted on the young and yes, wouldn't I have enjoyed myself so much more if I'd known then, how much worse it was going to get.......

But now, here comes summer, the sun has got his hat on and the days have suddenly started to get longer, creeping up on us in a "goodness, is that the time? I didn't realise it was so late..." kind of way. And with it the long, hot, much hoped for, hazy days of lazy lunches, picnics in the park, lying in the long-grass. Dark glasses perched beneath broad-brimmed sun-hats, arms glistening with factor 25, fingers sticky with ice-lolly drips, it's time to surf the wave of pink wine and chilled Prosecco.

I went through a period in my 30s, whilst living in New York, and buying cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery, when I would only ever been seen on a beach in a one piece. Then I went to Europe. In Spain, France, Italy, anywhere sur le continent, it seems that age is no barrier to the bikini, from the stripey tanga top to the day-glo thong, octogenarians proudly sport their itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny, yellow, pink, purple polka-dot bikinis, unabashed. Tanned hides ripple and undulate across the white sands, with more wrinkles than a Bedouin's saddle bag. So, I thought, why not.......as with the onset of old age comes the cloak of invisibility.....re-claim the two-piece. As luck would have it a girlfriend of mine has started a bikini empire called 'Nikinis'. Having spent the 80s living in Los Angeles where the daily wearing of swimwear is mandatory, (think high legged, halter-neck in red), she later re-located to the hippy haven of Goa, (string-bikini with beads) so there is nothing she doesn't know about gusset-width, bottom-coverage and adjustable straps. And so, as I prepare to concertina my tummy back into two, tiny pieces of Lycra, I feel it's time to embrace the pre-pool party diet, di-fuzz the legs and suck it in for the summer........after just one more piece of birthday cake........

Top tip: Dr. Nick Lowe (no not the singer.....) skin care products do seem to be delivering their promise!