WHEN I first started to walk with a stick this year because of hip trouble, I felt very old and infirm.

But I need not have worried. For the first time in years, doors are opened for me, cars stop on small crossings for me and buses stop for me.

And the bus drivers deserve an accolade for their kindness.

So, instead of feeling 70-plus, I feel 21 again.

The only trouble is, I leave the stick all over the place and friends follow me around telling me I have left it.

ELSIE COLLINGE, Towneley Street, Burnley.