I have met young children who are seriously 'middle aged' - like Sandra in Sydney's sister's friend, but about seven years old.

I have also seen people's images of 'the elderly' being exploited in advertising. A leaflet for a retirement home had pictures of an elegant, well-heeled, happy looking couple dressed in clothes from the early 1930s - this is how 'the elderly' would have been thought of by those the advertisement was really aimed at, who grew up in the 1960s, and looked very different.