Mr Sweeper I am 62 years old and receive various payments including the winter fuel payment and I would like to say I dont p**s it up the wall and I AM NOT ELDERLY.
Calm down Dicky! No-one but no-one admits to themselves that they are either "elderly" or just plain "old". In my "younger" days all these "clubs for the over 50s" seemed to proliferate. During the 1950s, being 50 yrs old was considered to be "old" and therefore in need of some sort of enclave that they could all toddle off to, have a cup of tea and so on. I guess there is something of a historical mind-set going on here. Most people of my generation (me, born in 1940) wouldn't be at all enthused by being told by "caring" offspring to" just toddle off and have a cup of tea with your nice friends".
But let's face the facts. I agree that at age 62 you are not "old", but you are a person "of a certain age" (a modern euphamism for "elderly").
But when you get to age 70, little old ladies try to help you understand the complexities of pushing a button on either a petrol pump or a pedestrian crossing. This happens even when the 70 year old has the physique and hair of a 25 year old. Or does my mirror tell lies? BY.