Jim Mason had been married and had two grownup children. Then he fell in love with a younger woman who wanted kids of her ownJim Mason knows the exact moment, shortly before he retired, when he realised he was falling in love with his assistant. Liz wa…
A new start after 60: ‘I had the most dishonest dark hair imaginable. So at 65 I shaved it all off’
When her daughter’s hair began to turn grey, Marsha Coupé decided she had to say goodbye to her own dyed locks. It was like being rebornFor her first 65 years, Marsha Coupé had dark hair. She wore it in a blunt pageboy style, with red lipstick. She was…
A new start after 60: ‘I started sketching at 72 – and graduated with a fine art degree at 96’
Archie White was a keen teenage artist, but gave it up for five decades as a solicitor. Now he is starting a new student charity and painting furiouslyArchie White says he would like to retire, but I’m not sure I believe him. This summer he made headli…
A new start after 60: I became a priest at 63 – after 44 years as a soldier and a teacher
Newly installed in a Northumberland vicarage, Diana Johnson first felt her calling decades ago. But the church had to wait until she had raised her family – and transitionedAt 66, Diana Johnson has just embarked on her third career. She has moved to a …
A new start after 60: ‘I pitied women who travelled alone – then I tried it and found true joy’
As a child, Charlotte Simpson and her family were excluded from many hotels in the deep south. Now she has visited more than 80 countriesThe Christmas after her husband died, Charlotte Simpson went on holiday with her daughter. In their tour group to M…
A new start after 60: ‘I always dreamed of being a writer – and published my first novel at 70’
In her thirties, Anne Youngson wrote a book in her lunch breaks at work. It stayed in a drawer. Then she retired, wrote her debut and was shortlisted for a major awardWhen Anne Youngson’s agent told her a publisher had made an offer for her first novel…
A new start after 60: ‘I married for the first time at 70’
Antique dealer Deb Thea always thought she would marry – and while she waited for the right person, she created a happy, confident single life. Then, unexpectedly, love came alongDeb Thea didn’t want a conventional wedding. “I was 70. Walking down the …